No, it's not. The contract allows them to make changes as long as they notify you. Furthermore, the contract specifically says that download speeds may vary.
I think you're both actually getting at the same thing, although iansilv might be using slightly inaccurate language.
jragosta is correct that your contract with AT&T gives the carrier the right to make any material amendments to the contract, provided they give the customer advance notice of the change. Then, the customer has the option to respond by either accepting the amendment by continuing to purchase service from AT&T, or else she can choose to reject the amendment by terminating her account without an ETF.
I think that second option -- exercising the customer's option to reject the amendment by terminating the account with a waived ETF -- is the point that iansilv was trying to get at.
However, jragosta is also correct in the second point: AT&T may have enough wiggle room in the current contract to allow them to institute throttling without needing to modify the wording of their contract in any way. This change in operating policy may not constitute a material amendment to the customer's existing contract, hence it may not present an opportunity to terminate the account with a waived ETF.
Couldn't this be considered a material breach of the contract with it's users and allow users to break their contract, to go with, say Sprint- who says they will not throttle users?
Switch to what? AT&T 3G is 2 - 3 times faster than Verizon 3G so even when throttled it's unlikely you're going to get anything better. People are going to have to face the unfortunate facts at some point that our devices are gaining features faster than our networks can support them. Here in the not so distant future it's going to become an issue of reliable service vs fast service, and reliable will win out with most users.
The 95% of us who have a realistic need for data on the go aren't going to shed a single tear for the 5% who suck everything they can out of their data network just because they have unlimited data & feel like they need to get every penny out of it. That mentality makes about as much sense as saying that because you pay for cable you need to have a TV in every room tuned to a different channel just so you can use the full extent of what you paid for (I know, not the best analogy). It's ridiculous to make an intentional effort to consume far more data than you actually need just because you can.
Switch to what? AT&T 3G is 2 - 3 times faster than Verizon 3G so even when throttled it's unlikely you're going to get anything better...
We have no concrete evidence yet to tell us what AT&T's throttled speeds are going to be for the top 5%, so I think it's premature to draw that conclusion.
Quote:
People are going to have to face the unfortunate facts at some point that our devices are gaining features faster than our networks can support them. Here in the not so distant future it's going to become an issue of reliable service vs fast service, and reliable will win out with most users.
Generally agreed...
Quote:
The 95% of us who have a realistic need for data on the go aren't going to shed a single tear for the 5% who suck everything they can out of their data network just because they have unlimited data & feel like they need to get every penny out of it.
I have a little apprehension that AT&T might follow a slippery slope of progressively reducing their threshold for defining "top 5%" as people react to the throttling.
I guess, though, that in the long run it doesn't really matter, since AT&T is no longer adding any new customers on unlimited plans. Eventually the remaining crop of grandfathered unlimited customers will gradually disappear naturally through attrition...
Comments
No, it's not. The contract allows them to make changes as long as they notify you. Furthermore, the contract specifically says that download speeds may vary.
I think you're both actually getting at the same thing, although iansilv might be using slightly inaccurate language.
jragosta is correct that your contract with AT&T gives the carrier the right to make any material amendments to the contract, provided they give the customer advance notice of the change. Then, the customer has the option to respond by either accepting the amendment by continuing to purchase service from AT&T, or else she can choose to reject the amendment by terminating her account without an ETF.
I think that second option -- exercising the customer's option to reject the amendment by terminating the account with a waived ETF -- is the point that iansilv was trying to get at.
However, jragosta is also correct in the second point: AT&T may have enough wiggle room in the current contract to allow them to institute throttling without needing to modify the wording of their contract in any way. This change in operating policy may not constitute a material amendment to the customer's existing contract, hence it may not present an opportunity to terminate the account with a waived ETF.
Couldn't this be considered a material breach of the contract with it's users and allow users to break their contract, to go with, say Sprint- who says they will not throttle users?
Switch to what? AT&T 3G is 2 - 3 times faster than Verizon 3G so even when throttled it's unlikely you're going to get anything better. People are going to have to face the unfortunate facts at some point that our devices are gaining features faster than our networks can support them. Here in the not so distant future it's going to become an issue of reliable service vs fast service, and reliable will win out with most users.
The 95% of us who have a realistic need for data on the go aren't going to shed a single tear for the 5% who suck everything they can out of their data network just because they have unlimited data & feel like they need to get every penny out of it. That mentality makes about as much sense as saying that because you pay for cable you need to have a TV in every room tuned to a different channel just so you can use the full extent of what you paid for (I know, not the best analogy). It's ridiculous to make an intentional effort to consume far more data than you actually need just because you can.
Switch to what? AT&T 3G is 2 - 3 times faster than Verizon 3G so even when throttled it's unlikely you're going to get anything better...
We have no concrete evidence yet to tell us what AT&T's throttled speeds are going to be for the top 5%, so I think it's premature to draw that conclusion.
People are going to have to face the unfortunate facts at some point that our devices are gaining features faster than our networks can support them. Here in the not so distant future it's going to become an issue of reliable service vs fast service, and reliable will win out with most users.
Generally agreed...
The 95% of us who have a realistic need for data on the go aren't going to shed a single tear for the 5% who suck everything they can out of their data network just because they have unlimited data & feel like they need to get every penny out of it.
I have a little apprehension that AT&T might follow a slippery slope of progressively reducing their threshold for defining "top 5%" as people react to the throttling.
I guess, though, that in the long run it doesn't really matter, since AT&T is no longer adding any new customers on unlimited plans. Eventually the remaining crop of grandfathered unlimited customers will gradually disappear naturally through attrition...