Can't Slow Data

Three years ago, AT&T warned smartphone customers with “unlimited” data plans that their connections might be slowed if they used a lot of data. Now, the Federal Trade Commission has said AT&T’s disclosure was deceptive because it was not specific enough. To that end, the commission filed a federal lawsuit, saying the company had misled customers by slowing the connections of people with unlimited plans after they used more than 2 gigabytes of data in a month. For some people who hit that threshold, downloads were slowed as much as 95 percent, essentially making their smartphones unable to access the Internet or use certain apps. The issue here is this: AT&T promised its customers unlimited data, and in many instances it has failed to deliver on that promise. As defined in the Oxford Dictionary, unlimited means "not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent". Same goes for plans advertised as all-you-can-eat. And for any other telco thinking of copying AT&T's crap, just remember that the FTC is not the only agency to take an interest in the practice of slowing data speeds, often called throttling. In July, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, warned Verizon after it said it would slow data speeds of customers with unlimited data plans after they reached a certain usage level each month. Verizon subsequently abandoned the plan.