AT&T warns of coming clamp-down on iPhone data hogs

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  • Reply 161 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I have a quick question. Is here any way that AT&T can tell if someone is "illegally" tethering other than higher than average bandwidth usage?



    They can infer it from the sorts of IP ports used. For example, you could be accepting connections on port 80 for example which means you are running a web server. if there was no web servers apps on the app store, then you are doing something not allowed with your connection. Accepting connections on port 23 would be an example of this and would mean that you are running a SSH server, which no non-jailbroken app does. So either you are jailbroken or you are tethering. Both are frowned upon.





    Sheldon
  • Reply 162 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by akhomerun View Post


    depending on where you live, get t-mobile. they actually give you a discount for not being in a 2 year contract.



    500 minutes, unlimited talk and text for $40/month. add web and it's $60



    T-Mobile sucks where I live, I know three different people who left them. And one is a very close friend of mine, who went to AT&T from there.



    My previous example of V vs. AT&T was to tell the people who think the grass is greener on Verizon's side of the fence to stay on the fence...until they see where the prices go when Verizon gets iPhone. It is my honest opinion that much like the music industry, the phone companies haven't learned a thing. They are not interested in innovation, they are interested in money. If technology stopped where it was in 2006, they would have been happier. They could just continue to rob their customers.



    Case in point:



    I had two "smartphones" on Verizon's network. My first was a Treo 650, when that failed I got an HTC Apache running Windows Mobile. Terrible, horrible phones they were. I could get emails though, and for the $100+ Verizon charged me a month I was sick in the head to do it. Trust me, if they get the iPhone, it will not be cheaper than I was paying for those other two phones. It simply cannot be. My wife's phone pricing solidifies my thinking. If a enV goes for $82 a month, a data hogging iPhone surely is worth $120 a month, right?



    Oh, and that is why AT&T is crying foul now, because people are hooked on the data and will pay. They'll bitch, but they will pay more. The sad thing is, these prices should be dropping, and they aren't. For another place to see where you are bleeding money, see the Berkman Broadband Study.
  • Reply 163 of 217
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    I'm sure AT&T realizes that there will ALWAYS be a top 3% of users who abuse the system. They realize it very well, as they will always have users who use more data than everyone else. That's the beauty of percentages.



    When a phone can easily attain 2000-3000 kb/s, a 5 GB limit is unrealistic to say the least. I also suspect a lot of this network traffic will disappear when Verizon gets their iPhone. Many people unhappy with AT&T will jump ship and reduce the load significantly.



    This is just another money grab from a cell provider. The state of US broadband and cell providers is pathetic with little or no competition and overpriced internet access.



    You can get 100 MB/s overseas (and faster) for far less than the typical cost of .5-10 MB's you get here in theUS. What's wrong with this picture?
  • Reply 164 of 217
    So does that mean I can pay less for using less than average data? I hate paying $30/month for a few MBs.
  • Reply 165 of 217
    They should probably define "Data Hog" a bit more clearly... would help put things into perspective for average users.
  • Reply 166 of 217
    ibillibill Posts: 400member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGenius View Post


    I expect them to honor the contract they signed. If they cannot, I expect rescission and damages.



    Good luck with that.
  • Reply 167 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bretbenz View Post


    ....unlimited not mean unlimited? Don't offer an unlimited plan and then cry when people use as much as they can. Fix your network AT&T, don't blame your customers for your own problem. We pay you a premium for our phone service and data use, you should give us a premium service, PERIOD.



    agreed!
  • Reply 168 of 217
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iGenius View Post


    I expect them to honor the contract they signed. If they cannot, I expect rescission and damages.



    The contract you signed.
  • Reply 169 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    It's super easy to be a bandwidth hog. For example lets say you enjoy pandora while at work. Here's a simple scenario that involves nothing but pandora:



    Streaming Pandora at: 128 kbps



    16,000 bytes per second



    960,000 bytes per minute



    57,000,000 bytes per hour (~57meg)



    Assuming that you listen when you are at work:



    9,216,000,000 bytes per month (based on 160 hours of work per month)



    So you have used almost 10 gig of your infinity of bandwidth your contract says you can have.

    That's without a single e-mail, web page, youtube video etc.

    5 gig a month is easy even without tethering. So don't blame the jailbroken.





    Sheldon



    I don't consider that to be "data" usage any more than watching TV for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. My guess is wireless broadband providers don't consider that as data, either.



    The whole internet and connectivity world we're living in is going to eventually force some solid definitions of "what's what" to emerge. Without that there will be increasing confusion over what is acceptable and unacceptable use of services. The first salvo in the debate was over TiVO vs DVR but when we get to wireless (where ultimate bandwidth really is limited) it's just going to intensify.
  • Reply 170 of 217
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by williado21 View Post


    Tiered data pricing NOW! Tiered data pricing NOW! The $30 unlimited data plan is what is keeping me from getting an iPhone...Let ME be in control of how much bandwith I use and give me a fair price to reflect that...



    That's what Softbank is doing here in Japan. Basically you pay for what you use.
  • Reply 171 of 217
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    That's what Softbank is doing here in Japan. Basically you pay for what you use.



    Yes, but US providers have a history of going overboard (10 cents a kilobyte anyone? how about 20 cents for each additional text over your limit?). I have no doubt if they did such a plan, it would end up gouging someone who went 'over' their plan. Do you really trust AT&T to be fair about overage charges? Really?



    AT&T just needs to buck up and fix their network. They were given billions of taxpayer money to do so already. We shouldn't even be having this sort of discussion.
  • Reply 172 of 217
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    A massive increase in free AT&T wi-fi hot spots would help reduce 3G burdens in cities. Having said that the worst service I experience is not due to usage hogs rather lack of towers ... in rural northern New Hampshire and Vermont you are lucky to get a single bar of Edge! I know, I know it's those pesky mountains
  • Reply 173 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by S8ER01Z View Post


    Quad Cities (Davenport, IA Region).... If I was anywhere else in Iowa I wouldn't have 3G at all.



    Can I give my 'unlimited' bandwidth to someone else? maybe they can use it?



    S8ER01Z



    Why you selfish hog.



    Declining crime. Clear blue skies. Canadian accent. And every year, you get to have your swimming pools filled with fresh spring water whether you like it or not.



    But seriously, I empathize with your struggle with your iPhone.



    It seems that there are a lot of cell towers to call from, but they are not AT&T's (or Verizon's at that matter) and 3G is just a promise in the wind.



    Looking closely, but with limited information, it appears that population and more important, it in combination to which carrier got there first, has guided 'how important' Davenport is in the upgrade schedule.



    Hopefully, you will get the service as you have been promised soon.



    Note I have the luxury of being a Canadian (Toronto), having an iPhone via Rogers, high speed connections, virtually no dropped calls (which if any, a soft reset corrected) and a limited 6G data plan that more than covers my average 200-350 MBs usage a month. And because my plan is limited, it allows me to draw from my data plan to tether. And it cost $73 CDN a month.



    May I suggest to everybody that comments on their service, to post their locale/provider. That way, it would help to identify and put the services, good or bad, in their proper perspective. Otherwise, it is like pissing in the wind.



    iPhone 3G; Toronto; Rogers
  • Reply 174 of 217
    xgmanxgman Posts: 159member
    They pump all these services out and then they get upset when you use them. The tech industry is like no other in history. We basically pay to beta test their crappy half finished products and then they see how much they can bleed us on top of that.
  • Reply 175 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by xgman View Post


    They pump all these services out and then they get upset when you use them. The tech industry is like no other in history. We basically pay to beta test their crappy half finished products and then they see how much they can bleed us on top of that.



    But isn't that only partially true? In some respects, this whole unlimited wireless issue is like saying we won't have a speed limit on go karts at the track. Next year someone shows up with a go kart that does 100 mph and the track says "well, we do need speed limits after all". It's not exactly bait-and-switch as some have suggested AT&T is threatening.
  • Reply 176 of 217
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hudson1 View Post


    But isn't that only partially true? In some respects, this whole unlimited wireless issue is like saying we won't have a speed limit on go karts at the track. Next year someone shows up with a go kart that does 100 mph and the track says "well, we do need speed limits after all". It's not exactly bait-and-switch as some have suggested AT&T is threatening.



    This doesn't really have anything to do with speed. It's about total usage (data consumed). AT&T's problem is that they sold an 'unlimited plan' and are now trying to place limits on it.
  • Reply 177 of 217
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJRumpy View Post


    This doesn't really have anything to do with speed. It's about total usage (data consumed). AT&T's problem is that they sold an 'unlimited plan' and are now trying to place limits on it.



    Kind of like a restaurant with 'all you can eat ribs night' telling you half way through your meal they under estimated the demand so your were now going to get a bill for all the ribs you have had over the normal menu's four ribs.
  • Reply 178 of 217
    Just to let people know.



    My 'Pay As You Go' phone uses AT&T networks and I've seen now that they are charging me for INCOMING CALLS as well as outgoing.



    So now my cheap $15 a month phone (I fish so I need a disposable phone) has skyrocketed, so it's got to be AT&T bleeding everyone, including other phone services.





    Expect price increases early next year and as contracts expire.



    It's most likely people are cutting off their expensive cells en-massé, just like they did with their health care and other expenses, so that means less customers and AT&T needing higher margins per customer. Which in turn will force more people off.



    AT&T should have built a fat pipe, then grow into it. Not piddly upgrades.
  • Reply 179 of 217
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Kind of like a restaurant with 'all you can eat ribs night' telling you half way through your meal they under estimated the demand so your were now going to get a bill for all the ribs you have had over the normal menu's four ribs.



    Beautiful analogy
  • Reply 180 of 217
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Kind of like a restaurant with 'all you can eat ribs night' telling you half way through your meal they under estimated the demand so your were now going to get a bill for all the ribs you have had over the normal menu's four ribs.



    And you have evidence that this has happened?



    How about, 'Kind of like a family that buys a house next door to the airport then demands they curtail the flights to reduce noise.



    Or the guest that comes to dinner at your home and criticizes the offerings.



    Or the guy that joins a club/forum and continually post innuendoes on everything or anybody ever said.



    I would suggest you read your contract. Both you and the service have rights. It is when it comes to renewal that the offering can be change. And most find that even so, much of it is still negotiable.
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