ATT throttles unlimited account when data usage is only 1.5Gb

[purplecow827]

I'm extremely unhappy with AT&T's service. 

I have the iPhone 4 with the unlimited data plan.  Last month, I used quite a bit of data and got a warning message via txt.  Couple days later, my billing cycle was reset and I thought that there was nothing to worry about. 

Today, I find out that my data is being throttled when my total data usage this month is only 1.5Gb.  Where is the unlimited in this?  Also, why am I paying $30 for this type of service when other who pay $25 for a 2Gb plan doesn't get throttled at all?

Is anybody else experiencing this?  If so, I urge you to speak up and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/telephone-companies/atandt-in-atlanta-ga-7935

[purplecow827]

I couldn't find edit on the forum tools.

Does anybody know how AT&T determine what 5% of data usage is? When I called tech support, they could not give me any straight answers.

[21stNow]

I doubt that there is an answer that would be considered a "straight" answer.  When AT&T looks at all ~95 million customers' data usage, those in the top 5% could receive throttled speeds for the remainder of their billing cycles.  Since customer usage will vary from month to month, the amount of data used by the top 5% will vary from month to month.  It is a moving target for customers to try to stay below.

[johninsj ACE - Wizard]

How many days into the billing cycle are you, when you're at 1.5GB?

How much data did you use last month?

How are you determining you've used 1.5 GB?

[purplecow827]

I'm a week into my billing cycle.

I used 6Gb last month since I'm streaming Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora. 

I'm getting my usage info from my phone since I reset the Usage Report on the phone.  Plus, AT&T customer service stated that I used 1.5Gb so far this month.

Now, I can barely surf on Safari.  It's as if I'm getting no data.

I don't even know how they determine the top 5%.  They don't give any straight answers.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]

[brainwaver]

I'm not one of the tech savy posters but 6GB of data in one month sounds extremely excessive to me!!!

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purplecow827 wrote:

I'm a week into my billing cycle.

I used 6Gb last month since I'm streaming Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora. 

I'm getting my usage info from my phone since I reset the Usage Report on the phone.  Plus, AT&T customer service stated that I used 1.5Gb so far this month.

Now, I can barely surf on Safari.  It's as if I'm getting no data.

I don't even know how they determine the top 5%.  They don't give any straight answers.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]

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[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

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brainwaver wrote:

I'm not one of the tech savy posters but 6GB of data in one month sounds extremely excessive to me!!!

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purplecow827 wrote:

I'm a week into my billing cycle.

I used 6Gb last month since I'm streaming Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora. 

I'm getting my usage info from my phone since I reset the Usage Report on the phone.  Plus, AT&T customer service stated that I used 1.5Gb so far this month.

Now, I can barely surf on Safari.  It's as if I'm getting no data.

I don't even know how they determine the top 5%.  They don't give any straight answers.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]

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6GB is nothing compared to a user who is using 30GB of data per month on an Unlimited Data plan participating in a thread on the General Care and Support board.

6GB is a bit excessive. I wonder how much data I would use with my daily usage if I used my iPhone/Android phone on a post paid plan. Probably not much.

[johninsj ACE - Wizard]

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purplecow827 wrote:

I'm a week into my billing cycle.

I used 6Gb last month since I'm streaming Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora. 

I'm getting my usage info from my phone since I reset the Usage Report on the phone.  Plus, AT&T customer service stated that I used 1.5Gb so far this month.

Now, I can barely surf on Safari.  It's as if I'm getting no data.

I don't even know how they determine the top 5%.  They don't give any straight answers.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]

---

So you were on track to hit 6GB again. Accourding to the press release,

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=20535&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=32318&mapcode=corporate

Starting October 1, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users.  These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.  Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.

So your usage of 1.5GB in a week put you in the top 5%, and is on track to exceed 6GB, and you just came off a throttle.

Yes, they want you to use less. But, they will give you unlimited, at vastly reduced speeds, if you don't.

They determine the 5% by looking at the use of all users on unlimited, each day. If 95 out of 100 use 1MB and 5 use 250MB, those 5 are in the top 5%

My guess is if you went a month without exceeding 2GB, you'd be able to regularly hit 5GB a month without issue. But it's just a guess.

[purplecow827]

I don't think it's excessive. 6Gb is a bit more than 1 DVD. In the future, data consumption for everyone will go up.

At home, on my wifi, I probably exceed 15-20GB for the entire household per month.

[purplecow827]

"My guess is if you went a month without exceeding 2GB, you'd be able to regularly hit 5GB a month without issue. But it's just a guess"

You're probably right.

I believe they only throttle the unlimited customers. I would like to see AT&T throttle their tiered customers as well and not discriminate.

[tonester]

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johninsj wrote:

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purplecow827 wrote:

I'm a week into my billing cycle.

I used 6Gb last month since I'm streaming Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora. 

I'm getting my usage info from my phone since I reset the Usage Report on the phone.  Plus, AT&T customer service stated that I used 1.5Gb so far this month.

Now, I can barely surf on Safari.  It's as if I'm getting no data.

I don't even know how they determine the top 5%.  They don't give any straight answers.

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]

---

So you were on track to hit 6GB again. Accourding to the press release,

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=20535&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=32318&mapcode=corporate

Starting October 1, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users.  These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.  Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.

So your usage of 1.5GB in a week put you in the top 5%, and is on track to exceed 6GB, and you just came off a throttle.

Yes, they want you to use less. But, they will give you unlimited, at vastly reduced speeds, if you don't.

They determine the 5% by looking at the use of all users on unlimited, each day. If 95 out of 100 use 1MB and 5 use 250MB, those 5 are in the top 5%

My guess is if you went a month without exceeding 2GB, you'd be able to regularly hit 5GB a month without issue. But it's just a guess.

---

I would love to see where you got that info about how AT&T does its top 5% determination EACH DAY; I mean, AT&T is not willing to give OP an answer on how exactly they calculate the top 5%, so apparently you must have access to some inside information that would otherwise not be given to us less-priviledged folks for you to say that they determine the top 5% on a daily basis.  If what you say is indeed fact, then that means hypothetically an unlimited user could be throttled on the second day of their billing cycle after using just 10 MB (or even less, depending on how much data on average the other 95% of folks used on a particular day.  Heck--you could use 100 MB on one day and not be in the top 5% for that day, but use 10 MB on a subsequent day and manage to wind up in the top 5%, thus getting throttled for the rest of the billing cycle; no way you or anyone else could tell me that this is the most sensible and proper way for AT&T to do this (calculate on a per-day basis)...let alone say that it's fair.

[purplecow827]

Once you're in the top 5%, you're stuck in there for the rest of the month.  This will most like make you drop out of the the 5%.  However, the throttle/cripple is still in place until the next billing cycle.

[delosla]

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

[purplecow827]

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

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Just file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.  Let's let AT&T know how we really feel.  It doesn't take too much time and is really easy to do.

http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/teleph​one-companies/atandt-in-atlanta-ga-7935

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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purplecow827 wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Just file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.  Let's let AT&T know how we really feel.  It doesn't take too much time and is really easy to do.

http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/teleph​one-companies/atandt-in-atlanta-ga-7935

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/rofl bbb - that and fity cents will get you something - beside what exactly are they doing wrong that is NOT in their terms of service and fair use policy - you did read these right?

[archermoo]

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

Using 2GB of data and being throttled on an Unlimited Data plan sounds pretty unfair to me. For tiered data plan customers using the 2GB plan, does that mean that they would be in the top 5% of high data users, too, if they used all the alloted 2GB? Being on an Unlimited plan should not make a difference compared to users using 2GB being labeled in the "top 5%".

[archermoo]

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Wild Banchi wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

Using 2GB of data and being throttled on an Unlimited Data plan sounds pretty unfair to me. For tiered data plan customers using the 2GB plan, does that mean that they would be in the top 5% of high data users, too, if they used all the alloted 2GB? Being on an Unlimited plan should not make a difference compared to users using 2GB being labeled in the "top 5%".

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Probably so.  However since people only people with unlimited plans are getting throttled it doesn't really matter if tiered users are in that top 5%.  Tiered users already have in incentive to not use excessive amounts of data.  It is that they get charged more if they go beyond their base allotment.  Unlimited users did not previously have one, but now they do.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

Yep, I knew that. So I guess it truly is fair when you think about it - tiered data users pay more for overage fees and Unlimited Data users are being throttled in return so that they don't use too much. I just don't feel that Unlimited users should be throttled at 2GB when tiered users are allowed to use that amount fairly.

[Kspang]

Agreed, one week into my pay period and im already throttled. Youtube doesn't work. That's all I really noticed. There should be some kind of reimbursement for having this unlimited data plan that is really kind of limited. Pandora still works. Lets See how many gb's I can rack being throttled with 3 weeks left in my pay period.

[ToyotaMax]

Is that a new tactics from ATT to get ride of unlimited data plan customers ???????

In the phone, through their instant chat , they make you feel you are not welcome.

I a know that I use a lot of data in my iphone . What its the purpose of unlimited data ( I use it for business purpose )

[thively]

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Kspang wrote:
Agreed, one week into my pay period and im already throttled. Youtube doesn't work. That's all I really noticed. There should be some kind of reimbursement for having this unlimited data plan that is really kind of limited. Pandora still works. Lets See how many gb's I can rack being throttled with 3 weeks left in my pay period.

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The solution is to swtich to tiered data.  They don't throttle you on tiered data.

You start with 2GB for $25, and if you go over that it's $10 per GB.

So you're welcome to use as much data as fast as you can and as much as you want to afford.

AT&T has made it clear that they don't want unlimited users to use a lot of data.   If you want to stay on unlimited for whatever reason, then I'd be more selective about what I stream over 3G and make more effort to use wifi for data intensive applicaitons.

[thively]

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

I would be shocked if 2GB was the top 5% of unlimited users.  There's no reason they should throttle you under 2GB when you're paying $30/month, whereas $25 buys you 2GB on tiered.

They should at least give you $30 worth of data (2.5GB) before they start throttling.  That's my opinion.

It's clear that they are trying to force the attrition of unlimited users.  As people abandon unlimited the top 5% will continually go down until even 200kb will be considered top 5%.

Well, I'll hold out until then.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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thively wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

I would be shocked if 2GB was the top 5% of unlimited users.  There's no reason they should throttle you under 2GB when you're paying $30/month, whereas $25 buys you 2GB on tiered.

They should at least give you $30 worth of data (2.5GB) before they start throttling.  That's my opinion.

It's clear that they are trying to force the attrition of unlimited users.  As people abandon unlimited the top 5% will continually go down until even 200kb will be considered top 5%.

Well, I'll hold out until then.

---

depends 2gb 5 days into your billing cycle is a lot different then 2gb used with only 5 days left in your billing cycle.

on tiered 2gb in the first five days of your billing cycle just gets you the overage charge for a new block of date on the 6th day

[archermoo]

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thively wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

I would be shocked if 2GB was the top 5% of unlimited users.  There's no reason they should throttle you under 2GB when you're paying $30/month, whereas $25 buys you 2GB on tiered.

They should at least give you $30 worth of data (2.5GB) before they start throttling.  That's my opinion.

It's clear that they are trying to force the attrition of unlimited users.  As people abandon unlimited the top 5% will continually go down until even 200kb will be considered top 5%.

Well, I'll hold out until then.

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Of course they are trying to get unlimited users to switch to one of the metered plans.  I hadn't realized that there was any doubt about that.  Why wouldn't they?

[tonester]

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archermoo wrote:

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thively wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

I would be shocked if 2GB was the top 5% of unlimited users.  There's no reason they should throttle you under 2GB when you're paying $30/month, whereas $25 buys you 2GB on tiered.

They should at least give you $30 worth of data (2.5GB) before they start throttling.  That's my opinion.

It's clear that they are trying to force the attrition of unlimited users.  As people abandon unlimited the top 5% will continually go down until even 200kb will be considered top 5%.

Well, I'll hold out until then.

---

Of course they are trying to get unlimited users to switch to one of the metered plans.  I hadn't realized that there was any doubt about that.  Why wouldn't they?

---

LOL--while they're at it, maybe they should get folks still on the $10/1000 text plan to switch over to the $20/unlimited text plan.  Heck, why stop there--they might as well get folks still on grandfathered voice plans to switch over to the current individual/family plans.  Because as we all know, the main reason AT&T would like to get unlimited folks to switch over to tiered has very little to do with bandwidth and more to do with profitability; not that there's anything wrong with trying to maximize profit, but if anyone really believes that AT&T implemented throttling simply because of bandwidth issues--well then some of these folks should stop arguing about how certain other users are hogging all the bandwidth when they themselves are constantly proclaming about how they have no issues with data speeds/throughput when they use their phones...it makes their argument come across as laughable, at best.

[archermoo]

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tonester wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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thively wrote:

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archermoo wrote:

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delosla wrote:

I just got the same text message and I'm in day 23 of my billing cycle and am only at 2 gigs on my UN-LIMITED data plan.  I find it hard to beleve that I'm in the top 5%.  Really makes me want to change carriers.

---

Why do you find it hard to believe that at 2GB of usage you are in the top 5% of data users?  AT&T stated when they switched to the tiered data plans that 95% of users would easily fit into one of the tiered plans with no additional charges.  So it seems pretty straightforward that if you use 2GB that you would likely be in that top 5%.

---

I would be shocked if 2GB was the top 5% of unlimited users.  There's no reason they should throttle you under 2GB when you're paying $30/month, whereas $25 buys you 2GB on tiered.

They should at least give you $30 worth of data (2.5GB) before they start throttling.  That's my opinion.

It's clear that they are trying to force the attrition of unlimited users.  As people abandon unlimited the top 5% will continually go down until even 200kb will be considered top 5%.

Well, I'll hold out until then.

---

Of course they are trying to get unlimited users to switch to one of the metered plans.  I hadn't realized that there was any doubt about that.  Why wouldn't they?

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LOL--while they're at it, maybe they should get folks still on the $10/1000 text plan to switch over to the $20/unlimited text plan.  Heck, why stop there--they might as well get folks still on grandfathered voice plans to switch over to the current individual/family plans.  Because as we all know, the main reason AT&T would like to get unlimited folks to switch over to tiered has very little to do with bandwidth and more to do with profitability; not that there's anything wrong with trying to maximize profit, but if anyone really believes that AT&T implemented throttling simply because of bandwidth issues--well then some of these folks should stop arguing about how certain other users are hogging all the bandwidth when they themselves are constantly proclaming about how they have no issues with data speeds/throughput when they use their phones...it makes their argument come across as laughable, at best.

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I'm sure they'd love to get people who are on any kind of plan that they no longer offer to move over to their current pricing structure.  And while in some areas of the country I'm sure bandwidth isn't an issue, in others it is an incredibly pressing issue.  I would certainly agree with you that anyone who thinks that AT&T implemented the metered plans solely because of bandwidth issues is woefully out of touch.  Just like anyone who believes that they implemented them solely due to wanting to increase profit is equally out of touch.

[DimentoGraven]

Absolutely true, if tiered users can use as much as they want, as fast as they want, by just paying more, and in the words of another poster, all AT&T is trying to do is make sure that "UNLIMMITED CUSTOMERS DO NOT USE TO MUCH DATA", then AT&T has changed the rules on us unlimmited plan holders, yet again, without fair notice, or compensation.

Apparently AT&T is willing to let its tiered users use enough bandwidth to crash the entire internet, as long as they pay, but those of us that originally contracted for UNLIMMITED data are screwed because AT&T feels they aren't being compensated fairly.

Y'know what AT&T?  You hate us unlimmited contract holders SO MUCH, why not just buy out our contract and buy back our locked phones and let us pick another carrier?  We were playing by the rules YOU set up, but you had to get greedy, change the rules so that your "UNLIMMITED" plan no longer meets the definition of the word nor the service level we originally signed up for.

[Edited to comply with Guidelines]

[JFizDaWiz]

Its still unlimited, just slower.

[stufried]

Would someone who is currently throttled run one of the various benchmark tests and post what the speed is.  If you've got EDGE speed, I think I can vaguely buy the argument (vaguely), if it is GPRS I don't think so.  ATT has a duty of good faith and most of us signed up for the unlimited on 3g plans. Second, ATT has some inconsistency on this point.  They are fighting (sometimes giving in, sometimes not depending how squeaky the wheel is) those of us on unlimited international upgrading to the 4s claiming that we are not entitled because their HSPA+ network is faster.  By making this admission, I think they have some inconsistency on their side.