When AT&T announced that they were doing away with their unlimited plan back in the summer of 2010, it made us sad. Capped data just isn’t a good solution for customers. Some joy could be found, however, in the fact that unlimited data users could be grandfathered into the future with their free-for-all data plans after capped data plans took effect.
Fast forward a few months and then AT&T’s anti-consumer habits grew stronger; they started throttling customers on unlimited plans who were in the “top 5%” of data users on their network. Ok. Fair enough. How much is that? AT&T wouldn’t tell us. Eventually, AT&T relented that the throttling figure was a sliding number based on location and current network load at any given point in time — a very vague response that frankly gives them the ability to do whatever they want, when they want. Based off of numerous personal accounts on Twitter, Facebook, individual websites, forums, etc., the original throttling threshold was in the 4-5 GB range.
And now in early 2012 AT&T is once again taking another chance to screw us over by lowering the threshold for data throttling threshold further…
We all knew it was coming — T-Mobile USA is joining the ranks of AT&T in actively marketing their data restriction policies. While all of the major US carriers have always maintained the right to cut you off if you plowed through a magical, unknown threshold. In the age of smartphone dominance, however, that limit is now finally being more clearly defined — albeit at absurdly low limits. But unlike AT&T’s overly expensive and restrictive data plans, T-Mobile actually does it right. Instead of employing a strict data cap, after which you’ll have to pay for extra data, T-Mobile is using a speed throttling approach.
Under the new plan, eclipsing 5GB in any one month will get your data rate chopped. From the sound of things, it’ll be pretty drastic to discourage further over eating. How much it’s throttled looks to be a little more ambiguous, with T-Mobile stating that it’ll be “based on your device”.
Press release inside…
No one likes to see their “unlimited” data plan that they pay for each month shackled and stoned into limited oblivion. But that’s exactly what is sweeping across the mobile industry as of late. (Thanks AT&T!) Even though Sprint CEO Dan Hesse was recently heard saying Sprint “had no plans to change data plans”, news of data throttling coming to Spring is still far better news than what others (read: AT&T) have employed.
The rumor is unsubstantiated information at this point. Though we can all gather that it will have some sort of soft cap that once surpassed, will see customers’ 1′s and 0′s slowing from a brisk walk down to an almost imperceptible crawl across the floor by your lip. Still, I’d take lip crawling across the floor over AT&T’s asinine, overpriced plans any day. Same?
Remember those stupid “It’s Comcastic” commercials. Ya, I like many others had a few choice opinions about them too. If you thought just because there hasn’t been any mention of “Comcast” and “Throttling” in the same sentence for some time that somehow all the parties involved forgot, you were grossly wrong. New details of a retooled and just as anti-consumer policy have surfaced. In fact, Comcast’s new throttling policy is worse than their old one. So how bad is it? There are two scenarios that will alert the packet cops of your seemingly suspicious behavior in which a heavy digital hammer will promptly smack you down:
- Scenario 1: If using more than 70% of your maximum throughput (up or down) during peak network hours for more than 15 minutes, you can expect to have your speeds cut.
- Scenario 2: If your digital bits are deemed responsible or even partially responsible for slow downs at your Cable Modem Termination System (shared with thousands – tens of thousands other users).
So what’s the damage cost? Breaking either one of the rules above will result in your precious download/upload speeds being chopped down to 50% for at least 15 minutes or until your average network utilization drops below 50% for at least 15 consecutive minutes. Guess you better not use the internet for anything multimedia related during “peak hours” for fear of navigating yourself down a digital molasses highway. Please Comcast, don’t become the AT&T of the “earth bound” world. Ya, it sucks. One of the very reasons I despise Comcast and choose not to do business with them. Anyone else feeling tad bit of animosity?
Engadget > Slashdot
