“AT&T Inc. is effectively ending unlimited data plans, saying that it will no longer let customers use more than a set amount of data per month without penalty,” Greg Bensinger reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Under a new policy, AT&T will slow download speeds for unlimited 3G and 4G smartphone customers who exceed 3 gigabytes and 4G LTE users who exceed 5 gigabytes of data in a given month,” Bensinger reports. “AT&T had previously been slowing speeds, or throttling, customers who were in the top 5% of data users in their respective market. AT&T has been trying to manage capacity on its network in the face of heavy data consumption by Apple Inc. iPhone users and a limited supply of wireless airwaves, or spectrum.”
Bensinger reports, “A spokesman said the new guidelines were necessary because of confusion among unlimited customers over when their download speeds would be slowed. He declined to say by how much the speeds would be decreased… AT&T, and other carriers, has been pushing Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to release more licenses for wireless airwaves, or spectrum, to help stave off a capacity crunch as more customers download video, music and photos to their smartphones.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 3 GB is the new “unlimited.”
AT&T is banking that those with “unlimited” data plans won’t take them to the only court our contracts allow (small claims court) where, as the related article below indicates, you have a reasonable chance of winning. According to The Associated Press, AT&T has about 17 million “unlimited” smartphone subscribers, most of whom use iPhones. $850 times 17 million equals $14.45 billion.
Make ’em pay.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Jack F.” and “ruben” for the heads up.]
Related article:
AT&T customer wins $850 in iPhone ‘throttling’ case – February 24, 2012
Hmmm. So is my $29.99 unlimited iPad data plan is not actually unlimited. Interesting. I should try maxing out to see if they really want to break our contract. I could use the extra cash if the actually break the contract.
Well we as AT&T customers need to show them what we think when the contract ends simply move our buisness elsewhere and even though I know unlimited is impossible it isnt for those off us who had to deal with the slow and crappy service they provided for the first few years and only to be giving the thanks being throttled .. I only hope millions more feel the way I do
Little known fact, if a telco changes their contract on you, that contract is null and void. You can leave and go with another provider. Might take some doing on your part but in the end, they changed the deal.
Yep. About 7 years ago Verizon wanted to give me a new phone because my old phone was “outdated” but charge 5 dollars a month more. I refused to pay, refused to pay the cancellation fee to end the contract early (6 months in on a 2 year contract).
In the end they had to give it up because they changed the contract.
By my take one need not be throttled to bring suit. I entered a contract and paid the fair even when the service was so poor that using 3gb wasn’t possible. Now that I get near the value of the contract that I’ve been paying for since ’07 knowing that future features and build out would make me want to have it they switch.
This makes me an aggrieved party x3 iPhones. I’m hoping someone such as the woman who sued and beat Honda over the Civic Hybrid performance will come forward. She is a attorney who hasn’t been practicing for the past few years. She is sharing with others the evidence and strategy that beat Honda.
Wouldn’t this type of across the board throttling open them to a class action lawsuit?
Unfortunately no, because the terms you agreed to on signing up for the unlimited plan prohibits the use of class-action lawsuits.
Okay, thanks for the education. I guess it is individual lawsuits, then. Although with such a sweeping policy, I bet if every customer who has their data throttled takes AT&T to court, AT&T will wish they hadn’t blocked a class action lawsuit – it might be less of a headache for them. 😉
Hahah yeah. Those lawyer fees will add nicely to the 14.45 Billion that MDN already pointed out 😀
Good for them. 🙂
Was antitrust-related government bribed?
I mean, seriously, it is blatantly obvious that carriers are in collusion.
Well, I don’t like this either. But to play Devil’s advocate, it still is “unlimited” data for $30/month. It’s just that first 3Gb is fast, the data after that is slow.
If they “limit” the speed of the data, is that not a limitation on the data? What part of “unlimited data” didn’t you understand?
A limitation on speed is just that; a limitation on speed. The data is still “unlimited”.
I’m not saying that AT&T should be off the hook for this – they’re basically punishing their long time customers – but had the wording been “unlimited 3G data”, then consumers would have more leverage.
With that said, it’s still a dick move by AT&T.
I am grandfathered with the unlimited data plan from my old iPhone 3GS (32 GB, white) I got in 2009. Sorry AT&T… You cut my speed down I sue and rightly so.
17 million x 5% throttled and can actually prove damages = 850,000 people, $722,500,000 in damages.
Unless you think we can successfully sue without having been throttled? In which case… sign me up 🙂
Even $722.5 million is nothing to shake a stick at. Attention must be paid.
I’m not sure that’s what MDN means – As far as I understand it AT&T cannot be subject to a class-action suite by Congress. But if your contract say “Unlimited” then that’s what it has to be. Someone successfully sued for breach of contract and won $850.00. MDN want’s us ALL to individually sue in Small Claims Court…
Maybe I don’t understand, but I thought the whole point of a class action lawsuit is that it’s waged in such a way that the ruling applies to anyone who finds themselves in the same situation, not just the individual plaintiff. That doesn’t mean it necessarily has to be brought by Congress. Or am I misunderstanding that?
If a class action lawsuit isn’t feasible, then I guess it would take a bunch of individual lawsuits. Which, again, would be a huge headache for AT&T. 😉
Sorry – I wasn’t clear – it’s not a class-action suit by Congress, as I understand it Congress passed a law that stated AT&T (and maybe other carriers) could not be subject to a class-action suit.
There is no law against class-action suits against AT&T or anyone else.
It is in your contract with them. When you activated your plan, you signed a contract in which you have given up your right to sue, or to be a part of a class-action. Essentially, the only arbitration that you accepted in case of dispute is the small claims court. Read the contract, it’s all there.
Yes. And we’d like to see AT&T hire 850,000 lawyers to defend themselves.
Wonder how much that would cost? Or would AT&T representatives simply not show up?
Hey, guess who wins in small claims court when only one party shows up?
Sometimes, basic logistics can win the day.
850,000 lawyers – and a lot of attention to be paid indeed. 😉
Hahaha this is getting better and better.
When someone does something wrong, whether it be patent infringements or not delivering a promised service (unlmtd data) then SUE THEM INTO OBLIVION.
That’s what Lord Jobs taught us 🙂
I always thought that a contract couldn’t be changed after it was signed by both parts…This proves I was wrong! Maybe AT&T had a disclaimer in the microscopic print.
Way to go AT&T. Nice way to say thanks to your loyal customers!!!
f AT&T.
AT&T douchebags:
Just credit my account $850 and save yourself major headaches. Also, pool my 3 unlimited and one 3GB plan into a master 12GB plan so I don’t have to worry about any one phone exceeding the 3GB in the ass limit.
File 3 separate lawsuits. 😀 Make ’em pay for 3 separate lawyers.
More spectrum would be nice, but it’s not the only answer. Building more towers would help too. That way, you have fewer people connected to each tower.
Everyone with an unlimited data plan whose data service is slowed due to what AT&T considers excessive data usage should sue for damages in small claims court. My not include all 17 million subscribers but there will be enough that when AT&T has to defend itself in each individual state county, AT&T will feel the pain.
un·lim·it·ed:
– adjective
not limited; unrestricted; unconfined: unlimited trade.
Welcome to the “New Umlimited.” Rethink possible. 😉
Unlimited “data” not “speed”
If you constrict the speed, you’re constricting the amount of data, no longer unlimited
Speed is always limited and no carrier will EVER guarantee ANY speed (EDGE, 3G, 4G, LTE, whichever). There is no such thing as unlimited speed. Every mobile contract has plenty of exclusions and conditions (“depending on network congestion, signal coverage, terrain, buildings, structures, etc…”). 4G speed is only meaningful in advertising; once you actually buy the phone and sign the contract, all bets are off (on all carriers throughout the world).
Once we admit that, we begin to debate how slow is too slow and what speed should be considered unacceptable, and nothing in the contract defines (or mentions) speeds. As I said, good luck suing.
Agree with u that no carrier will guarantee speed and “exclusions and conditions (“depending on network congestion, signal coverage, terrain, buildings, structures, etc…”)” , but at the same time the speed cannot be manipulated, which is what they are doing or going to do.
And contracts don’t mention that they can throttle if there is too much use since it would invalidate the use of the word “unlimited”. Since contracts don’t mention speed it can be “assumed” to be at the fastest speed possible without intentional interference from the carrier.
IMHO
ranting, pain killers, scotch, yawn…. good night all
Class Action suit asking:
1- To be immediately released from all contracts with AT&T, subsidiaries, contractors, business partners without penalty, refund or fee.
2- To be refunded 25% of the monthly fee multiplied by the term in months to each customer for breach of contract.
3- Legal fees for legal representatives.
All right Attorneys, here is a nice fat one ripe for picking. Stop chasing ambulances and get with the program.
For those in the (sales) service area, C-Spire now has the iPhone with a nice unlimited plan and very good nationwide coverage.
Not going to happen. The contract that consumers signed with AT&T (or any other carrier in the US, for that matter) does NOT allow them to sue in court, individually, nor as a class. You gave up all your rights to sue; in case of any disputes between you and the carrier, you only accepted arbitration in a small claims court.
When I tried to cancel my ATT contract after I had no more any obligations for it, the customer service guy was a complete asshole. He kept me on hold for about 30 minutes without doing or saying anything. Just left telling me to stay on hold. After about 40 minutes I gave up, which was exactly what he had intended. I was so furious, I called several times the next day until I found someone who was willing to cancel my account, after he tried to sell me all kind of crap plans that I was not interested in.
Hello! I am American but live in Tokyo,Japan.
AT&T and other mobile carriers are trying to stay relevant in a fast changing game.
Emobile Japan is introducing its LTE pocket wifi/data stick service in Japan this month nationwide. All you can eat for $48 a month. No caps.
They are the 4th largest mobile operator in Japan. I regularly use 8~12 GB a month and am happy with the 3G HSPA+ service.
I have a simple feature phone for voice and email. And no data plan.
I love my Apple ipad 2 and ipod touch!! But I refuse to spend even a dime on mobile carriers that just try to rip me off and waste my time. Unless they add real value that real people value, I think they may go the way of the B/W television and Zenith.
So after they got all millions of new customers from the iPhone, how much of that additional revenue did they invest not additional infrastructure, cell towers, bandwidth etc…??
I bet may be 15%
Let’s just throttle all our stupid customers and pocket all that extra income.
I would like to see AT&T prove that those top 5% users are in fact causing a problem with the network. Bring the pie charts and whatever they want but prove those that have unlimited data are causing bandwidth problems.
I am no lawyer but the unlimited access is not being denied. You still have unlimited but after 3GB, your access is slowed down. I need to read the my contract but if the contract just says you can still have access to the data but speed is not mentioned on the contract then I think the lawsuit will not work. About the case of the guy in California who won $850, one needs to read the transcripts and see the actual lawsuit of what made the guy win the judgement. Now if everyone did start suing, just the lawyer fees of having to defend every lawsuit let alone the judgements, then AT&T would cry uncle. Overall I think AT&T should be paying their infrastructure to keep of with the demand instead of paying bonuses and other perks for shoddy cell and data service. Only one silver lining is their customer service is great and the are in the USA and not in India.
Harry Turtle has it right.
Nowhere in that contract does AT&T specifically promise speed. What it does promise is unlimited ACCESS to the mobile data networks. It also vaguely promises 3G speeds, but has plenty of contingency clauses (service quality depends on network congestion, etc). Even without the throttling, the service speed and availability are NOT guaranteed (keep in mind, AT&T is no worse than any other mobile carrier).
Whoever was the person who convinced a small claims court judge (or perhaps even just an arbiter) that he was right was likely just extremely fortunate. Legally, there is very little in the contract to use against AT&T here.
T-Mobile has this best with their pre-paid monthly plans. They offer unlimited everything (talk-text-data), at three tiers: $50, $60 and $70. Only the top plan gives you no throttling; the other two have different throttling limits. It is al clearly spelt out, no ambiguous “5% of top users in given network area”.
Now that AT&T has clearly specified this, people at least know what they are dealing with.
Between the ever-so-popular “not in my back yard” mentality when it comes to building of cell towers and the skyrocketing demand of people for more bandwidth, there is very little carriers can do to build out the needed coverage.
Good luck suing AT&T, though.
Rumor is that the Yellow pages is about to be sold, so they can put that cash into U-Verse & Mobile. It’s sad that there killing Internet radio & video etc., then blaming it on not having the bandwidth, because of the failed T-Moble deal. Well as a protest, I’ll be changing my $20 a month text message plan & using one of those many free services thats out there.
This what I think.. The new iPhone will be a LTE phone. This is why AT&T allows more data on LTE, than the 3G. If you’re not happy with 3GB of data, then upgrade, so you can have your 5GB. And by the way, we just doubled our upgrade fee to $36. Happy now?
I got the BS text today. Saying I used 3088 MB’s last billing cycle. The next time I go over 3 gigs. They will throttle me. I’m sorry but 4 yrs ago when I chose the $30 unlimited, instead of the $15 plan. I did it so I wouldn’t have to babysit my data usage. Now they are forcing us to worry bout our data. That itself is unfair practice. F AT&T. My contract is up in June. I understand they may need to throttle. But dial up speed. Really.