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T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

blogs.computerworlduk.com

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Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#31

Post by JoeAltmaier »

jonhohle wrote: post #27
tomjen3 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They will have to buy it from some other company then: if they don't have the bandwith, they shouldn't sell it.

Not only that, but more users for them means more money to buy hardware and upstream bandwidth and hopefully some profit. That's the reason people are paying them. Perhaps telecom is different than most markets, but more users generally drives costs down, not up.

Wireless bandwidth is absolutely limited - there is only one "over-the-air" channel. Well, one per tower, kind of.

Then, to buy from somebody else you have to presuppose some open, free market with excess bandwidth. That doesn't exist today.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#33

Post by SimonPStevens »

omh wrote: post #20
SimonPStevens wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"every mention of "unlimited" in their advertisements or contracts will have a footnote saying that it is actually capped" So you are saying it's OK because they correct it in the footnotes? By that logic they could also offer "500 minutes & 500 texts... Footnote: actually, it's capped at 10". What I don't understand is how they can advertise with a word with a crystal clear meaning like unlimited and then totally g…

The regulator for adverts is the Advertising Standards Agency, and several years ago they decided that this sort of thing was OK. A key part of this was because "most" people would never get near the limits. The judgment is at: http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2008/9/Vodafo... Of course the number of people affected was a figure provided by Vodafone, and by getting this adjudication in early Vodafone we…

This is exactly the what I was looking for. Thanks.

I disagree with their decision, but at least it's documented and regulated I suppose.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#34

Post by jonhohle »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #31
jonhohle wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but more users for them means more money to buy hardware and upstream bandwidth and hopefully some profit. That's the reason people are paying them. Perhaps telecom is different than most markets, but more users generally drives costs down, not up.

Wireless bandwidth is absolutely limited - there is only one "over-the-air" channel. Well, one per tower, kind of. Then, to buy from somebody else you have to presuppose some open, free market with excess bandwidth. That doesn't exist today.

Agreed, there is only so much that can be fixed with hardware (hardware would help spotty coverage in the US, for example).

As has been stated earlier, if they can't provide it, they shouldn't be selling it (and if the laws of physics don't permit what they are selling, they shouldn't be selling it).

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#35

Post by seabee »

SimonPStevens wrote: post #12
mikegreenberg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understood that "unlimited" meant all you can eat with a biggest pipe we can offer you for the first X Gb, and then we throttle "over the cap" usage for the rest of the billing cycle. Technically, you can keep using it, but at reduced speeds.

Makes sense. But in a slightly different domain, my broadband provider advertises "Unlimited XMbps broadband" but throttles after 1.5Gb. That's clearly not "Unlimited XMb/s" That's "1.5Gb XMb/s broadband with unlimited 300Kbps broadband". Yeah I know broadband speed is a big grey area, and they have all these getout clauses like service conditions etc etc, but when it comes right down to it the whole thing just feels…

Varying broadband speeds are why UK ISPs have to state 'up to X Mbps', since they can't guarantee the customer they will get the advertised maximum.

Unfortunately, this makes it easier for them get away with the 'unlimited' designation, since they're no longer promising you any particular speed.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#36

Post by salvadors »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #25

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/help-and-support/index?page=ho... "There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract" This is for new users only or people upgrading. It doesn't affect existing contracts .

The original change was for existing contracts too. They've since backed off from that and now only apply it to new contracts.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#37

Post by steveklabnik »

ZoFreX wrote: post #11

There is a lot of FUD flying around over this issue. Hopefully I can dispel some of it. Firstly, it's a fair usage policy, not a hard limit. You don't get charged for over-use with a FUP. With my contract (which is with Orange), if I go over the FUP a little bit, nothing happens. If I take the piss then they will ask me to upgrade to a larger data package, or use less, or lose it. Secondly, the "T-Mobile says no vide…

My girlfriend used 3GB of mobile data a month or two ago. She listens to a lot of Pandora.

Your experiences are not able to be extrapolated to another chunk of the population.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#38

Post by steveklabnik »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #25

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/help-and-support/index?page=ho... "There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract" This is for new users only or people upgrading. It doesn't affect existing contracts .

What about those of us who decided to go month-to-month, for example?

"The duration of their contract" means "you get to wait a little while before getting fucked."

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#39

Post by steveklabnik »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #23
eftpotrm wrote: post #17

Another customer who's fed up with this. I went with T-Mobile just over a month ago knowing they had other limitations - worse coverage and slower data rates - specifically because they had good data terms. Now this isn't true, and I _will_ be kicking up a fuss about this in the effort to get either this rescinded or my contract cancelled without penalty (for which I'm quite happy to return the phone provided under i…

In the places I travel to in the Midlands and Lincolnshire, I've always found T-Mobile to have the best 3G network. In comparison to O2, Vodafone and Orange anyway. I'm on T-Mobile PAYG and I currently buy a £20 booster once every 6 months which gives me 1GB of data per month. So effectively £3.33/month for 1GB of data. Which I thought was brilliant . I wont be happy if this drops to 500MB (although it's not obvious…

This is why we don't have nice things.

"I mean, I'm still getting _less_ screwed than with everyone else" is the reality of the situation, but that doesn't make it good. Or right.

Re: T-Mobile caps smartphone users' data at 500 MB/month

#40

Post by stcredzero »

Here's what I've done:

    - Unlocked iPhone 
      (I bought a Canadian one, but you can also jailbreak.)
    - Clear 4G mobile hotspot
Between this and onsite WiFi, I have all the mobile broadband that I'd want.

After reading the article, I'm considering moving from my T-Mobile monthly service to AT&T GoPhone. I can buy minutes and megabytes for emergency use and maintain this for very little cost. (Which I'm free to do, since I've refused to have a contract.)

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