AT&T  is redefining the term "unlimited data " for its legacy customers. Under the new policy introduced Thursday, some unlimited data subscribers will see their speeds throttled back whenever they exceed a fixed monthly cap.
According to the wireless carrier, the reason why the new reduced speeds only apply to certain unlimited smartphone customers is because their data usage is significantly higher than those on tiered plans. "For example, in January, the top 5 percent of our unlimited data plan customers used an average of over 50 percent more data than the top 5 percent of customers on tiered plans," AT&T said in a statement.
Customers with 3G smartphones operating under an "unlimited" plan will receive a text message when their data usage approaches 3 GB in a single billing cycle. Thereafter, the subscriber's data speeds will be reduced for the remainder of that billing cycle.
"If you have a 4G LTE smartphone and still have an unlimited data plan, the same process applies at 5 GB of data usage, instead of 3 GB," AT&T said.
The company already had been throttling back speeds on its "unlimited" customers who exceeded the top 5 percent of data usage in their respective markets. Some had complained that the cap was unclear because it varied from market to market and month to month, and the new fixed caps appear to be an attempt to clarify expectations.
So Many Restrictions
Data usage notifications like the ones AT&T describe are useful, said Lisa Pierce, the managing vice president for unified communications, network systems and services at Gartner . "But frankly," she said in an e-mail Thursday, "there are so many restrictions in place from most providers that we'll soon have to ask what 'limited' means!"
AT&T attributed the change to an impending wireless spectrum crunch.
Under its merger contract with T-Mobile, AT&T had to cede a swath of spectrum to its rival when the deal failed to receive regulatory approval. Recent industry initiatives such as LightSquared, which promised to provide the nation's carriers with additional spectrum via satellite, have also been nixed by the Federal Communications Commission. (continued...)
Simba7:
Posted: 2012-03-28 @ 4:15pm PT
This doesn't surprise me. Everyone wants to go back to "Caps and Overages" pricing because it's more profitable. Does anyone remember AOL a couple decades ago?
chris b:
Posted: 2012-03-28 @ 1:00pm PT
"Sprint is the only national wireless carrier to offer truly unlimited data plans for smartphones".
Not true. Read the fine print. And what's behind the asterisk...
Unlimited data while on their network. 300 MB data cap while roaming. Here in the Pacific NW, there's a whole lot of roaming when you're not in the city, in the 'burbs, or on the freeway.
jerometech:
Posted: 2012-03-28 @ 8:36am PT
AT&T is considered as the deathstar by many. One of the worst companies that ever existed. They would simply buy corrupt politician to make their survival possible
Texas Rebel:
Posted: 2012-03-28 @ 6:33am PT
I'm in the sticks in East Texas. Probably the only AT&T customer that actually uses 3G and it's pretty fast. I'll hit the 3GB cap in less that 2 weeks and then they throttle me back to around 200kbps on the downstream, but upstream is still 1Mbps. This is total horse!!! What happened to the $39 BILLION that AT&T was going to use to buy T-Mobile?? Here's a thought. Stop wasting money on rolling out LTE in the ing cities and get it out to those who don't have internet at all because they can't get DSL or Cable and Satellite is piss poor as well. The major and medium sized cities don't need LTE first.. They can settle with 3G or 4G as you call it now.. Throttling people after 3GB when they have unlimited data plans is BS!! Now once I hit the 3GB, I feel like I'm on dialup. Thanks AT&T!!!
vern:
Posted: 2012-03-28 @ 5:34am PT
They aren't gonna change... It's all bs.
Misty a:
Posted: 2012-03-01 @ 3:32pm PT
I don't agree - they should not be throttling. My mother & I have been long standing with AT&T & it's making us think to switch to Sprint that does not throttle. They get more than enough for their plans already.
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