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AT&T Unlimited Data Plan Not Really Unlimited!

T

thisisarcadia

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 26, 2008
400
4
New Orleans, LA
Yesterday i went to AT&T and talked to a sales rep explaining that i had an app for my iPhone 3G that could tether with my computer. She told me that tethering plans were 60$ a month and to be careful about what i use NetShare for. She explained that the Unlimited Data plan used to be unlimited until people started to figure out how to tether and AT&T was spending way too much money because of it. So now you have a limit of 5 Gb! She said you could go over but they would probably start to monitor your usage more closely! Who else thinks this is really stupid!



___________

2.0 Ghz Macbook
White iPhone 3G (bought July 11, first in Line)
 
Me, since you're REQUIRED to have the plan, in order to "legally" use the 3G, which is retarded. That, and they dont tell you that youre under watch.
 
i do only in the sense that they advertise it as unlimited. advertise it as 5 gig limit and im fine but it is pretty misleading


people will say it is unlimited for iphone usage as 5gigs will never be reached but why not just say you have 5 gigs to use?
 
snake101st said:
That, and they dont tell you that youre under watch.
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You should probably read your terms and conditions more closely. I imagine they will state that customers who exceed their browsing allowance will have their usage monitored in following months.
 
It's terrible business and it's a load of **** that ATT spends too much money then without a cap. Bandwidth is dirt cheap.
 
Warbrain said:
It's terrible business and it's a load of **** that ATT spends too much money then without a cap. Bandwidth is dirt cheap.
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Agreed, AT&T is only trying to "cash in" on missed tethering charges. I won't even use the iPhone for it if Apple/AT&T sanctioned it and I think it's messed up.
 
cristo said:
You should probably read your terms and conditions more closely. I imagine they will state that customers who exceed their browsing allowance will have their usage monitored in following months.
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Actually I still dont even have an iphone or a data plan... I will never pay over $10 for a data plan. Any more and a phone becomes a status symbol unless you actually use it for business or something, especially if I could just use wifi in most places anyways.
 
thisisarcadia said:
She explained that the Unlimited Data plan used to be unlimited until people started to figure out how to tether and AT&T was spending way too much money because of it. So now you have a limit of 5 Gb! She said you could go over but they would probably start to monitor your usage more closely! Who else thinks this is really stupid!
Click to expand...



You have been mislead. You only get a 5GB limit ONLY IF the data plan you have either allows you to tether or if you are on a data plan for a data card. IT IS unlimited for the 3G data plan though. HOWEVER, if AT&T finds that you are tethering your device, your contract can be cancelled. Your contract can also be cancelled IF they find that you are using too much internet that it is bogging down their network.

Read your T&C. You can find everything that I said there. No where does what the rep said is true. The unlimited internet is indeed unlimited. If they somehow charge you for more than 5GB, definitely dispute it and report it to the BBB business.
 
I thought this was common knowledge, especially when it came to tethering. Everywhere I've seen in AT&T's docs talking about unlimited data has a footnote or a link to the 5GB limit. And tethering is expressly forbidden, which is why Apple pulled the App from the store. Anyone caught tethering can be kicked off AT&T, and made to pay the early termination fee.
 
AT&T was the last of the big US providers to put a 5 gig cap on their bandwidth.
 
DreamPod said:
I thought this was common knowledge, especially when it came to tethering. Everywhere I've seen in AT&T's docs talking about unlimited data has a footnote or a link to the 5GB limit. And tethering is expressly forbidden, which is why Apple pulled the App from the store.
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I found the following in the AT&T Wireless Data Plan Terms and Conditions.
PDA/BLACKBERRY PLANS WITH TETHERING
PDA/BlackBerry plans with Tethering may ONLY be used with AT&T-certified RIM BlackBerry devices and PDAs for the following purposes: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) email; and (iii) intranet access (including access to corporate intranets, email, and individual productivity applications like customer relationship management, sales force, and field service automation). PDA/BlackBerry plans with Tethering may be used to tether such PDA and BlackBerry devices to a Personal Computer. The parties agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 GB in a month. Prior to the imposition of any additional charges, AT&T shall provide you with notice and you shall have the right to terminate your service.
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It seems that wako is right. The 5GB limit is only there for the plans that allow tethering.
 
yeah I was happy to pay for sprint's phone as a modem plan for less than the iphone's business data plan. I was able to tether laptops and work all day without worrying about hotspots. But on a daily basis, I use the data more with the iphone.
 
I have a laptop card with Verizon and an iPhone, both have "unlimited" data, meaning I do not get charged a fee per minute, etc.

Both have the 5GB monthly cap. I consider myself a power user of both, and I only surpassed the 5GB cap when I was logging into a VPN for full business days over a two week period. I never received as much as an acknowledgment or wrist slap from Verizon.

The cap is there to stop abuse, and to keep people from trying to avoid having a home internet connection. Both have specific references to this item, mentioning that they are not replacements for a dedicated home connection.

Now that we are having bandwidth issues with AT&Ts 3G service, let's keep the huge DLs and streaming to Wifi!
 
The precedent was set when Homer Simpson got kicked out of the all you can eat restaurant. Someone call Lionel Hutz.
 
They just want to make sure people aren't tethering... which I think is dumb but I understand. It costs them too much money. If you actually use more than 5GB on your iPhone then they aren't going to charge you extra or cancel your plan.... but they may do exactly what the OP said, "monitor you more closely"
 
deannnnn said:
They just want to make sure people aren't tethering... which I think is dumb but I understand. It costs them too much money. If you actually use more than 5GB on your iPhone then they aren't going to charge you extra or cancel your plan.... but they may do exactly what the OP said, "monitor you more closely"
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Right, the Terms and Conditions does not say anything about them monitoring or not monitoring each customer's data plan usage. They simply say, as I quoted above, that the 5GB limit is there for the plans with tethering. Since our 3G data plan does not include tethering, that limitation does not apply.
 
The on device plan is unlimited because they know you are never going to use enough to cut into profits. Telling people they have "unlimited data" is just marketing, they could put a cap on it and most people would be fine but most people don't want to worry about going over, that's something Rogers here in Canada has yet to understand.



milani said:
I don't feel so bad with my Rogers 6 GB a month plan then...
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The best part is that we can also tether with the $30 6GB plan. It would be nice if they offered netshare up here again.
 
so we do have unlimited? those who have 3g and dont' use netshare.

even with netshare they would probably see u are using alot and monitor you, but we can go over 5gb on our phone which i doubt anyone does unless they are tethering.



which phones allow tethering?
 
candan9019 said:
The best part is that we can also tether with the $30 6GB plan. It would be nice if they offered netshare up here again.
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In that case I kick myself in the ass twice for not downloading Netshare when I had the chance! Is there any way that I can buy it through some place other than the Apps Store? I know the answer is going to be no unless I jailbreak my phone, but I really wish there was a way to get it - especially since I'm buying a notebook soon!
 
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