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

[cmwade77]

I was thinking the same exact thing when I first saw headline....

The problem is that the grandfathered plans are protected by law, at least in California and it may be a nationwide thing.

Basically they are not allowed to change your plan without your express permission.

Verizon got around this by saying the terms of an upgrade is that you are giving your permission to change the plan. But that took until it was time to upgrade your phone before that occurred.

If we were to lose unlimited data here, we would simply take our 30 or so business lines to T-Mobile that offers unlimited data with a high speed cap. The difference there is T-Mobile only slows you down one data level, so if you normally get 4G LTE at a specific location, it goes to 4G, if it would normally be 4G, it drops to 3G, etc.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Is unlimited data and not unlimited speed *hides*

 

[Parasprite]

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.

MacRumors forum response: "lol k"

 

[movieator]

I have "Unlimited Data"
But when I hit 5gb, they send me a nasty letter
What part of "unlimited" don't they not understand?

Clinton argued the definition of "is". Why does this shock you?

 

[sviato]

If they lose I don't think they'll stop throttling, this is about notifications of throttling so they'll just start spamming you daily with throttling notifications.

 

[ihonda]

Funny I get throttled monthly and never get a single text about it. **** this company

 

[McDaddio]

I respectfully disagree with this analogy.

I'm sitting at the table for the next hour only to receive 2 additional bites of a breadstick. Sure, I've still got "unlimited breadsticks" but let's face it, it's bull-****.

besides being a terrible analogy, it again demonstrates the entitlement mentality.

you believe that you should be served by the waiter as fast as YOU want.

If the restaurant is packed and the stoves can't bake as many breadsticks as customers want, of course there will be a delay.

Protip: not many businesses engineer their delivery based on serving peak demand, and those that do, probably have a very high cost of service.

 

[SK360]

I have never received a text message or notification about being throttled yet every month I can tell exactly when I hit over 5GB.

 

[Kabeyun]

If they need help getting unbaffled, they can always give my throttled butt a call.

 

[pdaholic]

I held out on my unlimited plan from the first iPhone in 2007 until last month. The limitations of my supposed "unlimited plan" became painfully obvious to me in the months approaching my wedding day. We had all kinds of people we were emailing, texting, etc and I was hitting my 5Gb limit and getting throttled. So frustrating trying to get things done with the bandwidth cut to a trickle. So, I finally decided that "why should I keep paying extra each month to preserver an unlimited plan that for all intents and purposes is really no better than a 5Gb plan?" So, I jumped ship and got onto a family share plan, saved a bit of money and now have tethering--which of course I don't use because I don't want to push over my new cap

Z

Thanks for the input, Z. Yeah tethering sounds enticing, but you're right, I'll just be stressing over going over the cap. I'm interested to see what happens with this FTC litigation. I feel fairly certain that whatever the outcome, it won't benefit us with grandfathered plans.

 

[McDaddio]

If they lose I don't think they'll stop throttling, this is about notifications of throttling so they'll just start spamming you daily with throttling notifications.

Is it really just about notifications?
If it is, they probably won't lose.
They have been very upfront about this from the beginning, and although I rarely read the small print, even I noticed it.

If they do lose, they will probably just change their grandfathering rules which they have been more generous than others - change your plan (which includes the phone), no more plan for you.

 

[kas23]

The way they do their throttling is very unfair. If it's meant to free-up bandwidth, then why should your phone by throttled at all times of the day? The throttling should only be implemented when it is needed, not late at night or early in the morning.

Plus, what is the reasoning behind throttling you for the entirety of the rest of your billing cycle? Why not continue throttling? Why not throttle for the rest of the day?

 

[Jibbajabba]

Regardless of what the outcome of this is, it's just another reminder that the US is very behind when it comes to IT. Period. On every level.

We pay too much for too little.
And every company has about ten too many "tiers" and spotty infrastructure.
You upgrade the technology and take gouging the consumer out of this equation and none of this is that complicated and messy.

You hear someone in Europe say they get totally unlimited wireless data at 50mbps second average speeds, and all the telephony services for $50 equivalent a month total, it's so damn annoying.

While our cell / mobile plans are indeed cheap in Europe / UK, we sometimes pay a 30% - 50% premium on products.

iPhone 6+ in US (largest model): $749
In UK: $1272

Same spec / no contract.

 

[pdaholic]

besides being a terrible analogy, it again demonstrates the entitlement mentality.

you believe that you should be served by the waiter as fast as YOU want.

If the restaurant is packed and the stoves can't bake as many breadsticks as customers want, of course there will be a delay.

Protip: not many businesses engineer their delivery based on serving peak demand, and those that do, probably have a very high cost of service.

Way to misinterpret. "Entitlement mentality"? Sounds like a drama queen response. Good gawd, heaven forbid I actually get what I pay for.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

This is an issue about making false representations, not about network management or any of the other bull*** being spouted by AT&T. When you advertise that something is "unlimited", then that is what you have to provide. You can't say "unlimited" and then say that means up to XGB per month. Then that isn't unlimited, is it?

Good for the FTC and I hope AT&T and everyone else who falsely advertises "unlimited data" gets nailed to the wall and hung from the rafters.

 

[vjscorp]

Courtesy alerts my ***

No alerts never.

 

[movieator]

While our cell / mobile plans are indeed cheap in Europe / UK, we sometimes pay a 30% - 50% premium on products.

iPhone 6+ in US (largest model): $749
In UK: $1272

Same spec / no contract.

True. I didn't factor that in.

Still doesn't change the fact that our infrastructure is garbage.

 

[kas23]

Protip: not many businesses engineer their delivery based on serving peak demand, and those that do, probably have a very high cost of service.

At restaurants and other service-related businesses (grocery stores, hospitals, etc), they do. More people are working at dinner time than in the middle of the afternoon. Even utility companies alter their energy management practices based on peak hours of use. In the hospital, certain services are greatly restricted during the overnight shift.

 

[terraphantm]

besides being a terrible analogy, it again demonstrates the entitlement mentality.

you believe that you should be served by the waiter as fast as YOU want.

If the restaurant is packed and the stoves can't bake as many breadsticks as customers want, of course there will be a delay.

Protip: not many businesses engineer their delivery based on serving peak demand, and those that do, probably have a very high cost of service.

That's not what's happening though.

What's happening is that even if the restaurant is not busy, they're limiting unlimited breadstick buyers to 1 or 2 breadsticks every few hours. While at the same time, people who pay for batches of 10 breadsticks can get them all at once even if the restaurant is over capacity.

 

[tbone7467]

Just got my 5GB threshold throttling text today.

Ironic.

Man that text seems random to me I get it sometime, sometimes I dont. for a longtime I dont think I was throttles until recently. I hope they give it to AT&T. I get throttled and people not on unlimited dont? how is that fair? I pay for connectivity also. I also cant use my data like other tiered plans cause I cant have hotspots.

 

[asylumsquared]

AT&T needs to stop justifying their reasons for throttling unlimited data plan holders. The only reason they do it is for more money. They want you to switch to a shared plan and charge you more because that's where the money is at.

I usually use about 12 GB a month and I am tired of having to reset AT&T's data counter. It never fails, as soon as I hit 5 GB my speeds go from 40 Mbps to .5 Mbps; that's a 99.9875% reduction!! Then I have to reset the data counter to get the 40 Mbps back. And low and behold as soon soon as I hit 10 GB my speeds are reduced again. I am ready for the month where I don't have to reset the counter just to get regular speeds again.

And come on AT&T, just admit that it's all about money. We aren't idiots...

 

[titans1127]

The problem is that the grandfathered plans are protected by law, at least in California and it may be a nationwide thing.

Basically they are not allowed to change your plan without your express permission.

Verizon got around this by saying the terms of an upgrade is that you are giving your permission to change the plan. But that took until it was time to upgrade your phone before that occurred.

If we were to lose unlimited data here, we would simply take our 30 or so business lines to T-Mobile that offers unlimited data with a high speed cap. The difference there is T-Mobile only slows you down one data level, so if you normally get 4G LTE at a specific location, it goes to 4G, if it would normally be 4G, it drops to 3G, etc.

T-Mobile actually throttles you down to Edge when you hit your data cap. Much slower than the .5Mbps that AT&T throttles to. IF anything T-Mobiles throttling is way more unusable.

 

[Macboy Pro]

Good going! AT&T deserved this! I couldn't be happier today.

AT&T = Always Tricky & Treacherous

LOL, ZERO chance this has legs. ZERO!!

 

[rjohnstone]

This is an issue about making false representations, not about network management or any of the other bull*** being spouted by AT&T. When you advertise that something is "unlimited", then that is what you have to provide. You can't say "unlimited" and then say that means up to XGB per month. Then that isn't unlimited, is it?

Good for the FTC and I hope AT&T and everyone else who falsely advertises "unlimited data" gets nailed to the wall and hung from the rafters.

Not this old argument again...
You are paying for unlimited data, not unlimited speeds.
Your plan is not data capped at all.

This is why I switched to T-Mobile.
They still offer an actual unlimited data plan with NO speed reductions.
Sure it's $30 a month on top of my base family plan rate, but it is unlimited in every way that matters. I even get 5GB of tethering per month with it.

 

[Macboy Pro]

AT&T needs to stop justifying their reasons for throttling unlimited data plan holders. The only reason they do it is for more money. They want you to switch to a shared plan and charge you more because that's where the money is at.

I usually use about 12 GB a month and I am tired of having to reset AT&T's data counter. It never fails, as soon as I hit 5 GB my speeds go from 40 Mbps to .5 Mbps; that's a 99.9875% reduction!! Then I have to reset the data counter to get the 40 Mbps back. And low and behold as soon soon as I hit 10 GB my speeds are reduced again. I am ready for the month where I don't have to reset the counter just to get regular speeds again.

And come on AT&T, just admit that it's all about money. We aren't idiots...

I agree, just remove the unlimited plan and make them pick a post 2007 plan. EASY... They have pandered to the leeches too long and now just need to end it.