FCC To Fine AT&T $100M For Deceiving Customers Over Unlimited Data Plan

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AT&T says it plans to "vigorously dispute the FCC's assertions"....right up until it settles with the FCC without admitting any wrong doing of course. At least that's how these things normally go. ;)

The FCC's investigation alleges that AT&T slowed service of customers subscribed to its unlimited data service when they exceeded more than 5GB of data in a month. The agency says that the company slowed service to speeds as low as 512 megabits per second, which is about 20 times slower than speeds the company advertised for its 4G LTE service.
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For those who are as confused as I was, the article has been updated to read 512 kilobits per second. I was wondering where I could get this 512Mb service, and have it be considered slow.
 
They will simply pass this fee to consumers as some kind of government tax. T-Mo does same thing with their unlimited internet where it gets throttled. Though T-Mo says your plan cap is for fast data and the rest is lower speed but unlimited internet. I find it's still enough for things like internet, maps, skype and when throttled. Not a bad deal (relatively speaking of course) given the price of the cheapest phone plan which also comes with data. Overall cell and cable service here is seriously overpriced for what they offer, just look at your monthly bill for cell phone and tv/internet at home.
 
Steve said:
AT&T says it plans to "vigorously dispute the FCC's assertions"....right up until it settles with the FCC without admitting any wrong doing of course. At least that's how these things normally go. ;)
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First and foremost: I fucking hate writers who say 20x slower. WTF does that mean? If I run 20 MPH, what's 20x slow? Nothing. It's 1/20th as fast. Normal speed is 20x faster than the reduced speed.

I could go on...but geez it's almost as bad as the losers that call people loosers.

That said, Steve is right they'll settle. I'm not even sure what the point of fighting it is. Everyone started moving to data buckets last year, because they all knew this was coming. And honestly, it was deceiving.
 
My corporate data plan although unlimited gets throttled the fuck down to 512 kilobits per second. I was on a business trip with no wifi and had to tether on my phone. Pissed me off and I couldn't do anything about it.
 
Kaitian said:
My corporate data plan although unlimited gets throttled the fuck down to 512 kilobits per second. I was on a business trip with no wifi and had to tether on my phone. Pissed me off and I couldn't do anything about it.
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I'm not sure they can throttle unlimited plans (unless your plan said it was going to do it when you originally signed...even then I though it'd been ruled they had to remove the throttling)
 
nilepez said:
I'm not sure they can throttle unlimited plans (unless your plan said it was going to do it when you originally signed...even then I though it'd been ruled they had to remove the throttling)
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They aren't supposed to but they do it anyways. My company is the one that signs the contract, not me :)
 
Velox said:
For those who are as confused as I was, the article has been updated to read 512 kilobits per second. I was wondering where I could get this 512Mb service, and have it be considered slow.
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Still 4x faster than an ISDN line 15 years ago :)
 
Good I hope AT&T and everyone else learns something form this like the definition of the word "unlimited"... the internet is there, dictionaries are a-plenty there are no excuses.

If it was truly network congestion they could probably have some other priority type ability. Like lower their priority to bottom, reduce speed by 1/2?

The problem they faced was they tried to go from "unlimited" to "metered" for the same exact price. Why would I want to switch? The way Verizon and AT&T switched from phone minutes billing to data billing was a big screw over our customers in a lot of cases. Don't worry though we will make the billing even more complex so its harder to tell how we are screwing you for more money.

I am still on Verizon wireless and have grandfathered "unlimited"... I would have gone to their metered plan if it was any cheaper. Seriously 3GB for $25 they could have tempted me away with something that simple. As a matter of fact I bought a phone and have a cricket line I am testing and will be moving my 2 smart phones and 2 dumb phones to it. My bill will go from $200 (with a 20% discount) to $80 AND all lines can be smart phones with 2.5GB of data ea if my mother(s) want to. I still have to buy the phones but Verizon and ATT are pushing that anyways.

Lets not forget all these people are basically on month to month contracts. AT&T could have forced the change if it was that important.

Though I will admit when I hear some people say they use 20-30GB on their mobile plan I just wonder wtf how can someone use that much on a mobile device. On one hand yes "unlimited" means "unlimited" but on the other abuse is one of the reasons we have metered and can't have nice things. Its one thing to tether in a pinch when needed, but relying on it for everyday use and then acting shocked and amazed these companies are using them as a scapegoat to screw everyone else is retarded.
 
No surprise that AT&T act like legalized thugs. So, what's the next step for grandfathered customers? Correct their fine print and still screw people over with throttled service or go truly unlimited like Verizon?
 
Problem is, they shouldn't be paying a fine to the FCC, they should be refunding every unlimited user the price difference between their unlimited plan and a 5GB plan, for however many months or years they've been on the unlimited plan.

That would actually be just. This is just a government money grab.
 
They should at least have a certain bandwidth they have to achieve after 5 GB imposed on them, because if not they're still lying about being "unlimited"
 
512 megabits/second? I WISH they'd deliver that kind of speed!

It'd be a cord-cutter paradise!

The original article looks like they corrected it to 512kb/s
 
Advil said:
Problem is, they shouldn't be paying a fine to the FCC, they should be refunding every unlimited user the price difference between their unlimited plan and a 5GB plan, for however many months or years they've been on the unlimited plan.

That would actually be just. This is just a government money grab.
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I am sure they would be happy to take you up on your deal...

Current Unlimited plan price: $30
Current 5GB plan price*: -$60
Amount to be refunded: -$30

*Price is based on per GB price of 3GB and 6GB plans

The issue isn't the cost, because those users are getting deal, its about the usage of the word "unlimited" for these services and then having some sort of limit on usage (and not talking about scope of usage but amount).
 
Kylo said:
They should at least have a certain bandwidth they have to achieve after 5 GB imposed on them, because if not they're still lying about being "unlimited"
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Agree completely.

I understand the "up to" terminology used in most unlimited or quoted speed services. This totally makes sense where a network might slow down during peak usage times etc.

The throttling on an "unlimited" account is suspect but asinine at such a low speed. It would be somewhat reasonable if they limited you to 50% or something.
 
Kaitian said:
They aren't supposed to but they do it anyways. My company is the one that signs the contract, not me :)
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I'm pretty sure that's going to come to an end. I know we stopped throttling unlimited plans last year, because of rulings last fall/winter.

With the exception of sprint, I think most (all?) plans are now advertised with a set amount of high speed data and unlimited 1x data (maybe 3g if you're lucky).
 
Advil said:
Problem is, they shouldn't be paying a fine to the FCC, they should be refunding every unlimited user the price difference between their unlimited plan and a 5GB plan, for however many months or years they've been on the unlimited plan.

That would actually be just. This is just a government money grab.
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AT&T pays fine to government. Government squanders money. AT&T passes fine on to customers.. It's business as usual.
 
I remember when some senator was questioning AT&T about their $.25/text charges. Somehow they managed to justify those rates and the whole thing went away with nary a scandal.
 
zkostik said:
They will simply pass this fee to consumers as some kind of government tax. T-Mo does same thing with their unlimited internet where it gets throttled. Though T-Mo says your plan cap is for fast data and the rest is lower speed but unlimited internet. I find it's still enough for things like internet, maps, skype and when throttled. Not a bad deal (relatively speaking of course) given the price of the cheapest phone plan which also comes with data. Overall cell and cable service here is seriously overpriced for what they offer, just look at your monthly bill for cell phone and tv/internet at home.
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Depends on the plan you have with T-Mo. I had the unlimited w/ limited 3Gb 4GLTE plan. They're very upfront about it. They then gave me a free upgrade to unlimited LTE. Probably because I don't watch Netflix/YouTube on their network.
 
This is why last year I moved to tmobile. Still get freedom to choose what phone I want to use at anytime, while I actually get unlimited. I use like 20gbs a month easily, more if football and basketball are both in season.
 
dandirk said:
Good I hope AT&T and everyone else learns something form this like the definition of the word "unlimited"... the internet is there, dictionaries are a-plenty there are no excuses.
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I learned that AT&T's money is going to the government... because they found a loophole to do direct taxation. Meanwhile rates are going to increase. Yeah common people!
 
100 Million seems like a slap on the wrist, how much money did AT&T, a multi-billion dollar/year establishment, make from this shady practice? If 100 million is at least double that then it sounds fair, otherwise it'll just be the cost of doing business to them.
 
AT&T started majorly throttling my phone not long after they released th capped data plans and tethering plans. Now they basically give unlimited users 5gb of unthrottled data at the beginning of the cycle. Once you blow through that they throttle you until the next billing cycle.
 
Long time iphone user here who had a grandfathered AT&T unlimited plan. They used to send threatening texts, but they never actually throttled me. It's bad enough they throttled people - but it's even worse that it seems to have been applied inconsistently.

I switched to straighttalk eventually - cheaper, same network, and same amount of data before throttling. It's acceptable - not great but acceptable.
 
dandirk said:
Good I hope AT&T and everyone else learns something form this like the definition of the word "unlimited"... the internet is there, dictionaries are a-plenty there are no excuses.

If it was truly network congestion they could probably have some other priority type ability. Like lower their priority to bottom, reduce speed by 1/2?

The problem they faced was they tried to go from "unlimited" to "metered" for the same exact price. Why would I want to switch? The way Verizon and AT&T switched from phone minutes billing to data billing was a big screw over our customers in a lot of cases. Don't worry though we will make the billing even more complex so its harder to tell how we are screwing you for more money.

I am still on Verizon wireless and have grandfathered "unlimited"... I would have gone to their metered plan if it was any cheaper. Seriously 3GB for $25 they could have tempted me away with something that simple. As a matter of fact I bought a phone and have a cricket line I am testing and will be moving my 2 smart phones and 2 dumb phones to it. My bill will go from $200 (with a 20% discount) to $80 AND all lines can be smart phones with 2.5GB of data ea if my mother(s) want to. I still have to buy the phones but Verizon and ATT are pushing that anyways.

Lets not forget all these people are basically on month to month contracts. AT&T could have forced the change if it was that important.

Though I will admit when I hear some people say they use 20-30GB on their mobile plan I just wonder wtf how can someone use that much on a mobile device. On one hand yes "unlimited" means "unlimited" but on the other abuse is one of the reasons we have metered and can't have nice things. Its one thing to tether in a pinch when needed, but relying on it for everyday use and then acting shocked and amazed these companies are using them as a scapegoat to screw everyone else is retarded.
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Granted I don't use anywhere near 30GB on my phone, I feel if carrier sells unlimited, then people use as they will. Seriously, in this day and age 20-30GB isn't much of anything, especially with everything streaming. If you also use cloud to backup photos, you can easily get into 10's of GB a month. With all the stuff people do these days and many using their phone/tablet as primary computer I don't see how this is abuse. It may be abuse to you but normal use to them. Shitty companies shouldn't sell what they can't provide and then cry wolf. They peddle all the media and stuff but are unwilling to provide bandwidth for it or have deceiving sales tactics that burn customers.
 
Wierdo said:
100 Million seems like a slap on the wrist, how much money did AT&T, a multi-billion dollar/year establishment, make from this shady practice? If 100 million is at least double that then it sounds fair, otherwise it'll just be the cost of doing business to them.
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It is, but it's the largest fine they've ever levied.
 
zkostik said:
Granted I don't use anywhere near 30GB on my phone, I feel if carrier sells unlimited, then people use as they will. Seriously, in this day and age 20-30GB isn't much of anything, especially with everything streaming. If you also use cloud to backup photos, you can easily get into 10's of GB a month. With all the stuff people do these days and many using their phone/tablet as primary computer I don't see how this is abuse. It may be abuse to you but normal use to them. Shitty companies shouldn't sell what they can't provide and then cry wolf. They peddle all the media and stuff but are unwilling to provide bandwidth for it or have deceiving sales tactics that burn customers.
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10s of GB/month for Phone photos? That seems excessive for crappy JPG pictures. I'm with you on unlimited being unlimited, but all they'll end up doing is telling people the plan is going away and they have to change.

As it stands, there really isn't the bandwidth on Wireless networks for everyone to watch Netflix in HD (much less in HD) on their phone. Ever had your data go to shit in a place where you know there's a tower? That's because the tower is overloaded. Now granted they can put up more towers, but expenses aside, it's not always easy to put up a new tower. In a lot of residential areas, nobody wants a tower put up, because they're ugly and noisy (though you can kinda hide the towers in fake trees).

Wireless is a shady business, which I've been in for a long time, but there are legitimate reasons for throttling. It's a lot more understandable than various ISPs that have caps.
 
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