To combat this media frenzy of information, AT&T spokesperson, Mark Seigel, jump on a phone interview to better explain the situation. He stated that as of last summer, the top 5% of AT&T’s heaviest data users were consuming an average of 2GB a month. He continues on to point out that even if a user exceeds the 2GB point doesn’t mean that they will be throttled. In actuality only roughly 1% of those users are notified of their usage. The throttling technique isn’t based on a hard facts number, instead they base it on a users area, network capacity or spectrum that is insufficiently capable of supporting their use.
So in other words, if you live in a large city with millions of customers causing network strain, you are most likely going to land in that one percent. In a round about way, Mark just admitted that AT&T’s network is overloaded and because of this, they can’t support you and your usage. Based on a variety of number that I looked up, AT&T has roughly 71.3 million subscribers. 5% translates into 3,565,000 and if it was roughly 1% of them that were throttled, that means 35,650 people were effected last month. That is just based on rough numbers, since we can’t find the number of active subscribers that are actually still on an unlimited plan.
“There’s a very good chance you wouldn’t be slowed,” Mr. Siegel said
There is still to many questions left in our minds to take AT&T for their word. It would be nice if they could release more detailed information so customers know exactly what they getting and when they will potentially get slowed down. From our perspective, they are still basing the top 5% of heavy data users on all data plans not just those unlimited users grandfathered in. This seems like an unfair metering system. If they have managed to force or “migrate” more people to lower plans, then those users are using less out of fear or overage, bringing the average down.
What do you guys think needs to happen? Should AT&T re-evaluate how they are throttling, or do you feel they are doing it right? We know throttling is here to stay in the U.S. and that unlimited data while mobile is gone, at least for a while.
Via New York Times
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who’s deck do i have to swab to get people to gather together and class action these phone companies to either provide or stop advertising unlimited data? i have been a t-mobile customer with the same unlimited data plan since unlimited data was introduced, and i’m sick of only getting 20 days worth of internet and that’s on 5GB! I can’t even imagine how pissed I would be if i had the unlimited 2GB. For the past 6 months I have been getting cut off data all but completely and it is very inconvenient and if I wasn’t such a good driver, it could have been dangerous driving around cross country without proper GPS navigation. I am a heavy user of streaming media services, Netflix, Google Music, VPN+RDP, and I use Wifi Calling (when I’m not on MIUI).
It gets to the point that I want to literally squeeze the T-Mobile representative’s face until it pops when they try to explain to me that Unlimited doesn’t mean what I think it means, and that although Wifi Calling explicitly states that it uses your minutes, there are no mentions of data use. Thanks for reading.
I used to have an unlimited plan with AT&T then they took it away. When I suddenly received a bill for over $400, I called them to find out why. They explained that “Somebody called in and changed my plan.” It sounded fishy to me since I don’t know anyone who would have my information to be able to call in and change my calling plan. In the end, I ended up with a plan that included 450 minutes and 2gb of data for almost 3 times the price of the unlimited plan I originally had. She kept calling it an upgrade, which really irritated me every time I heard her say that.
Well that is BS, I live outside Orlando FL but dont really use my umlimited data plan in my home due to the fact that they use the special material that locksout wireless signals in the buildings in my complex. So are you the internet when I’m out n about on the road. and I get throttled at 1.7 and at 1.5, 1 .9 gigs, since October of last year. And that bs about the 1% ull probably you’ll never get throttled is crap… I get throttled 10 to 15 days in my 31 day billing cycle without fail. and I don’t base it off where you use the phone, they base it off where you live. and for the rest of the month myspace 0.17 kbs tell my billing cycle renews. all is is a bullying tactic to get you buy more while they keep your service limited, but it states its unlimited. It doesn’t matter what language you speak a limit of any kind on any plan is a limit not unlimited…
Had at&t rep tell me that they throttle according to tower congestion.I told her dont pee on my leg and tell me its raining LOL!I asked her if that was true then why arent tiered customers that live in same area i do not throttled once they go over their gb limit?Then she proceeded to insult me by telling me that yes they were!I honestly dont believe at&t would know how to tell the truth even if walked up and slapped them in the face.
However Pandora isnt affected when i get throttled.I try not to abuse data use,but once they throttle me i proceed to playing a Pandora as many hours as i can.I have streamed Pandora 10 hours straight.This is bs getting throttled!