Think AT&T’s data throttling of unlimited users around the same time a new iPhone launches is coincidence? Think again. AT&T has already been burned once twice three times…aw hell, a lot by a truck load of iPhone users gobbling down astronomical amounts of data. With the iPhone 5 launching to what seems like it’s greatest fan fare yet, AT&T faces an even bigger amount of people ready and waiting to flog the carrier’s network. And if AT&T/Apple manage to sneak in support for their faster HSPA+ 21 Mbps network, the good times could end rather quickly, launching us back to 2008 and the days in which the world witnessed AT&T’s network literally implode.

As much as we hate it, AT&T has to do something. And spending the money that’s needed to beef up their network is simply out of the question. (Hey, rich people gotta have their $5,000 shoe laces). So the only other rational solution is to penalize you, the consumer in the form of throttled data speeds. The shocker, however, is that this new throttling will pertain to AT&T’s users who have kept their grandfathered unlimited data plans.

Add 1 + 1, multiply by 2 and halve the result and you’ll get the same answer we did — AT&T’s new throttled data plans could very well drop with the new iPhone. If AT&T wants to protect their network for the fresh onslaught of data chugging consumers on new iPhone 5′s this fall, it almost makes sense — though we still don’t agree with it — for AT&T to make use of throttling.

As for unlimited data users who thought they were set when AT&T told them they could grandfather their unlimited data plans over “forever” — sorry, AT&T lied. Again.

Via: Nexus