FYI: Verizon “throttling” plans!

[fireshot91]

Eh, I'm not surprised.


AT&T does something, Verizon follows soon after.


Verizon does something, AT&T follows soon after.


They basically have a monopoly. A combined one. They plan out their prices together, I'm sure.

 

[ap3604]

Common people.... "Read" between the lines!
You don't think LTE is gonna get throttled soon ?
At LTE speed, 2gigs ? Lol
Some people are so naive ...;-)

Exactly.

People who want to bury their heads in the sand and say "Verizon won't throttle LTE nope nope nope" are really just kidding themselves to make themselves feel better about their carrier choice.

Verizon killed off grandfathered unlimited 3g with merely a few words "throttling after 2 gigs". They can and, just as easily, will do the same to LTE soon enough

 

[Votekinky06]

After a week of slow data speeds, I called c/s and got confirmation that I was put on "Data Optimization" on 12/11 and will be there until 12/20. Month to date I have used 3.1gb. They said it will only be in effect while under "Congested Towers", but apparently that includes all towers in the greater Houston area. I asked what the threshold is and that information is "not available", but they encouraged me to sign up for a metered plan to avoid this problem. Dicks. I'm on "Data OPTIMIZATION"?!?! Talk about a silk dress on a pig.... I'll be moving to another carrier ASAP.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

After a week of slow data speeds, I called c/s and got confirmation that I was put on "Data Optimization" on 12/11 and will be there until 12/20. Month to date I have used 3.1gb. They said it will only be in effect while under "Congested Towers", but apparently that includes all towers in the greater Houston area. I asked what the threshold is and that information is "not available", but they encouraged me to sign up for a metered plan to avoid this problem. Dicks. I'm on "Data OPTIMIZATION"?!?! Talk about a silk dress on a pig.... I'll be moving to another carrier ASAP.

Are you with VZW or AT&T? Either way it doesn't matter. What bothers me most is that if you leave, there's no way to get back that unlimited plan. What you should do is write a letter of complaint to the FCC. Basically it appears they want to frustrate you to the point where you conform or you leave - but they know you won't leave because unlimited plans are no longer offered. It's appalling behavior. While they don't promise any speed, it is implied. Besides, if we really are only 5% of the total data consumers, I seriously doubt we are using upwards of 50% or more of the data. Either way I'm very disappointed.

 

[marksman]

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Eh, I'm not surprised.


AT&T does something, Verizon follows soon after.


Verizon does something, AT&T follows soon after.


They basically have a monopoly. A combined one. They plan out their prices together, I'm sure.

Just for educational purposes that is known as a duopoly, but your description is spot on.

 

[snourse]

How much should a data cap be?

I'm on AT&T unlimited, and have never gone over 2GB... that is until I got an iPhone 4S AND iCloud AND iTunes match, all around the same time. From the graph below can you guess when??

This month I'm at 4GB usage 1/3 of the way through.

While 2GB used to be enough for the majority of people, the current trend towards cloud based storage will cause many more people to bump into these limits.

Question for those who are throttled- How slow is the connection when throttled? Can you stream iTunes Match songs without long pauses and stutters? Will restoring from an iCloud backup work? Netflix?

This is a bad trend, I fear...

 

[AustinIllini]

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Just for educational purposes that is known as a duopoly, but your description is spot on.

Well played. I understand throttling when it come to network abuse (using your phone for a hot spot for every computer you own), but 2 gigs isn't abuse, and Sprint throttles your network no matter how much data you use (sucks). Something has got to give at some point.

 

[Votekinky06]

I am on VZW. It's almost impossible to watch YouTube, and IS impossible to watch Netflix. It's really really bad, even during basic web browsing.

 

[verwon]

I'm on AT&T unlimited, and have never gone over 2GB... that is until I got an iPhone 4S AND iCloud AND iTunes match, all around the same time. From the graph below can you guess when??

Image

This month I'm at 4GB usage 1/3 of the way through.

While 2GB used to be enough for the majority of people, the current trend towards cloud based storage will cause many more people to bump into these limits.

Question for those who are throttled- How slow is the connection when throttled? Can you stream iTunes Match songs without long pauses and stutters? Will restoring from an iCloud backup work? Netflix?

This is a bad trend, I fear...

iTunes Match only streams when it first starts downloading a song.

 

[verwon]

Well played. I understand throttling when it come to network abuse (using your phone for a hot spot for every computer you own), but 2 gigs isn't abuse, and Sprint throttles your network no matter how much data you use (sucks). Something has got to give at some point.

Sprint doesn't throttle, they just have a slower network.

 

[slippery-pete]

Verizon? No....before they got the iPhone people would lead you to believe they were the greatest thing ever.

 

[iSayuSay]

Yeah .. I don't see no point of having enhanced speed on iPhone 4S or any other "LTE" smartphone then, it's just to make you reach data cap and being throttled faster...

What's the point then? Just for tech demo?? Look .. I can have 5Mbps on my Verizon iPhone .. well as long as you don't go over 2 GB download

 

[Stealthipad]

Before long every carrier will charge for bandwidth used.

 

[snourse]

iTunes Match only streams when it first starts downloading a song.

Right-- but I'm not sure why that would matter. Whether you are streaming / downloading as you go (which caches the song in your library), or downloading playlists in fell swoops, the entire 256Kbs (in most cases) song is getting streamed/downloaded-- that's 5-12 MB per song. It adds up!

And if your connection can't keep up with the initial buffering while streaming/downloading on the fly, the song will pause, stutter, or sometimes get automatically skipped- this happens a lot while on AT&T's Edge network. If Verizon's throttling is severe enough it may trigger the same problems as well.

 

[dirtbikng8]

Are you with VZW or AT&T? Either way it doesn't matter. What bothers me most is that if you leave, there's no way to get back that unlimited plan. What you should do is write a letter of complaint to the FCC. Basically it appears they want to frustrate you to the point where you conform or you leave - but they know you won't leave because unlimited plans are no longer offered. It's appalling behavior. While they don't promise any speed, it is implied. Besides, if we really are only 5% of the total data consumers, I seriously doubt we are using upwards of 50% or more of the data. Either way I'm very disappointed.

i just purchased a 4s off of ebay so i could stay on unlimited, same thing i did when i purchased my droid pro back in feb coming from a bb. but not it seems that i will get screwed if i go over 2gb even with unlimited.

 

[Diode]

Exactly.

People who want to bury their heads in the sand and say "Verizon won't throttle LTE nope nope nope" are really just kidding themselves to make themselves feel better about their carrier choice.

Verizon killed off grandfathered unlimited 3g with merely a few words "throttling after 2 gigs". They can and, just as easily, will do the same to LTE soon enough

The block C restrictions that Verizon LTE run on specifically state that who ever owns it can not limit the user in any shape or form - this includes limiting the bandwidth. So if they ever did throttle LTE they would be in violation of their agreement with the government.

 

[fort]

Te block C restrictions that Verizon LTE run on specifically state that who ever owns it can not limit the user in any shape or form - this includes limiting the bandwidth. So if they ever did throttle LTE they would be in violation of their agreement with the government.

Can you back this up or give us any proof?

 

[Diode]

Can you back this up or give us any proof?

Yea it was in the original agreement with the FCC. Look up the open access restrictions - basically the open access provision requires Verizon to “not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block network.”

It is also why people are tethering on Verizon's LTE network and they can't do anything about it.

 

[ap3604]

Yea it was in the original agreement with the FCC. Look up the open access restrictions - basically the open access provision requires Verizon to “not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block network.”

It is also why people are tethering on Verizon's LTE network and they can't do anything about it.

Wow way to back your #&*! up with proof Diode. I tip my hat to you for the good information thanks

I wonder if ATT has the same type of agreement with their LTE network?

I have unlimited data now with them and its basically worthless atm since if you go over a certain amount they will throttle your 3G connection... but if they allow you to keep unlimited when they switch to LTE AND they cant throttle you then

 

[Diode]

Wow way to back your #&*! up with proof Diode. I tip my hat to you for the good information thanks

I wonder if ATT has the same type of agreement with their LTE network?

I have unlimited data now with them and its basically worthless atm since if you go over a certain amount they will throttle your 3G connection... but if they allow you to keep unlimited when they switch to LTE AND they cant throttle you then

I don't believe any of AT&T's spectrum has restrictions.

 

[F123D]

I currently have an "unlimited" AT$T data plan but wonder if I should switch to verizons 4gb data plan for $30 with the galaxy nexus. It's not unlimited but at least I know I have 4gb and won't worry about throttling after 2gb.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

i just purchased a 4s off of ebay so i could stay on unlimited, same thing i did when i purchased my droid pro back in feb coming from a bb. but not it seems that i will get screwed if i go over 2gb even with unlimited.

Are you saying that if I were to get a new subsidized phone, I would forfeit my unlimited plan?

 

[DroidRules]

Verizon: "HURRY come buy the iphone 4 quick and lock in unlimited data before it goes away!!!"

Customer: "OK I won't be able to get the iphone 5 like I want but at least I have unlimited data"

Verizon: "Yeeeaaah about that... By "unlimited" data we meant limited data with 2 months of throttling if you go over 2gb. But thanks for wasting your upgrade early on an iphone 4, we really appreciate it!"

Not defending any company but throttled unlimited is still unlimited. Where in any cell contract does it say you are guaranteed X internet speed?

The high data hogs should be throttled but not at 2gig IMHO. You're still getting your unlimited data but if you choose to abuse the network you pay the price. You want to keep high data speeds over 2gig stay on wifi.