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I hate to say this. And please someone challenge what I have to say. Could AT&T argue the fact that they do provide "unlimited data". And that slowing down the speed after 5GB has no relation to "unlimited data". I'm sure we could all use 10GB or 20 GB on our unlimited data plans. They haven't stopped that. They have just slowed down the rate of speed on our data.

That's entirely true. What irks me is the fact that they will throttle an "unlimited" user after 5GB because they claim it puts a strain on the network. However, they'll sell you a 100GB/mo data plan that will not be throttled at all.
 
its about time perhaps we should take this time to remember the definition of the term UNLIMITED

un·lim·it·ed
ˌənˈlimidəd/
adjective
not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.
 
Update 11:15 AM PT: AT&T has given a statement to MacRumors in response to the FTC's "baffling" complaint, stating that the allegations are "baseless" and that it has been "completely transparent" with customers.

at&t, you mad bro?
 
I hate to say this. And please someone challenge what I have to say. Could AT&T argue the fact that they do provide "unlimited data". And that slowing down the speed after 5GB has no relation to "unlimited data". I'm sure we could all use 10GB or 20 GB on our unlimited data plans. They haven't stopped that. They have just slowed down the rate of speed on our data.

Degrading the service past a certain point is effectively not providing "unlimited" data. That is, the courts will recognize an end run around the "unlimited" clause and treat it as such. Plenty of examples of this in other areas of law.

AT&T will lose this. They aren't degrading based solely on necessity or congestion control, they are just capping people to force them off unlimited plans.
 
Trottle?

At what point do they throttle?

My iPhone 5 was grandfathered in for the unlimited and I still use like 7GB of data on average. I have never noticed any difference. I know the LTE is better than Wi-Fi, so I usually use LTE everything.

I drive from Salem to Portland and stream music and it never pauses or refreshes up and down I-5.

I am close to selling my iPhone 5 to get the 6, hopefully AT&T doesn't do anything with my plan, although it would be nice to have a tethering, or instant wi-fi hotspot as a part of my unlimited data, so that I can use my iPad Mini on the go.

Time will tell.
 
I hate to say this. And please someone challenge what I have to say. Could AT&T argue the fact that they do provide "unlimited data". And that slowing down the speed after 5GB has no relation to "unlimited data". I'm sure we could all use 10GB or 20 GB on our unlimited data plans. They haven't stopped that. They have just slowed down the rate of speed on our data.

I agree with you. I don't see it as false advertising. "Unlimited data" does not necessarily mean "at unlimited speeds." It could, but it doesn't have to. And since AT&T did in fact notify users -- in a variety of ways -- that they were going to do this, I don't see it as misleading, either.

The one caveat I'll add is that if they slow the data *enough,* it in effect becomes a limit because you can't really do anything with a few kbps download. The complaint says 80-90%, which is a lot, but I could see 10-20% of LTE speeds still being usable for many things (I often get 20+ mbps down on AT&T LTE, so 10-20% is still 2-4 mbps, which is not great better than most of us had for many years at full 3G speeds).
 
So, I'm guessing that AT&T has been offering the "double your data" plan this month because they knew this action was coming. Wonder if AT&T was trying to get as many UD users to jump ship because they expect to lose this battle?
 
I don't think AT&T is in a good position to completely remove the unlimited data plan with so many other offerings around. They will lose most of the grandfathered users since, I think, if you're still grandfathered you knew how to keep it that way and it is important to you.
 
Hell yes. Glad I kept it!

Finally!! Here we go, and give me teathering too. Kthnx

I was thinking the same thing!

Just got my 5GB threshold throttling text today. :cool:

Ironic.


I keep hearing people getting text.. I don't, I just find out that i'm being throttled when I'm streaming NFL Sunday Ticket on my iPhone and suddenly it just stops working. I go to search if there are any issues and Safari just drags bc my speed is pretty much useless.

damn what to do .. switch to share plan and get 30gb or stay with unlimited with the hope they will stop throttling .. only 3 more days :(

I was debating the same thing for the past few weeks. With this news it makes it a lot easier. I'm just going to wait.
 
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I had a feeling something was going on when AT&T offered their limited "double data" plan until the end of Oct. Especially after Verizon decided to back off throttling their unlimited users. My guess is that we'll at least get to use the "double data" rate promotional rate as part of any agreement if they decided to just end the unlimited plans. But I'd prefer to keep mine if that's an option.
 
I agree with you. I don't see it as false advertising. "Unlimited data" does not necessarily mean "at unlimited speeds." It could, but it doesn't have to. And since AT&T did in fact notify users -- in a variety of ways -- that they were going to do this, I don't see it as misleading, either.

The one caveat I'll add is that if they slow the data *enough,* it in effect becomes a limit because you can't really do anything with a few kbps download. The complaint says 80-90%, which is a lot, but I could see 10-20% of LTE speeds still being usable for many things (I often get 20+ mbps down on AT&T LTE, so 10-20% is still 2-4 mbps, which is not great better than most of us had for many years at full 3G speeds).

Thanks for the feedback!
 
That's the most common answer I get when I ask people why they stay with AT&T: "I'm grandfathered into an unlimited contract."
When I point out that the throttling is such that they will have unusable data if they go past the relatively low limit, they say that they never go over, but they keep the unlimited "just in case."
The only problem is that should they ever need it, they won't get it. And meanwhile they're paying way too much for a lousy limited plan. I don't understand people.

You hit the nail on the head dude, my fiancé kills me with that! All she thinks is that "it's unlimited! woohoo! I'm ripping off AT&T!" and she uses 2-3 GB of data a month.. I got kicked off for tethering, which is BS too, but now I have 10 gigs of data and it never gets throttled, for pretty much the same price. Capped is what it is, but as long as AT&T is allowed to throttle, having unlimited makes no sense.
 
Talk about a contradiction:

(AT&T) manages its network resources to provide the best possible service to all customers...

In addition, this program has affected only about 3% of our customers

So AT&T claims that throttling is necessary to maintain the integrity of the network, yet, would the 3% of customers who go over 5GB of data really make that much of a difference?
 
I agree with you. I don't see it as false advertising. "Unlimited data" does not necessarily mean "at unlimited speeds." It could, but it doesn't have to. And since AT&T did in fact notify users -- in a variety of ways -- that they were going to do this, I don't see it as misleading, either.

The one caveat I'll add is that if they slow the data *enough,* it in effect becomes a limit because you can't really do anything with a few kbps download. The complaint says 80-90%, which is a lot, but I could see 10-20% of LTE speeds still being usable for many things (I often get 20+ mbps down on AT&T LTE, so 10-20% is still 2-4 mbps, which is not great better than most of us had for many years at full 3G speeds).

Yep.
 
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States today filed a federal court complaint against AT&T, accusing the carrier of misleading its smartphone customers by charging them for unlimited data while reducing their data speeds by up to 90 percent.

According to the FTC, AT&T did not adequately explain to customers with unlimited data plans that they would be throttled if they reached a certain amount of data during a billing cycle. AT&T also did not inform customers of the throttling when they renewed their unlimited contracts.

AT&T ceased offering unlimited data plans to customers several years ago, but has allowed Grandfathered customers to retain those plans. AT&T implemented throttling shortly after eliminating its unlimited data plans, initially restricting throttling to only its highest usage customers but later capping data for everyone on an unlimited plan. Currently, customers on unlimited plans are able to use 5GB of LTE data or 3GB of 3G data, after which AT&T throttles their data speeds.

The FTC alleges that AT&T throttled customers who had used as little as 2GB of data beginning in 2011, and that the throttling is severe, "resulting in speed reductions of 80 to 90 percent for affected users." AT&T is said to have throttled 3.5 million customers more than 25 million times, violating the FTC Act in the process.

Update 11:15 AM PT: AT&T has given a statement to MacRumors in response to the FTC's "baffling" complaint, stating that the allegations are "baseless" and that it has been "completely transparent" with customers.

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

The outcome of this will most likely be that the next time you try to renew your UDP contract, you will not be able to keep UDP. They are not obligated to offer it at renewal. Either that, or they'll go to the Verizon model where you have to pay full price for the phone to keep UDP. Either way, those of us who are on UDP and don't usually exceed the 5GB are screwed. And I'd imagine there are quite a few of us. I think I've only gone over 5GB in one month in many years.
 
I never receive a text message from AT&T when I get throttle so I just contacted AT&T asking why. Apparently if you're on the "no solicitation" list then you won't get the text warning. I argued that a warning text is not solicitation, but that's how their automated system is set-up. I went ahead and had myself removed from the list so I can track at what point I get throttle for documentation purposes.

Getting throttle at 5 GBs doesn't bother me that much, but if I'm getting throttle at 3 GBs then that's a different story.
 
Remember unlimited data in the iPad1?

Now that was a classic bait-and-switch move by AT&T. They advertised unlimited data on the iPad for $30 per month. Then, immediately after it came out, they informed you that in order to get unlimited data, you had to maintain an uninterrupted month-to-month subscription. Once you elected to not use a month, you lost the UDP opportunity forever. I was very pissed as many were about this.
 
Great news! I gave up my Unlimited because of the throttling nonsense, but I'd be super happy to see current grandfathered people get some justice.




:apple:
 
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