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AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

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Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#111
post #4

We should stop lawyers from re-defining words like unlimited. We should make sure that if somebody says unlimited in advertisment or product description it really means unlimited. I know, I am an idealist. :)

I had to take some training for a BigCo client, and they made a special point that you had to run marketing that used words like "free", "unlimited", and "lifetime" past a lawyer because you couldn't just fine print your way out of the common meanings.

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#113
post #14
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what does unlimited mean then in your definition? Even before they throttle, you will be limited by the throughput of the cell tower.

FYI, "unlimited data" != "unlimited throughput". No one's asking for unlimited throughput. What people who signed up thought they were getting was pretty straightforward - unlimited data at the throughput promised. Period.

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Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#114
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

After 21GB they de-prioritize you. Even on the unlimited 4G LTE plan. That doesn't happen on Verizon, people push multiple terabytes a month on those plans and have no throttling or deprioritization of any kind. It's in the fine print: http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/individual.html > *Unlimited 4G LTE customers who use more than 21 GB of data in a bill cycle will have their data usage de-prioritized compare…

  people push multiple terabytes a month on those plans 
  and have no throttling or deprioritization of any kind.
Interesting. I'm in the market for an unlimited plan and am vetting providers. It would be helpful if you could link to the info.

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#115
post #29
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting question. "Unlimited: Wherein the amount of bandwidth, measured by megabits/s up/down, will not be artificially affected. While system outages or other technical limitations can at times affect throughput, at no point will AT&T or its subsidiaries place constraints upon throughput based upon the amount of data transferred over the course of one or more billing periods."

Would an ISP still be able to call their service "unlimited", by this definition, if some of their distribution nodes (cable optical nodes, wireless cell towers, whatever) are oversubscribed+saturated to the point of degraded service for the customers on that node? If they could, then would they still be able to call the service "unlimited" if they enforced moment-by-moment QoS at the distribution node (so your neigh…

"Would an ISP still be able to call their service "unlimited", by this definition, if some of their distribution nodes (cable optical nodes, wireless cell towers, whatever) are oversubscribed+saturated to the point of degraded service for the customers on that node?"

I actually complained to the FCC about this very issue. Where my office is, I can see the service degradation progress over the course of the day, peaking around 2PM when everyone's in the office. Should ATT really be allowed to advertise that they provide LTE service here, when every weekday the service provided is much, much slower, if usable at all?

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#116
post #4

We should stop lawyers from re-defining words like unlimited. We should make sure that if somebody says unlimited in advertisment or product description it really means unlimited. I know, I am an idealist. :)

I guarantee you that it was marketing, not legal, that came up with those definitions. After all, its marketing that gets the credit while the company sells throttled service as "unlimited," but its legal that takes the blame when the FTC fines the company $100 million for that practice.

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#117
post #4

We should stop lawyers from re-defining words like unlimited. We should make sure that if somebody says unlimited in advertisment or product description it really means unlimited. I know, I am an idealist. :)

I had to take some training for a BigCo client, and they made a special point that you had to run marketing that used words like "free", "unlimited", and "lifetime" past a lawyer because you couldn't just fine print your way out of the common meanings.

I understand that it is much easier to sell something with unlimited (even if it is not) or free (even if it is not).

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#118
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would an ISP still be able to call their service "unlimited", by this definition, if some of their distribution nodes (cable optical nodes, wireless cell towers, whatever) are oversubscribed+saturated to the point of degraded service for the customers on that node? If they could, then would they still be able to call the service "unlimited" if they enforced moment-by-moment QoS at the distribution node (so your neigh…

"Would an ISP still be able to call their service "unlimited", by this definition, if some of their distribution nodes (cable optical nodes, wireless cell towers, whatever) are oversubscribed+saturated to the point of degraded service for the customers on that node?" I actually complained to the FCC about this very issue. Where my office is, I can see the service degradation progress over the course of the day, peaki…

What does it mean to sell wireless service 'where my office is'? Presumably you could drive somewhere inside their geographic service area and continue to get service. After all, its wireless.

Every service will be limited by local congestion. I'm not sure where this could be going? I get unlimited water from my local water company; but of course the pipes and the number of faucets at my house are practical limits.

Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#119

To put this into perspective: $100MM is 0.0759878% of AT&T's 2014 gross revenue, so less than 1/10th of 1%. That's like earning a $100,000/yr salary, and then paying a $75.99 fine. It's basically less than your average speeding ticket.

> $100MM is 0.0759878% of AT&T's 2014 gross revenue Which is completely irrelevant. To the extent a revenue comparison is relevant, the relevant revenue isn't AT&T's 2014 gross revenue, its the revenue over the period of the activities covered by the fine attributable either to the unlimited data plans, or to other data plans to which people switch from unlimited plans once the slowdown was in place.

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Re: AT&T fined $100M after slowing down its ‘unlimited’ data

#120

To put this into perspective: $100MM is 0.0759878% of AT&T's 2014 gross revenue, so less than 1/10th of 1%. That's like earning a $100,000/yr salary, and then paying a $75.99 fine. It's basically less than your average speeding ticket.

> $100MM is 0.0759878% of AT&T's 2014 gross revenue Which is completely irrelevant. To the extent a revenue comparison is relevant, the relevant revenue isn't AT&T's 2014 gross revenue, its the revenue over the period of the activities covered by the fine attributable either to the unlimited data plans, or to other data plans to which people switch from unlimited plans once the slowdown was in place.

It seems reasonable to make it based upon the value they charged vs the value they provided on a per customer/month basis. If you did a calculation I bet it would come out a lot higher than $100 million. They have 72 million wireless customers. But I don't have the numbers infront of me (e.g. number who enrolled to unlimited data, for how long, how often it happened, how long this was happening, etc) to do the calculations myself.

Then multiply this difference in value provided by some number greater than 1.

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