AT&T throttling usage on their so-called "unlimited" plan

This is the reason I have already written an email to 

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson expressing my disgust.

 

I have loved AT&T these years I have been a subscriber.

However, come the release of the iPad 3 and iPhone 5

I will be switching over to Verizon.

I plan to go to Verizon too, but they suck as well.

But I'm leaving AT&T unless there is some zinger in the works like there always has been.

This is partly why I have little inclination to lock myself up for 2 years just for the privilege to pay an extra $30/month+tax/fees, which probably means extra ~$45/month given telco billing math, to get potentially screwed by any of them.

 

I guess I could try going unlocked or contract-free, but that's really no better for the asking price of whatever smartphone that will likely get obsoleted in a couple years' time.

 

I can see Robert's point (in his approach), but I have a growing family (and enough friends, acquaintances, etc.), so his approach probably doesn't work any better for my case either -- maybe after we become empty-nesters years from now perhaps...

 

Of course, it helps that my company's willing to pay for my BB (at least for now), and nobody else in the family needs/wants a smartphone enough to justify the costs...  They'd be much happier w/ an iPad or another lite-weight laptop or something...

 

_Man_

 

I have been with Verizon for many years, and luckily have a grandfathered unlimited data plan which has never been throttled (but I am not currently a heavy data user). My main reasons for sticking with them this long are (1) they have the best coverage in the areas I travel -- especially in northern Michigan, where coverage can be challenging in some areas, (2) I get a 22% discount through my employer, and (3) I have the grandfathered unlimited data plan.

However, I am not so naive to believe that Verizon will not pull something like this in the future. Should that happen, I would be just as upset as you AT&T users and would begin looking for another carrier, provided they can meet my coverage and pricing requirements.

Ultimately, as many letters I have sent this past week 

complaining to ATT execs about the throttling and 

threatening to leave, I have come to realize that the

service has me by my cahungas.

 

Verizon no longer has an unlimited plan. So, leaving

AT&T will only take me to a service that will cost me 

more and give me less (though right now I am getting

less with a 2GB limit).

 

But here's where AT&T really has me.....

 

They are the only service that allows simultaneous

voice and data usage.  You can multitask on the iPhone

during a phone call with AT&T.  You can't do that on Verizon.

 

Also, I can stay on AT&T's lowest minute plan. With

rollover minutes, any unused time gets rolled over to 

the next month and so on.  I always have extra minutes

available for those few months I exceed my plan's allowance.

 

Finally, and most importantly, AT&T data speeds are 

remarkably faster than Verizon.  This has not only been

confirmed in online articles, but I can personally confirm

that as fact.  I used to have a Verizon data card for my

PC.  The speed was much slower than tethering off my

iPhone.  AT&T really has faster data speeds.

 

So, I can complain all I want about AT&T but in reality,

there is nowhere to go.

 

AT&T is actually allowing customers to get 3GB of data

per month for the same price as the unlimited throttled at

2GB.  It's an attractive offer to get users out of the unlimited

plan.  I might think about doing exactly that.  The unlimited

plan no longer has any benefits to it.

Ron,

Your speed issues should go away once Apple offers a 4G/LTE iPhone. I find that Verizon's 3G speeds are fine in this area for basic uses (email, audio streaming, etc.), and only switch my phone to 4G occasionally -- 3G uses less battery power than 4G. When at home and work, I switch to wi-fi and get the best of both worlds -- faster speeds and better battery life.

As for being able to simultaneously use voice and data, is that something you really need? I know each person uses their phone differently, but it is something I have never really needed in the 2 years I've owned a smartphone.

Verizon was offering 4GB of data per month for the price of 2GB, but I'm not sure if that offer is still available.

I'll probably stay on ATT. Also the grandfathered unlimited.


I rarely go over 1g of usage per month since its on wifi most of the time, but like that its there if i need it.
Also the simultaneously use of voice and data is needed for us so that is more of what will keep us o ATT.

I use my phone for other web surfing all the time while on speaker phone, often muted.

I was desperate financially a few years ago and worked for an AT&T call center for about three months.

They couldn't give a shit about the customer and I will never, ever do business with them. Their entire business plan is "ripoff the customer as much as possible".

They don't care, especially about what is called "churn", when they lose customers to other vendors. There are still enough people that start up with them they don't care if they lose customers, new buyers or people ticked off with other vendors will mistakenly come to them.

They treat their employees like crap, you are forced to work in sweatshops, and they change their rules, policies, plans you can offer, etc. with no notice.

If you have an older plan and are happy with it, keep it, so far you're grandfathered in to the old plan. If you make one change to it, you will never get it back. A CSR can push one button and it's gone for good. The way their computer system is written, you can't add customers back to old plans, they're history, you now have to sell them a new one.

Scum, pure scum. Good luck to those of you with them now, they'll invent a new way to rip you off in the future with magical fees or whatever else they can come up with. The recent throttling plans are just a start.

Obviously I'm not an AT&T fan and never will be.

FWIW, on Verizon LTE (4G) you can do simultaneous voice and data if the phone supports it. Hopefully that will include the next iPhone. As it happens, Verizon is expanding LTE this week. Also, I believe one of HTC's 3G android phones (Thunderbolt) also supported sim. voice/data with a special chipset but I don't think any other phones have that feature.

 

-Keith