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AT&T Urges FCC to Drop $100 Million Fine, Says Data Throttling Doesn't Harm Customers
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Same in the area of NJ where we live - several years ago T-Mobile had a "Try Before You Buy" plan and we tried it for a weekend. Coverage where we lived was ZERO - absolutely a Dead Zone, despite their coverage map showing good signal.
The phones went back Sunday afternoon! To T-Mobile's credit, it was a "No Harm / No Foul" and they refunded the deposit to us.
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hahaha @ AllTalk&Throttle...
It seems kinda of wired to even think that AT&T would only be throttling IF cell is congested..
That would mean if you move from cell to cell, all of a sudden your data will be back on non-congested tower
That is misleading.. and is not the norm.
It seems kinda of wired to even think that AT&T would only be throttling IF cell is congested..
That would mean if you move from cell to cell, all of a sudden your data will be back on non-congested tower
That is misleading.. and is not the norm.
The FCC should fine them even more after this 
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And this was using the iPhone that they supplied you?
.And this was using the iPhone that they supplied you?
The FCC should fine them even more after this
And this was using the iPhone that they supplied you?
Yes - but they played fair - They refunded the deposit and claimed a "No Harm / No Foul"
As an AT&T customer, I want AT&T to throttle unlimited data plans. The idea that a few customers are degrading the LTE network downloading movie torrents or whatever is ridiculous -- hardly the most efficient use of limited spectrum and bandwidth.
This is one of the biggest loads of bull I've read from ATT. It's also a huge reason why a friend of mine dumped them recently for a smaller carrier to save money because he's deaf and needs to text under an unlimited plan. But they offered something else that he didn't want.
I'm also pet of the deaf demographic here in VT which is very small. Most I've known relied on Sprint Relay for an exclusive data only plan under 3G or higher ( LTE ). Coverage around here is not that bad but could be better even though it gets the job done. The only drawback is that any incoming voice calls are blocked but outgoing calls are on a surcharge.
However it is quite expensive at close to about $55 plus the data fee that comes up close to about $65 a month.
Unfortunately there is no T-Mobile coverage and only the big three ( Verizon, ATT and Sprint ).
I was told by my friend that ATT tried to throttle him at one point and it had been an issue with others. Throttling deaf customers who rely on unlimited text and data is wrong. I wasn't quite impressed with ATT's data offering as capped and ridiculous.
It's especially true when I rely on it for local GPS driving and data usage on Dropbox or other apps for my visual art/design profession.
To say throttling doesn't hurt customers is BS. It harms our ability to communicate or do business.
I'm also pet of the deaf demographic here in VT which is very small. Most I've known relied on Sprint Relay for an exclusive data only plan under 3G or higher ( LTE ). Coverage around here is not that bad but could be better even though it gets the job done. The only drawback is that any incoming voice calls are blocked but outgoing calls are on a surcharge.
However it is quite expensive at close to about $55 plus the data fee that comes up close to about $65 a month.
Unfortunately there is no T-Mobile coverage and only the big three ( Verizon, ATT and Sprint ).
I was told by my friend that ATT tried to throttle him at one point and it had been an issue with others. Throttling deaf customers who rely on unlimited text and data is wrong. I wasn't quite impressed with ATT's data offering as capped and ridiculous.
It's especially true when I rely on it for local GPS driving and data usage on Dropbox or other apps for my visual art/design profession.
To say throttling doesn't hurt customers is BS. It harms our ability to communicate or do business.
"Fair" is a very subjective word and means different things to different people. If you had an unlimited plan, it said in the contract you would be throttled after 5GB. To the law, which is what they are trying to fine them on, what they did was legal and fair. To the comsumer, you may feel unfair, but they shouldnt be fined because you feel bad about their business. You should just leave their business. Problem solved.
As much as I dislike data throttling, I have to agree with AT&T on this. The FCC is using extortion and the 100m number is definitely plucked out of thin air. The U.S. Government is bankrupt, so its preying on big corporations, looking for ways to fine them to bring in revenue. They realize that the average citizen loathes these big companies (just look at these comments), so these money hungry government agencies assume the role as savior in the eyes of citizens.
I'm personally not a fan of AT&T. I've been a customer of theirs since the original iPhone, but have only stuck with them due to lack of compelling alternatives. I always feel like I'm getting nickel and dined by them and if a compelling alternative provided a way to jump ship I'd do it in a heart beat. At the same time, AT&T can't force me to be their customer and I have voluntarily given them my money.
On the other hand, the government is doling out erroneous fines with the threat of law behind them. That's far more of an injustice and more of a threat to me as a citizen. This isn't just happening to big corporations, but individuals as well. I understand the AT&T bashing, but the government is out of control and are the bad guys here. Cheering them on will only strengthen their vice grip on the America.
I'm personally not a fan of AT&T. I've been a customer of theirs since the original iPhone, but have only stuck with them due to lack of compelling alternatives. I always feel like I'm getting nickel and dined by them and if a compelling alternative provided a way to jump ship I'd do it in a heart beat. At the same time, AT&T can't force me to be their customer and I have voluntarily given them my money.
On the other hand, the government is doling out erroneous fines with the threat of law behind them. That's far more of an injustice and more of a threat to me as a citizen. This isn't just happening to big corporations, but individuals as well. I understand the AT&T bashing, but the government is out of control and are the bad guys here. Cheering them on will only strengthen their vice grip on the America.
They all do it to their unlimited data customers. Even T-Mobile will throttle you after 21 GB of data. I still think that with my FAN discount they are the best deal in town at least equal to T-Mobile in price and much better coverage.
I was previously on Verizon Wireless who charges $40 per line still for a paid for phone. At least with AT&T, once you buy the phone, you still only pay the $15. I will say that I am not a fan of the $15 activation fee, purely a greed move. If you don't want to subsidize customer phones anymore I get that, but then to charge them for the "privilege" of joining your network is ludicrous.
I was previously on Verizon Wireless who charges $40 per line still for a paid for phone. At least with AT&T, once you buy the phone, you still only pay the $15. I will say that I am not a fan of the $15 activation fee, purely a greed move. If you don't want to subsidize customer phones anymore I get that, but then to charge them for the "privilege" of joining your network is ludicrous.
Total bullox. They throttle and it does impact customers. My speeds would drastically drop and pages would barely load. If it was an emergency I was always screwed. Easily a petition there!
You quite clearly don't understand the issues.
The only way to provide uninterrupted connection is to provide enough bandwidth and improve the network or not to offer unlimited plans in the first place.
They are guilty of offering unlimited and providing a capped, throttled connection. That is against the rules and not part of the word 'UNLIMITED'.
FCC fining this behaviour is well within the publics interest to stop this practise of miss selling services to customers!
I don't get how you are defending that? Throttling isn't acceptable in anyway. It happens with broadband too and they all should be hauled in and spanked too. If you advertise unlimited use you have to provide that if you can't don't. SIMPLE
Here is another idea to the settlement, give the unlimited plans back to those who had it and was tricked out of it. !!!!
If AT&T had been smart, the unlimited data plan would be stuck at the network speed that was available when the plan was entered into. I don't see any reason why LTE speeds necessarily should be offered to unlimited plans that AT&T stopped offering while the network was only 3G.
"Unlimited data". You don't get limited on the amount of data you can download/upload, just on the speeds.
I don't agree with AT&T, but that's a valid defense for me.
That's only if you're in an area that's seeing heavy congestion, in which case it might be hard to even differentiate throttling and said heavy congestion. I used 70GB last period and never saw a hint of throttling. Currently at 50GB and can still exceed 100Mbps download speeds.