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AT&T explains limits for 'unlimited' data plans
AT&T finally shared its stipulations for unlimited data plans Wednesday. We already knew the provider was restricting the top 5 percent of its data consumers, but this announcement marks the first time it has actually detailed what those restrictions are.
The not-so-unlimited-tariffs on AT&T's 3G HSPA+ network are capped at 3GB while 4G LTE users get an extra 2GB, the company said in an announcement (summarized below). Smartphone users with an unlimited 3G or 4G data plan:
- You'll receive a text when your usage nears 3GB in one billing cycle.
- If you exceed 3GB, your speeds will be reduced for the rest of that cycle.
- The next time you exceed 3GB, your speeds will be reduced sans warning.
- Folks with a 4G LTE unlimited plan are soft capped at 5GB instead of 3GB.
AT&T says the changes are required due to ever-increasing mobile data usage and the availability of the wireless spectrum becoming scarcer. The caps purportedly ensure the best possible mobile broadband experience for all users.
The caps are unlikely to affect 95 percent of AT&T users, while the remaining 5 percent will still be able to consume data beyond the soft caps -- albeit slower than usual.
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User Comments: 52
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A bill in cogress to stop this? Wow Legislating morality is soo sooooo sad for America and its Corperate Economy.Whats new about that, morality has always been an issue with upper management.
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"Guest said:
The point isn't the amount. The point is that it's wrong for them to pull in a bunch of customers with "unlimited data" and change the deal afterwards."
This truly is the point- not how much bandwidth or data is used. When I signed up for AT&T (actually I merely attached myself to my husband's account), I got a very long, vague description of what "unlimited" data meant. I was not iPhone smart at the time and just figured my husband would know all about it. Not! It truly is deception on AT&T's part; even the clerk who helped me knew he couldn't come right out and explain that the advertisement was not true. This really stinks, and I really don't know what to do about it (other than change carriers after the contract is up.)
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