FTC Sues AT&T Over 'Misleading' Unlimited Data Throttling Practices [Updated]

[JrFreak]

I've never been throttled. I got up to around 20GB a few months back. I don't use as much now but I like that I don't have to think about it when I do. =)

I don't understand why I get throttled every month the second I go over 5GB and some never get throttled. Pisses me off even more.

I filed a complaint with the FTC. AT&T has 30 days (like 15 now) to get back to me with a reply.

 

[HPLouis]

I don't understand why I get throttled every month the second I go over 5GB and some never get throttled. Pisses me off even more.

I filed a complaint with the FTC. AT&T has 30 days (like 15 now) to get back to me with a reply.

I get pissed off about that too. I get throttled right at 5GB in NYC but my daughter in VA hits 20GB's a month and never gets throttled.

 

[Nicksd84]

So like others my first reaction is that of COURSE unlimited means unlimited and that they shouldn't throttle after a certain amount. I have Verizon unlimited and enjoy that's it's truly unlimited and I can use it as a hotspot too. AT&T's perspective is generally that they are giving you an unlimited amount of data but controlling how fast you can actually use it.

Let me ask a similar question.

If I go into a restaurant that heavily advertises unlimited breadsticks, can I reasonably expect UNLIMITED breadsticks? Or is it reasonable for the restaurant to say sure, it's unlimited, but we'll only bring out 1 per person at the table at a time?

No. 1 Verizon came out with a plan to throttle and backed off after there was public action that it was being investigated.

No. 2 here's where your breadstick analogy falls woefully short. If they said it's unlimited 1 breadstick at a time per person, but we bring them out once an hour that would be more analogous. It's NOT that ATT throttled it's that they throttled to an unusable speed and the intent was to get you to buy up. Now with their recent change in policy they still throttle, sometimes I get 3-4 Mbps sometimes I get 15-20. I am perfectly fine with this because I can still use it and they're managing their network. The old hard cap throttle was ridiculous and was absolutely a negative business tactic to get you onto a better revenue stream for them. But screw them I stuck it out and have unlimited data managed appropriately!

 

[ayeying]

Honestly, even T-Mobile is throttling me during the day. The only time I get remotely good internet speed is at night. But I still manage somehow 80-100GB a month

 

[C DM]

No. 1 Verizon came out with a plan to throttle and backed off after there was public action that it was being investigated.

No. 2 here's where your breadstick analogy falls woefully short. If they said it's unlimited 1 breadstick at a time per person, but we bring them out once an hour that would be more analogous. It's NOT that ATT throttled it's that they throttled to an unusable speed and the intent was to get you to buy up. Now with their recent change in policy they still throttle, sometimes I get 3-4 Mbps sometimes I get 15-20. I am perfectly fine with this because I can still use it and they're managing their network. The old hard cap throttle was ridiculous and was absolutely a negative business tactic to get you onto a better revenue stream for them. But screw them I stuck it out and have unlimited data managed appropriately!

To be fair Verizon had much more involved in all of that given the regulations it agreed to when purchasing it's LTE spectrum.

 

[baypharm]

I am happy to see that AT&T is being hit with a 100 million dollar fine - that's whole lot of cash for those of us making less than $300,000 a year. They deserve a larger fine for their criminal ways. Unfortunately this is a civil action so no prison time for their CEO. When a company advertises and a customer pays for unlimited data usage - and that data is throttled - it no longer becomes unlimited. The AT&T fan boys and girls who defended AT&T against those of us who use hundreds of gigabytes a month will probably be crying their eyes out tonight. AT&T sold unlimited data plans before tablets, smartphones, apps, video streaming services, and audio streaming became a huge hit. They gave their customers what they wanted - got them hooked - and now in their quest for even more money, took it all away. Much like a pain doctor gets their patients hooked on Xanax and Soma, they will become patients for life - willing to pay anything to maintain that fix. Luckily I am on Verizon unlimited data and never have been throttled. I consistently use hundreds of gigs a month all at 4G lTE. I'm loving it!