Totalimmortal363
Well-known member
Fury, using 30GB's a month is why people are getting throttled. Admitting you use that much data IMMEDIATLY discounts any opinion you might have in this matter.
AT&T changes their throttling techniques:
- Thread starter Eileen89
- Start date
fury
Well-known member
No, it doesn't. Attacking my opinion does not discount my opinion. Using 30 gigs is nowhere near the reason people are getting throttled. That's exactly what AT&T wants you to THINK is the reason. If anything, using 30 gigs makes me more qualified to speak out about how screwed up this whole idea of throttling is.
Totalimmortal363
Well-known member
No. You are wrong. If everyone used that kind of data AT&T would be passing BILLIONS OF GB'S a month. It's not feasible.
fury
Well-known member
Your reasoning is flawed. Not everyone uses that kind of data.
Your argument is akin to saying it would be fair to punish people who drive for 12 hours a day because if everybody drove for 12 hours a day, nobody would get anywhere because all of the roads would be backed up. Luckily, not everyone needs to drive for 12 hours a day, so it usually works out. Then you get rush hour and stuff like that, but nobody punishes the car at the front of rush hour for causing a backup, it's just an accepted part of life and we hope and wish the city would build more and/or better roads.
AT&T, however, is masterfully crafting a mob mentality of "let's attack those people who download 30 gigglebytes because they're ruining our roads!" and shifting the blame away from being absolutely terrible at managing rush hour traffic.
Your argument is akin to saying it would be fair to punish people who drive for 12 hours a day because if everybody drove for 12 hours a day, nobody would get anywhere because all of the roads would be backed up. Luckily, not everyone needs to drive for 12 hours a day, so it usually works out. Then you get rush hour and stuff like that, but nobody punishes the car at the front of rush hour for causing a backup, it's just an accepted part of life and we hope and wish the city would build more and/or better roads.
AT&T, however, is masterfully crafting a mob mentality of "let's attack those people who download 30 gigglebytes because they're ruining our roads!" and shifting the blame away from being absolutely terrible at managing rush hour traffic.
kch50428
Well-known member
How 'bout pay for what you use... $10/GB?
The heavy users would pay for what they use... and let people set up a hard cap to control costs - hit the cap, and you're done, or buy more - all in the hands of the customers - so they aren't saddled with ridiculous overage charges.
The heavy users would pay for what they use... and let people set up a hard cap to control costs - hit the cap, and you're done, or buy more - all in the hands of the customers - so they aren't saddled with ridiculous overage charges.
Jeremy
Retired Moderator
I honestly don't think they can take it away or have plans to. I think they tried what they could with the throttling.
Compared to what it was, it's "fair" now. And once you are capped they've made the speeds much faster and much more usable than before. Give it a try near the end of your billing cycle.
fury
Well-known member
The problem with that is that there is not a correlation between GB used and network capacity. Neither tiered data nor throttling unlimited data is a solution to any sort of network crunch. They're tubes, not buckets. There isn't a set number of gigs those pipes can draw out of a bucket before they're empty. There is either enough room in the pipe to serve everyone who's trying to use it at any given moment, or there is not. NYC and San Francisco come to mind. I've never had the misfortune of living in an area where AT&T is congested--it has always worked fantastically well for me and for everyone else I know here on AT&T. Never had a problem whether in suburbs or big cities. Speeds of 3-6 mbps were the norm until throttling came along. Now things like dialup and stabbing AT&T with a fork come to mind. Except without the fork, because a fork probably can't stab a cell tower.
Since they are not content with simply enhancing their resources to better handle the stress, they used it as an opportunity to change their business model, and act like thugs to make it happen. Frustrate unlimited customers to drive them off and make a short term profit on the ETF, or get them onto the more expensive data plan and make more money off of them for life. In fact, throttling could make a congestion problem even worse. People who get throttled have to stay online for even longer trying to get their browsing or downloading done, participating in the clogging of the tubes for the whole day instead of just a few minutes at a time throughout the day.
So, no, I am not going to pay $10 per GB. It is purely a money grab, and they're playing dirty to get a quicker return on their investment. Neither is surprising to me, as I am well aware they are in fact a corporation, but that doesn't mean anything they're doing is justified. They are not honoring the spirit of the agreement that millions of unlimited data plan customers thought they were getting (yes, I have RTFC). They are instilling these wrong ideas into people's heads that it is the customers' fault and not AT&T's fault. Worst of all, they are not allowing people to get out of their contracts ETF-free despite this major change in service. I'd be happy to take my data abuse where I'm wanted if AT&T weren't planning on charging me over $600 to do it. I learned my lesson, though. I know better now than to sign contracts or ever believe that a company, in good faith, will honor it for the entire term.
Just for the sake of answering your question, IF and only if it were true that the number of GB used actually had a direct effect on the network, then if it were a reasonable price per GB, sure. While it's still not the service I signed up for, I'd be ok with paying an extra $30 a month if it meant I got to use my 30 GB full speed. Certainly not the $300 they're asking. They're already getting over $100 from me per month as it is for other service that I barely use but had no lower option. So, effectively, I already am paying $130 a month for less than 10 GB of data.
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Peligro911
Well-known member
I agree with 3 gig cap is better than top 5 percent however it's still crap if your unlimited you should have just that per your agreement .. If AT&T can't handle the network usage they should have never offered that to start with.. Seems to me they are just trying to help customers switch to sprint and considering the one switching would be long time att customers .. Doesn't seem smart .. This is just my opinion I don't have AT&T I have Verizon and never have had a issue and I'm grandfathered on unlimited plan
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Sent Into Orbit from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
sting7k
Well-known member
So correct me if I'm wrong, but from your reasoning once you make a decision you can never then make a change on that decision if you find that decision is going bad or you can see it headed for disaster. That's how I read it at least.
In 2007 things were different. There was barely anyone using data except for BBs really. You did not even need to have a data plan to buy a smart phone of the day.
It's now 2012 and mobile data is a commodity just like everything else. It is priced based on supply and demand. I know in KY you probably have great service and I do as well here in MD and around DC. But in some areas the network is so taxed you can not make calls, send texts, or connect to data. It's a fact and I've personally experienced it in Philly, NYC, Vegas, Dallas, and CT. The amount of spectrum there is to use for data is a finite amount and that is also a fact.
Supply is low, demand is high, so the price goes up. That's how it works. Have you noticed gas prices going up lately? Demand in the US is down but global demand is up; low supply = price goes up.
AT&T is doing the right thing by at least defining the cap now.
The days of unlimited mobile data are gone. You will have to live with it and pay if you want to keep using your phone how you want. Are you on some other forums complaining about Exxon Mobile raising gas prices? No, I suspect you drive less and combine trips to conserve gas. It's the same deal here. You can use as much data as you want just like you can drive as much as you want any time. But from now on you will have to pay for it.
If you can't for some reason grasp that concept then well keep ranting. AT&T is not reading this forum or any other comment thread on the internet. The only way to tell them you are unhappy is to stop paying them. Every time you mail them that check or click the send payment button you are telling them; "I am happy with your service." Put up and cancel your contract or cut out the rants.
Finally, I still do not understand how anyone finds it enjoyable to watch any video on a 3.5" screen (or 4" or 4.65"). Let along a crappy pixelated video streamed over a 3G network.
Have a nice day all.
sting7k
Well-known member
In 2007 and even 2008/2009 they could. But now they can't. So why are they not allowed to regulate their network? They stopped selling the unlimited plans 2 years ago (2010 when the iPhone 4 came out?). You should happy they let us keep the plans this long. I've been saying a long the days of unlimited data were going to end. Now they are here. Verizon is on the same road, just wait until they start throttling their grand fathered unlimited users. It's going to happen if trends continue.
sting7k
Well-known member
Just wait until the next time you go to get an upgrade and they say we are no longer grandfathering unlimited plans. Would you like 300MB or 3GB? You have to sign a new contract on the new terms if you want that discount. Those will be the terms.
Also, I'll throw in this might also be partly Apple's fault. They got the deal with AT&T to offer the unlimited plan for their new phone. I had smart phones at the time but never a data plan, I remember seeing all tiered offerings until the iPhone came out. Or the unlimited was quite expensive. I was on my parents plan back then so some older folks should know more what was available back then.
At the time AT&T probably thought this was a sweet deal for them to have exclusive on Apple's phone and offer their users affordable unlimited data. And it ended up being a sweet deal but they grossly underestimated the tax on their network. Something which the Canadians and Europeans seem to have avoided sticking with tiered plans from the start.
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fury
Well-known member
The way they're going about it doesn't solve the disaster, it only lines their pockets and they still have to figure out how to fix the disaster.
Then why wouldn't they price it low where supply (spectrum & capacity) is plentiful, like here in KY, and stick with the current plan of gouging for gigglebytes where the improvement is needed most, like Philly, NYC, etc.? That's how it's done for many other goods and services.
I'm not a network technician, I don't have an optimal solution for this. I just don't think what they're doing is going to solve it.
Actually, I ***** about gas prices plenty, too...
I don't have to pay exorbitant fees for taking long drives like AT&T wants me to pay for downloading lots of data. I pay for gas, upkeep of my car, I pay my taxes which pay for the roads. I've done my part by paying AT&T what they asked. AT&T then stopped giving me what they agreed to give me when I agreed to pay them what they asked.
But I've used up my metaphor allowance, so I'm going to just shut up there so that TiPb doesn't charge me $300
This has been foremost on my mind, the biggest problem is the $660 they want to charge me for ETFs. They got me hook line and sinker with me thinking I'd keep getting great service the last time I signed a contract, then they pulled the rug out from under me and want to charge me alimony for leaving the now-abusive relationship. It's a matter of principle...but ultimately you are quite right, the best way to speak is taking my dollar to a better carrier, not arguing about it on the Internet.
Peligro911
Well-known member
They can regulate but why sell something that your network can't handle ? Sell unlimited then when people use it pull the plug on them ?
I agree it will happen but they should just say sorry we can handle that and eliminate unlimited plans instead of basically turning your unlimited to a 3 gig plan behind the curtain
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sherlock
Well-known member
This is what AT&T wants. More revenue for the same data. Their "unlimited" is a joke! Perhaps we should be allowed to adjust our speed of payment or get a refund for not using 3GB of data on an unlimited plan.
sherlock
Well-known member
Irish Rose well put. This really gets to the crux of the matter. Don't tell people one thing and sneak around then knife them in the back. Unlimited means just that. I am on an unlimited plan and guilty of pulling down the average data usage. Sorry everyone. When contracts end just migrate people or give some small incentive for everyone to switch.
I don't believe this has ever been about the amount of data people use - it's about how much more money AT&T thinks it can get from the higher usage unlimited users if they switch to a tiered plan.
Jeremy
Retired Moderator
Heard this before and I still disagree with you. They would have done so on the 4S back in October if this were the case. The only time I can recall of any carrier forcing a customer off of a grandfathered plan was Sprint and their SERO plans and that was a totally different type of plan and not simply data. Again this whole throttling at 2GB was a tactic to get people to willingly switch off the unlimited plans. My opinion and I'm sticking to it.
***And I've been on a unlimited data plan long before the iPhone came along.
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FendrGuitPlayr
Well-known member
hunoosh
Well-known member
Paying that outrageous of a price for a GB of data is not an option for me. If I managed to squeeze in all of the data that I wanted to use to within 5 GB, I might have gone for it, just for the added luxury of tethering, but no... I can use 30 GB in a good month just downloading apps and podcasts.
Maybe if their overage was more reasonable, or there were an incentive for me as a long time customer to switch to the tiered data plan, but no... their customer service has started to suck since the throttling began, and I get no impression from them that they want to keep me in any way (except to gobble up half of my paycheck per month for the data that I use). It's as if they are trained to not give any customer service once the throttling flag is set.
AT&T makes almost 100% profit off of my account, I never use even close to 550 minutes a month, and hardly any text messages even though I've got unlimited text messages. I've got 3 lines.
Only a matter of time before they start throttling unlimited text messages and voice minutes too.
Same with us. We hardly use half of our 1400 plan. Only my daughter uses texting. 2 of us have unlimited. However, we both usually don't go over 3GB.
hunoosh
Well-known member
And??? Are you getting the throttle too? I have been even though I'm around 1.5-2 gb
The problem (for AT&T) with this is that most people don't use anywhere near 3GB per month. So for all of those people who are now paying $30 for a data plan would suddenly drop to paying $10 (if like me they barley get to 1GB). Now AT&T's revenue goes way down.
Perhaps a potential solution is instead of paying for total data per month, you pay for speed, like with home Internet.
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