So first you have to determine the percent of AT&T network capacity used by dumb phones something that isn't disclosed... then you have to factor in that prior to the iPhone, 90%+ of the smart phones went GREATLY unused due to cell phone developers being incompetent and unable to build a product that is useable by 'everyone' and not just the techno-geeks. Then you have the fly in the ointment (aka the iPhone) that enabled everyone to finally utilize the technologies that everyone else failed to develop, whoosh data usage soars.
Now my questions are this:
How many 'dumb' phones are on AT&Ts network?
What % of the network traffic do they consume?
How many (non-iPhone) smartphones are on AT&Ts network?
What % of the network traffic do they consume?
Finally how many iPhones are on the AT&T network and what % of the network traffic do they consume?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a GREAT NUMBER of iPhone users are being shoved into that '3% abusers' group.
What I find most telling is they don't give any indication on what IS an acceptable use of bandwidth.
Finally this quote:
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation. Isn't the iPhone default minutes 400. If you used all of them that would be: 8.75KBps x 60sec x 400min) = 210,000KB per 400 minutes or a whooping 205MB for an entire month. I was using 20-30GB per month, and likely part of that 3%. Honestly, how many use that many minutes in a month? I have thousands that have rolled over? That is for an entire month, check to see how much data a single email or webpage is. It's quite clear that data on phones uses a lot more than voice on average.
Quote:
But wait... didn't they just get done saying that 3% of the smartphone users were resposible for consuming 40% of the AT&T 3G bandwidth? If so then how could they turn around and proclaim 3G is ''sufficient to handle data traffic for the next few years" unless they really mean "sufficient once we jack up the costs high enough to make people not use it".
These marketing terms '3G' and '4G' don't mean anything but the an incremental generation. It does indicate that 4G will give them more bandwidth, only that the upper limit of the spec offers more bandwidth. You'll likely see Verizon's LTE behind AT&T for several years of the inherent issues with starting on the ground floor of new tech and 3GSM is still near the bottom of its potential bandwidth ceiling, the problem is the universe we live in has physical laws and the technology to put both '3G' and '4G' forward hasn't yet been invented on this world. We have 7.2Mbps radios in the 3GS, 14.4Mbps in major cities on AT&T and technical limit of 84.4Mbps. LTE has inherent benefits and much higher ceiling but like I said, it'll take some time for it to best HSDPA in real world usage on established 3GSM networks.
I'm one of those iPhone users who uses very little 3G bandwidth. But these stories always bother me. AT&T required an "unlimited" data plan for each iPhone. So now we are to feel bad for AT&T because people are using the data plan?
Remember that AT&T agreed to carry the iPhone sight unseen and while I don't think the plans were finalized until just before the iPhone launch there was absolutely no way they could have predicted that kind of interest nor the amount of data usage that the device would require on average. Apple made the smartphone chic which attracted many buyers and they did this by making it usable. This was oddly unprecedented in that market segment.
Agreed with other posts... since data is unlimited at 30 bucks now, AT&T would be wise to have a couple of lower price tiered rates for lower data requirements. Hello iPad rates. If 30 bucks is tiered as such that it's the new bottom starting point for data capped at a lower minimum of MB or whatever would be the case would be a real stupid move on AT&T's part and I'm sure Verizon would have a few thoughts for some commercials to embarrass AT&T as much as their "There's a Map for That!" series have done. Verizon has a killer advertising agency for their commercials and AT&T has always been in a bad situation... great phone, lots new subscribers, more data usage, low grade network that they have been busy trying to enhance and catch up to Verizon, etc. Verizon can run a series entitled, "There's a Buck for That - You get more with Verizon!" type tv commercials, etc.
Rule #1 of statistics: "Work hard enough and you can prove almost anything".
There will ALWAYS be some percentage of the iPhone population that uses more bandwidth than anyone else. It's the very nature of variation in a group of people. When you've got no standard to compare a statement like "3% of iPhone users consume 40% of the bandwidth", those numbers are MEANINGLESS! Context is what matters, otherwise, it's like saying 30000000 dollars is the same as .30000000 dollars, when the only difference is where the period is placed.
The only reason ATT can come out and say we are gonna go ahead and wait a couple of years before even starting to think about rolling out 4g, is cause US does not have nearly the competition that Europe does. It's like either you go with Verizon or ATT, everyone else is is too small to even have towers in some places and have to rent them from one of these two players anyways.
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation. Isn't the iPhone default minutes 400. If you used all of them that would be: 8.75KBps x 60sec x 400min) = 210,000KB per 400 minutes or a whooping 205MB for an entire month. I was using 20-30GB per month, and likely part of that 3%. Honestly, how many use that many minutes in a month? I have thousands that have rolled over? That is for an entire month, check to see how much data a single email or webpage is. It's quite clear that data on phones uses a lot more than voice on average.
Are you referring to a GSM call, a 3G call or using the GSM codec?
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
Just look at the wired.com 3G iphone survey --- AT&T got the third fastest iphone speed in the whole world.
Europe only beats the US in the "advertised" speed department --- not actual speed.
Samething for broadband --- US is 4 years ahead of Europe in FTTH deployments.
Well right now we have gone Fron 3 to 28 world wide in terms of speed. Msnt countries can now watch tv on their phone while we're stuck at dl speeds that suck. Some nations are at 100 Meg already. The fastest we have is 10-30 Meg with most at poopy dsl 786k speeds.
I have no sympathy for those folks that complain about the definition of "Unlimited". If it's strictly using only their phone then perhaps I would have issues with it as well. However, since the top % of users use most of the bandwidth, would it be safe to say that they are probably abusing the resources by tethering their phone and having it become what is essentially a full-time DSL line for their networked LAN's?
Phone bandwidth is a limited resource and must be managed properly. As usual, the 1% ruins it for the other 99%.
I would have a problem if after implementation of this my phone plan does not go down.
It will be interesting to see what happens after if this plan is enacted. Perhaps the network reliability will increase due to the lower saturation on certain towers?
You know I agree with you. I am sure there are some people out there that are using their "jailbroken" iPhone as a full time LAN connection. For the majority of us iphone users, i highly doubt we exceed 5 GB a month so I don't know why it's such a big deal with everyone getting upset over AT&T's possible plan. If anything we will see an increase in the network performance and a lower bill, hopefully. I am sure no one wants to be charged data overage, VERY EXPENSIVE!!
Well right now we have gone Fron 3 to 28 world wide in terms of speed. Msnt countries can now watch tv on their phone while we're stuck at dl speeds that suck. Some nations are at 100 Meg already. The fastest we have is 10-30 Meg with most at poopy dsl 786k speeds.
blame that on the local governments and state public utility commissions that force cable companies to offer analog cable. but it's going away this year. Cablevision is killing analog later this month. Time Warner either killed it or will do so this year.
once analog cable goes away there will be a lot more free bandwidth on the cable companies' networks
I can't believe AT&T hasn't already done variable pricing. From AT&T's point of view, what's the cheapest way to almost double the bandwidth? Introduce variable pricing, and the top 3% heaviest users get pissed and leave. I'm sure the 3% loss in subscriptions is less than the infrastructure investment required to double the bandwidth.
Heck, if AT&T goes variable they might make out like a bandit -- all the heavy users leave and become somebody else's problems (e.g. Verizon's problem), and all the light users from every other cellular company (like Verizon) switch to get the cheap AT&T plan for light users (e.g. AT&T's $10/month for 250GB plan for ipad). With the heavy users gone, everybody marvels at how cheap AT&T and what a great bandwidth it provides. What irony!
Just look at the wired.com 3G iphone survey --- AT&T got the third fastest iphone speed in the whole world.
Provided you get a signal. I was in downtown Boston and was just getting Edge coverage. What the heck does a fast 3G network do me then? Or how about Kendall Square - so many smartphone suers you get 5 bars of 5G coverage and you can't even check email because of data failures.
And now I read an article that ATT is happy to sell us smart phones, and then give us discounts if we don't use them. Their network is too overload, but we don't feel like implementing the faster network just yet. So they gonna pay so many people to not use their phones that the network will open up?
They're in for a shock once the iphone is on other networks as their customers fly out the door...
But he does have a point even if he brings it out a bit overly dramatically. LTE gives roughly the same bandwidth as HSPA+ does if the same RF bandwidth is used (spectral efficiency of both is quite similar with HSPA+ actually being slightly better).
LTE-A is aiming at minimum bitrates of 1Gbps nomadic (home, starbucs) and 100Mbps mobile (i.e. in a car). This is why it's officialy regarded as 4G and LTE is 3.9G.
But it doesn't have much of an affect to the discussion at hand.
Softbank in Japan has a tiered system. And thankfully their campaigns have lowered the maximum fees. When the iPhone first debuted in japan it was roughly a flat $60 per month. Currently the deal starts at about $15 per month and climbs to a maximum of $45 per month From that point you are unlimited. It's actually a bit higher because of the current exchange rate but you get the idea.
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation.
GSM Full Rate codec is roughly 13.2kbps and AMR (used in 3G) at full rate is 12.2 kbps, with speeds down to 4,75kbps in congestion if needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
These marketing terms '3G' and '4G' don't mean anything but the an incremental generation. It does indicate that 4G will give them more bandwidth, only that the upper limit of the spec offers more bandwidth.
...
We have 7.2Mbps radios in the 3GS, 14.4Mbps in major cities on AT&T and technical limit of 84.4Mbps. LTE has inherent benefits and much higher ceiling but like I said, it'll take some time for it to best HSDPA in real world usage on established 3GSM networks.
Very well put. I doubt though, that AT&T has deployed HSPA+ with 64 QAM + MIMO and dual carrier yet (to get to 84.4Mbps). Let alone upgraded their backhaul to those levels (i.e. several hundred Mbps per site).
I just wish that phone companies would move to 4G as soon as they can. If they do this, then 3G might become standard and thus, we would all get better speeds. I also want to see the pricing structure be changed a little bit: 1) get RID of rollover minutes: with the amount of minutes they are giving you each month, it's just a gimick you have to put up with and pay for. 2) They should make it so that if you are using less data then you should be eligible for a better plan when you are using less and when you are using more internet, you should get better deals for using more internet.. Not just force everyone to pay for an amount which is not enough for the heavy users, and yet too much and too expensive for the low end users. I say that what would work best wouldn't be tiers but would be a sliding price point: they look at the exact number of MBs or KBs you use and then come up with a price per Mb where you'd still be paying more if you use more, and less if you use less, but per Mb it would get cheeper the more you use. After a certain amount is used you should just fall into the "unlimited" category. I think that this might make everyone happy, and would save lots of people money.
I also want to see the whole "you have X number of minutes" idea GO AWAY. You should either get "X of your currency per minute, or Unlimited for a flat fee of X", just like what you get from your landline and VOIP companies. It would just make more sense. I mean using minutes just sucks: you either pay for too much, and then you never use them up, or you don't get enough and end up spending a fortune because you ran out. Rollover minutes ONLY work if you SOMETIMES would go over your minutes, but not many people would ever fall into that category, so it's just a bad idea.
and lastly, if you buy a smartphone you shouldn't be forced to buy a huge data plan just because you have the phone. You should still get the choice to get the best deal for yourself. It's only fair, and it would save people money and make them happier.
P.S. I can't wait for the day when we have enough bandwidth to get a very fast speed, without worrying about clogging the airwaves. I also can't wait for the day when we finally get coverage that's as good as en europe.
And in europe, you look on your phone, and you get a choice of providers to use ON your phone.... yes you get a choice and crap (at least I got one when I was traveling in europe and had to get a temporary phone!) It was like each company was advertising to make you use their network. It was cool since i could see how much better the networks would have to be to get your service!
I have no sympathy for those folks that complain about the definition of "Unlimited". If it's strictly using only their phone then perhaps I would have issues with it as well. However, since the top % of users use most of the bandwidth, would it be safe to say that they are probably abusing the resources by tethering their phone and having it become what is essentially a full-time DSL line for their networked LAN's?
Phone bandwidth is a limited resource and must be managed properly. As usual, the 1% ruins it for the other 99%.
I would have a problem if after implementation of this my phone plan does not go down.
It will be interesting to see what happens after if this plan is enacted. Perhaps the network reliability will increase due to the lower saturation on certain towers?
This is a BS story that wireless carriers keep shoveling to distract customers from the facts. It's an attempt to deflect the blame for shitty service and greedy execs who want to wring even more money from their already overpaying customers.
If 1% of AT&T's customers were truly causing all the problems, don't you think AT&T would have corrected the issue by now? Only an idiot believes that AT&T plans to charge this 1% of users more money while letting the other 99% pay the same or less than they currently do. The real plan is to force everyone to pay even more for service and to switch to a tiered pricing model that will take us back to the dark ages of cellular service where every other month saw an astronomical bill for going a few minutes over the limit.
If they can't handle unlimited wireless traffic then they shouldn't ADVERTISE unlimited service.
If 1% of their customers are hogging all the bandwidth then 99% DESERVE A PRICE REDUCTION.
Agreed with other posts... since data is unlimited at 30 bucks now, AT&T would be wise to have a couple of lower price tiered rates for lower data requirements.
Oh, they will! it will look something like this:
Standard Unlimited Plan (up to 1MB/month).........$50
Advanced Unlimited Plan (up to 5MB/month)........$70
Super Unlimited Plan (up to 1GB/month)..............$150
* Overages charged at $0.10/kb
** No way to accurately track data usage on an ongoing basis
Standard Unlimited Plan (up to 1MB/month).........$50
Advanced Unlimited Plan (up to 5MB/month)........$70
Super Unlimited Plan (up to 1GB/month)..............$150
* Overages charged at $0.10/kb
** No way to accurately track data usage on an ongoing basis
That's what I'm afraid of. I mean what if the ISPs said that, and on top refused to increase the connection speeds. We'd be stuck paying per hour of dial up use till this day. Instead of discouraging people from using the internet, how about rolling out faster service that can accommodate more users. Or how about rolling out free wifi to your customers and expanding it to cover almost the whole of highly trafficed areas (like downtown).
And I don't mean cafe's but the whole shabang. I should get it on the L, outside, on the beach without interruption or having to sign in. In other words have the whole place covered and make the switch from 3g to wifi automagically.
Comments
So first you have to determine the percent of AT&T network capacity used by dumb phones something that isn't disclosed... then you have to factor in that prior to the iPhone, 90%+ of the smart phones went GREATLY unused due to cell phone developers being incompetent and unable to build a product that is useable by 'everyone' and not just the techno-geeks. Then you have the fly in the ointment (aka the iPhone) that enabled everyone to finally utilize the technologies that everyone else failed to develop, whoosh data usage soars.
Now my questions are this:
How many 'dumb' phones are on AT&Ts network?
What % of the network traffic do they consume?
How many (non-iPhone) smartphones are on AT&Ts network?
What % of the network traffic do they consume?
Finally how many iPhones are on the AT&T network and what % of the network traffic do they consume?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a GREAT NUMBER of iPhone users are being shoved into that '3% abusers' group.
What I find most telling is they don't give any indication on what IS an acceptable use of bandwidth.
Finally this quote:
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation. Isn't the iPhone default minutes 400. If you used all of them that would be: 8.75KBps x 60sec x 400min) = 210,000KB per 400 minutes or a whooping 205MB for an entire month. I was using 20-30GB per month, and likely part of that 3%. Honestly, how many use that many minutes in a month? I have thousands that have rolled over? That is for an entire month, check to see how much data a single email or webpage is. It's quite clear that data on phones uses a lot more than voice on average.
But wait... didn't they just get done saying that 3% of the smartphone users were resposible for consuming 40% of the AT&T 3G bandwidth? If so then how could they turn around and proclaim 3G is ''sufficient to handle data traffic for the next few years" unless they really mean "sufficient once we jack up the costs high enough to make people not use it".
These marketing terms '3G' and '4G' don't mean anything but the an incremental generation. It does indicate that 4G will give them more bandwidth, only that the upper limit of the spec offers more bandwidth. You'll likely see Verizon's LTE behind AT&T for several years of the inherent issues with starting on the ground floor of new tech and 3GSM is still near the bottom of its potential bandwidth ceiling, the problem is the universe we live in has physical laws and the technology to put both '3G' and '4G' forward hasn't yet been invented on this world. We have 7.2Mbps radios in the 3GS, 14.4Mbps in major cities on AT&T and technical limit of 84.4Mbps. LTE has inherent benefits and much higher ceiling but like I said, it'll take some time for it to best HSDPA in real world usage on established 3GSM networks.
I'm one of those iPhone users who uses very little 3G bandwidth. But these stories always bother me. AT&T required an "unlimited" data plan for each iPhone. So now we are to feel bad for AT&T because people are using the data plan?
Remember that AT&T agreed to carry the iPhone sight unseen and while I don't think the plans were finalized until just before the iPhone launch there was absolutely no way they could have predicted that kind of interest nor the amount of data usage that the device would require on average. Apple made the smartphone chic which attracted many buyers and they did this by making it usable. This was oddly unprecedented in that market segment.
There will ALWAYS be some percentage of the iPhone population that uses more bandwidth than anyone else. It's the very nature of variation in a group of people. When you've got no standard to compare a statement like "3% of iPhone users consume 40% of the bandwidth", those numbers are MEANINGLESS! Context is what matters, otherwise, it's like saying 30000000 dollars is the same as .30000000 dollars, when the only difference is where the period is placed.
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
Just look at the wired.com 3G iphone survey --- AT&T got the third fastest iphone speed in the whole world.
Europe only beats the US in the "advertised" speed department --- not actual speed.
Samething for broadband --- US is 4 years ahead of Europe in FTTH deployments.
and of course
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/A...39-Mbps-106488
and of course
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=186868
The only reason ATT can come out and say we are gonna go ahead and wait a couple of years before even starting to think about rolling out 4g, is cause US does not have nearly the competition that Europe does. It's like either you go with Verizon or ATT, everyone else is is too small to even have towers in some places and have to rent them from one of these two players anyways.
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation. Isn't the iPhone default minutes 400. If you used all of them that would be: 8.75KBps x 60sec x 400min) = 210,000KB per 400 minutes or a whooping 205MB for an entire month. I was using 20-30GB per month, and likely part of that 3%. Honestly, how many use that many minutes in a month? I have thousands that have rolled over? That is for an entire month, check to see how much data a single email or webpage is. It's quite clear that data on phones uses a lot more than voice on average.
Are you referring to a GSM call, a 3G call or using the GSM codec?
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
Just look at the wired.com 3G iphone survey --- AT&T got the third fastest iphone speed in the whole world.
Europe only beats the US in the "advertised" speed department --- not actual speed.
Samething for broadband --- US is 4 years ahead of Europe in FTTH deployments.
Well right now we have gone Fron 3 to 28 world wide in terms of speed. Msnt countries can now watch tv on their phone while we're stuck at dl speeds that suck. Some nations are at 100 Meg already. The fastest we have is 10-30 Meg with most at poopy dsl 786k speeds.
I have no sympathy for those folks that complain about the definition of "Unlimited". If it's strictly using only their phone then perhaps I would have issues with it as well. However, since the top % of users use most of the bandwidth, would it be safe to say that they are probably abusing the resources by tethering their phone and having it become what is essentially a full-time DSL line for their networked LAN's?
Phone bandwidth is a limited resource and must be managed properly. As usual, the 1% ruins it for the other 99%.
I would have a problem if after implementation of this my phone plan does not go down.
It will be interesting to see what happens after if this plan is enacted. Perhaps the network reliability will increase due to the lower saturation on certain towers?
You know I agree with you. I am sure there are some people out there that are using their "jailbroken" iPhone as a full time LAN connection. For the majority of us iphone users, i highly doubt we exceed 5 GB a month so I don't know why it's such a big deal with everyone getting upset over AT&T's possible plan. If anything we will see an increase in the network performance and a lower bill, hopefully. I am sure no one wants to be charged data overage, VERY EXPENSIVE!!
Well right now we have gone Fron 3 to 28 world wide in terms of speed. Msnt countries can now watch tv on their phone while we're stuck at dl speeds that suck. Some nations are at 100 Meg already. The fastest we have is 10-30 Meg with most at poopy dsl 786k speeds.
blame that on the local governments and state public utility commissions that force cable companies to offer analog cable. but it's going away this year. Cablevision is killing analog later this month. Time Warner either killed it or will do so this year.
once analog cable goes away there will be a lot more free bandwidth on the cable companies' networks
Heck, if AT&T goes variable they might make out like a bandit -- all the heavy users leave and become somebody else's problems (e.g. Verizon's problem), and all the light users from every other cellular company (like Verizon) switch to get the cheap AT&T plan for light users (e.g. AT&T's $10/month for 250GB plan for ipad). With the heavy users gone, everybody marvels at how cheap AT&T and what a great bandwidth it provides. What irony!
Just look at the wired.com 3G iphone survey --- AT&T got the third fastest iphone speed in the whole world.
Provided you get a signal. I was in downtown Boston and was just getting Edge coverage. What the heck does a fast 3G network do me then? Or how about Kendall Square - so many smartphone suers you get 5 bars of 5G coverage and you can't even check email because of data failures.
And now I read an article that ATT is happy to sell us smart phones, and then give us discounts if we don't use them. Their network is too overload, but we don't feel like implementing the faster network just yet. So they gonna pay so many people to not use their phones that the network will open up?
They're in for a shock once the iphone is on other networks as their customers fly out the door...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_Advanced
HELLO AI! LTE is NOT 4G, but LTE Advanced is, so when is AT&T rolling out 4G LTE Advanced???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_Advanced
Don't be obtuse.
Don't be obtuse.
But he does have a point even if he brings it out a bit overly dramatically. LTE gives roughly the same bandwidth as HSPA+ does if the same RF bandwidth is used (spectral efficiency of both is quite similar with HSPA+ actually being slightly better).
LTE-A is aiming at minimum bitrates of 1Gbps nomadic (home, starbucs) and 100Mbps mobile (i.e. in a car). This is why it's officialy regarded as 4G and LTE is 3.9G.
But it doesn't have much of an affect to the discussion at hand.
Regs, Jarkko
Phone calls aren't responsible for much bandwidth. About 70kbps or 8.75KBps is what I recall for a GSM conversation.
GSM Full Rate codec is roughly 13.2kbps and AMR (used in 3G) at full rate is 12.2 kbps, with speeds down to 4,75kbps in congestion if needed.
These marketing terms '3G' and '4G' don't mean anything but the an incremental generation. It does indicate that 4G will give them more bandwidth, only that the upper limit of the spec offers more bandwidth.
...
We have 7.2Mbps radios in the 3GS, 14.4Mbps in major cities on AT&T and technical limit of 84.4Mbps. LTE has inherent benefits and much higher ceiling but like I said, it'll take some time for it to best HSDPA in real world usage on established 3GSM networks.
Very well put. I doubt though, that AT&T has deployed HSPA+ with 64 QAM + MIMO and dual carrier yet (to get to 84.4Mbps).
Regs, Jarkko
I also want to see the whole "you have X number of minutes" idea GO AWAY. You should either get "X of your currency per minute, or Unlimited for a flat fee of X", just like what you get from your landline and VOIP companies. It would just make more sense. I mean using minutes just sucks: you either pay for too much, and then you never use them up, or you don't get enough and end up spending a fortune because you ran out. Rollover minutes ONLY work if you SOMETIMES would go over your minutes, but not many people would ever fall into that category, so it's just a bad idea.
and lastly, if you buy a smartphone you shouldn't be forced to buy a huge data plan just because you have the phone. You should still get the choice to get the best deal for yourself. It's only fair, and it would save people money and make them happier.
P.S. I can't wait for the day when we have enough bandwidth to get a very fast speed, without worrying about clogging the airwaves. I also can't wait for the day when we finally get coverage that's as good as en europe.
And in europe, you look on your phone, and you get a choice of providers to use ON your phone.... yes you get a choice and crap (at least I got one when I was traveling in europe and had to get a temporary phone!) It was like each company was advertising to make you use their network. It was cool since i could see how much better the networks would have to be to get your service!
I have no sympathy for those folks that complain about the definition of "Unlimited". If it's strictly using only their phone then perhaps I would have issues with it as well. However, since the top % of users use most of the bandwidth, would it be safe to say that they are probably abusing the resources by tethering their phone and having it become what is essentially a full-time DSL line for their networked LAN's?
Phone bandwidth is a limited resource and must be managed properly. As usual, the 1% ruins it for the other 99%.
I would have a problem if after implementation of this my phone plan does not go down.
It will be interesting to see what happens after if this plan is enacted. Perhaps the network reliability will increase due to the lower saturation on certain towers?
This is a BS story that wireless carriers keep shoveling to distract customers from the facts. It's an attempt to deflect the blame for shitty service and greedy execs who want to wring even more money from their already overpaying customers.
If 1% of AT&T's customers were truly causing all the problems, don't you think AT&T would have corrected the issue by now? Only an idiot believes that AT&T plans to charge this 1% of users more money while letting the other 99% pay the same or less than they currently do. The real plan is to force everyone to pay even more for service and to switch to a tiered pricing model that will take us back to the dark ages of cellular service where every other month saw an astronomical bill for going a few minutes over the limit.
If they can't handle unlimited wireless traffic then they shouldn't ADVERTISE unlimited service.
If 1% of their customers are hogging all the bandwidth then 99% DESERVE A PRICE REDUCTION.
Agreed with other posts... since data is unlimited at 30 bucks now, AT&T would be wise to have a couple of lower price tiered rates for lower data requirements.
Oh, they will! it will look something like this:
Standard Unlimited Plan (up to 1MB/month).........$50
Advanced Unlimited Plan (up to 5MB/month)........$70
Super Unlimited Plan (up to 1GB/month)..............$150
* Overages charged at $0.10/kb
** No way to accurately track data usage on an ongoing basis
Oh, they will! it will look something like this:
Standard Unlimited Plan (up to 1MB/month).........$50
Advanced Unlimited Plan (up to 5MB/month)........$70
Super Unlimited Plan (up to 1GB/month)..............$150
* Overages charged at $0.10/kb
** No way to accurately track data usage on an ongoing basis
That's what I'm afraid of. I mean what if the ISPs said that, and on top refused to increase the connection speeds. We'd be stuck paying per hour of dial up use till this day. Instead of discouraging people from using the internet, how about rolling out faster service that can accommodate more users. Or how about rolling out free wifi to your customers and expanding it to cover almost the whole of highly trafficed areas (like downtown).
And I don't mean cafe's but the whole shabang. I should get it on the L, outside, on the beach without interruption or having to sign in. In other words have the whole place covered and make the switch from 3g to wifi automagically.