AT&T has started cutting their data speeds as part of an attempt to man

By ogamawab
in Back Page News

 Share

Recommended Posts

Community Regular

ogamawab

Posted
Posted

http://news.yahoo.com/t-customers-surprised-unlimited-data-limit-080906861.html

Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games.

But in the past few weeks, there has been none of that, becauseAT&T Inc. put a virtual wheel clamp on his phone. Web pages wouldn't load and maps wouldn't render. Forget about YouTube videos ? Trang's data speeds were reduced to dial-up levels.

"It basically makes my phone useless," said Trang, an Orange County, Calif. property manager.

The reason: AT&T considers Trang to be among the top 5 percent of the heaviest cellular data users in his area. Under a new policy,AT&T has started cutting their data speeds as part of an attempt to manage data usage on its network.

So last month, AT&T "throttled" Trang's iPhone, slowing downloads by roughly 99 percent. That means a Web page that would normally take a second to load instead took almost two minutes.

AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans that can be subject to throttling, representing just under half of its smartphone users. It stopped signing up new customers for those plans in 2010, and warned last year that it would start slowing speeds for people who consume the most data.

What's surprising people like Trang is how little data use it takes to reach that level ? sometimes less than AT&T gives people on its "limited" plans.

Trang's iPhone was throttled just two weeks into his billing cycle, after he'd consumed 2.3 gigabytes of data. He pays $30 per month for "unlimited" data. Meanwhile, Dallas-based AT&T now sells a limited, or "tiered," plan that provides 3 gigabytes of data for the same price. read more at the link...

time to switch over to T-Mobile...

I feel sorry for all you AT&T Iphone users...

Grand Master

_neutrino Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

I think it is rather stupid that they are able to do this. so long as you stay within the bounds of your policy (whatever amount you pay for) I do not see how they can justify throttling or whatnot.

Mentor

cybertimber2008

Posted
Posted

I think it is rather stupid that they are able to do this. so long as you stay within the bounds of your policy (whatever amount you pay for) I do not see how they can justify throttling or whatnot.

I don't agree with it either, however according to this article: http://wraltechwire....gpost/10721059/

Tallman sees few prospects for a lawsuit against AT&T. The company is still providing unlimited data usage to throttled customers, even if the speeds are so low as to make the phone useless for anything but phone calls and text messages. The company made no promises that "unlimited" data would always be coupled with high speeds, he notes.

"They just guaranteed the highway. They didn't guarantee the speed limit," he said.

Edit: I'd argue that I'm not receiving 3G speeds however.

Veteran

+Chsoriano Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

I recently received a warning about my data usage- so I cheeked my usage and I've only used 2.2 GB. That's ridiculous!

The cutoff should not be "top 5%" because the "limit" would vary month to month. They should not be allowed to treat customers like this. The point at which they throttle "unlimited" customers should not be lower than the other plans.

Grand Master

jnelsoninjax

Posted
Posted

I never have had cell service from AT&T, but when I had Clear(wire) for an ISP, they did the same thing to me, if I simply just browsed and played a few games online, suddenly my speeds dropped to bellow dial-up speeds. The ever so unhelpful tech support blamed an automatic 'system' that basically created QOS rules for anyone who used more than average data... So I can completely relate to people who experience this stuff.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Office Chair review: The Ikea of chairs

      By froggyliver · Posted

      I like mesh chairs like this, but not being able to lock in the back would make it not work for me. Also, I don't like arm rests at all. Can you not install them and the chair still work? Any recommendations on alternative chairs?
    • The Trump administration doesn't want you to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 without its approval

      By excalpius · Posted

      As before, my notes are in your quoted section. To be clear, you started posting racist, fascist nonsense. And I always challenge lies and the liars that peddle them. Why? Because the truth matters.
    • Onkyo Dolby Atmos AV receivers are really solid deals

      By Thiefyo · Posted

      Deal for those who want 1900 size electronics in their house? with 2026/7 hardware mhm.. not nice
    • Why it's almost impossible to produce a smartphone in the United States

      By ad47uk · Posted

      Cheap labour, the same as the U.K. China pays their people pittance.
    • The Trump administration doesn't want you to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 without its approval

      By ad47uk · Posted

      Those people that come over here on boats are already in a safe country, if they want to come over here then do so correctly though the right channels. I was born in the U.K, my family that came over here came so via the proper means. My partner came here via the correct channels, she also became a British citizen, she knows more about this country than most of them that was born here, including myself, she worked hard to do what she does. She will stick up for this country and have done a few times, when people from her own part of world have put the U.K down. We are not going to agree, all I said to start with is that maybe Trump has the right idea with this America first thing and maybe we should start doing the same. Maybe not as drastic as what he is doing, but we do need to sort this country out, we need to sort out tech instead of relying on the U.S and others. Again you have not shown why you are so annoyed that we have left the E.U and this is what it is all about? If you don't live in the U.K and live in the E.U are you annoyed that we left your little club? If you live in the U.K and is pro-E.U, then fair enough then I can see how it annoys you. Are you one of these people who lives in the U.K and have a holiday chalet in the E.U and can now only stay there for so long? If so, then that is bad luck. As I have posted before, I have no problem with people coming here to work, as long as they do if via the proper channels. We are out of the E.U, people voted out, and maybe if more people had voted instead of sitting on their backsides the results would have been different. But they like the E.U and our government thought no we would not vote to leave. How wrong they were, surprised me. I expected to wake up in the morning and hear on the radio that we voted to stay. As I said, we are out and have been for 10 years, we are not going to go back in anytime soon if we ever do, so we all need to make the best of how things are. Anyway, this is supposed to be a tech site.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      502
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      215
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      macoman
      62
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!