Items tagged with Unlimited data
AT&T is finally facing the music with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its "Unlimited Data" practices – to the tune of $60 million -- 8 years after it first fleeced customers. The problem lies in the fact that AT&T marketed its smartphone plans as having unlimited data, but instead began to throttle customer's connections after surpassing preset data thresholds during their monthly billing cycle. According to the FTC, AT&T "misled" customers over throttling practices for unlimited data, and added that in many cases, customers found their cell service "difficult or nearly impossible to use" once the restrictions were put into place on their accounts. In some cases,...
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Report Shows Wireless Carriers Are Cheaping Out And Throttling Your Video Streams Whenever They Want
We all know that wireless carriers throttle data. After all, throttling has been commonplace ever since carriers moved from their "buckets" of data in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB sizes, for example. Once carriers started fully embracing unlimited data, they started implementing policies where they would throttle data once customers reached a certain threshold (usually around 20GB) if cell towers are overloaded. But now new research shows that carriers are throttling video streams even when customers have not reached the carrier-set threshold or when "data congestion" isn’t a serious problem on the network. This information comes from Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Amhert,...
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The return of unlimited data plans has been both a blessing and a curse for customers. On the one hand, the demise of data buckets that hit you with overage charges have led to more “freedom” with regards to our data usage. Most unlimited plans allow you at least 22GB of data before being throttled, while T-Mobile and Sprint hit the brakes at 50GB. The downside is that prices for these plans has been steadily increasing. T-Mobile -- the third-place wireless carrier that is largely responsible for bringing back the modern unlimited data plan -- is offering up a new, cheaper plan for customers. Called T-Mobile Essentials, you’re given unlimited talk, text and data. You also get...
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Fresh off its victory over the federal government in its bid to acquire Time Warner Cable, AT&T has made good on its promise to deliver its WatchTVstreaming service. AT&T announced this morning that WatchTV will be made available with two new unlimited plans that are launching next week. The two new plans are called Unlimited &More along with Unlimited &More Premium. Unlimited &More is priced at $70/month ($5 more than the current Unlimited Choice Enhanced plan) and gives you "unlimited" 4G LTE data, 480p video streaming and a $15/month credit for DirecTV Now. Unlimited &More Premium is priced at $80/month adds HD video streaming and 15GB/month of mobile hotspot data....
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After bashing unlimited data plans nearly two years ago, Verizon Wireless is launching a third entry into its current family of unlimited data plans. The new plan is called Above Unlimited, and it is the most feature-packed unlimited plan that Verizon offers. But first, let us cover the existing plans. Go Unlimited provides 4G LTE data that can be throttled at anytime if there is congestion on Verizon’s wireless network. You get 480p quality video streaming and unlimited mobile hotspot capped at 600 kbps. Beyond Unlimited will start throttling your 4G LTE data after 22GB, enables 720p video streaming, and offers 15GB of mobile hotspot (600 kbps afterwards). The new Above...
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If you are one of the "lucky" few that still has one of AT&T's original unlimited data plans, the company is trying its best to get you to jump ship once and for all. The plan has its origins dating all the way back to the original iPhone that was first released in 2007. The unlimited data plan originally cost $30 a month, but was raised to $35 in February of 2016. Another $5 increase was instituted at the beginning of 2017, now an additional $5 increase is taking the cost of the data plan to $45 per month. According to AT&T, the rate increase goes into effect starting with your July 2018 bill. Given that AT&T has raised the price of the plan over the years and...
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Even though Sprint is currently in the process of acquired by T-Mobile, that isn't stopping the company from trying another ploy to steal customers from its larger rivals. The company's latest offer is a $15/month unlimited data plan that is quite restrictive, as you might expect with the bargain basement pricing. $15/month gets you unlimited calling, texting and data. However, Sprint admits that video streaming will be limited to DVD quality (480p), music streaming is limited to 500 Kbps, and game streams will be capped at 2 Mbps. You will also be subject to "data deprioritization" during periods where Sprint's cell towers are congested. To qualify for the offer, you have to switch from...
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As the fourth-place wireless carrier in the United States, Sprint is in need of a new strategy or ploy to stem its subscriber loss and become more competitive with the larger players in the market. To help on this front, Sprint has announced a new partnership with Hulu that will benefit users of its Unlimited Freedom wireless plans. These customers will now be given free access to Hulu’s Limited Commercials plan starting November 17th. For those keeping score, this basic Hulu plan usually costs $7.99 per month and only allows for one stream at a time. However, you do get full access to Hulu's expansive streaming library, including Hulu Originals like The Handmaid's Tale. “We know people love...
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T-Mobile has made a name for itself by bucking industry norms and charting its own path. From special T-Mobile Tuesday promotions, to enticing bundle offers, to generous "unlimited" data throttling limits, the third-place wireless carrier usually takes a customer-centric approach to its business model (well, if you don't count that brief Apple Watch Series 3 blunder). Today, T-Mobile is taking yet another step to appease its customer base by raising the "prioritization point" after which your data speeds can be throttled to dismal levels. For AT&T and Verizon Wireless, that limit is set at 22GB. Sprint sets its limit at 23GB, while T-Mobile previously bettered the completion with a 32GB prioritization...
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While first place U.S. wireless carrier Verizon seems to be doing its best to make enemies with its rejiggered unlimited data plans, third place T-Mobile is once again looking to provide added value for its customers with a new promotion. T-Mobile today revealed its “Netflix on Us” campaign, which as its name implies, gives you a free subscription to the Netflix streaming service. You are eligible for the free Netflix perk as long as you have two or more lines active using a T-Mobile One unlimited data plan. You’ll receive Netflix’s “standard” plan which usually costs $9.99 per month. This plan allows two concurrent streams in HD quality. You can pay an extra $2 to get the “premium” plan which...
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We can’t say that we didn’t see this coming. Back in late July, Verizon Wireless customers became alarmed when they noticed that their YouTube and Netflix streams were being capped at 10Mbps. At the time, Verizon stated, “We've been doing network testing over the past few days to optimize the performance of video applications on our network...The test was across the board, and did not target any individual applications.” Now, it appears that Verizon’s throttling “tests” have been extended to a full-blown implementation across its network. Starting tomorrow, August 23rd, Verizon’s unlimited data plans will be split into three new options: Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited and Business Unlimited....
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If you are currently paying $60 a year for the unlimited tier of Amazon Drive, the days of enjoying an overabundance of storage space are numbered. Amazon announced that it is killing off that tier effective today, June 8th. As of today, you can no longer sign up for the unlimited tier and that same $60 a year price will now only offer 1TB of storage space. Amazon says that it will now allow customers to purchase up to an additional 30TB of storage at $60 per TB. For those that were using well over 1TB of storage when their unlimited plans, this pricing change will likely be a bitter pill to swallow. If you currently have an unlimited plan, you will be able to keep that store tier until your...
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Over the past month, we’ve witnessed an all-out war among the top four U.S. wireless carriers with respect to unlimited data. Verizon Wireless drew first blood, then everyone else hopped in with guns blazing. AT&T was the last to rejoin the unlimited data fight, and quickly had to alter its plans to make them more competitive. Now, it is extending the unlimited data option to its prepaid GoPhone service, but there are many strings attached. For starters, the $60/month plan does technically give you “unlimited” data, but it’s capped at 3Mbps, which isn’t exactly too impressive these days. That speed will drop down to nearly unbearable levels if you exceed 22GB of data within your billing period...
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T-Mobile just changed the amount of data its customers are allowed to consume before they face potential throttling, depending on network usage. The limit now sits at 30 gigabytes per billing cycle, whereas previously T-Mobile's network management policy listed the ceiling at 28GB. Obviously that is not a ginormous change, and it still underscores the funny way that wireless carriers have of defining "unlimited." According to Merriam-Webster, the word unlimited has three definitions: lacking any controls: unrestricted / unlimited access boundless, infinite / unlimited possibilities not bounded by exceptions: undefined / the unlimited and unconditional surrender of the enemy—Sir Winston Churchill...
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It looks as though the unlimited data wars are extending to cars and trucks thanks to a partnership between AT&T and General Motors. AT&T, which was the last major U.S. wireless company to revitalize its unlimited data plan offering, is providing a $20 a month prepaid unlimited data plan for in-car use on Chevrolet vehicles. According to Chevrolet, its customers have been using the available OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot functionality in record numbers. Chevrolet says that its customers used 200 percent more LTE data in 2016 than they did in the previous year. “To put this data usage in perspective, Chevrolet owners and their passengers streamed the equivalent of more than 17.5 million...
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The unlimited data wars between America’s top four wireless carriers is getting even more heated. AT&T was the last wireless carrier to enter the fray earlier this month, and it by far had the most unattractive pricing and features when put head-to-head with the competition. Not only was its pricing not competitive, but AT&T didn’t provide tethering — something that Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint give unlimited data customers (in 10GB buckets per month). AT&T has finally wised up and has announced some adjustments to its unlimited data plans. Kicking things off is Unlimited Plus which gives customers unlimited talk, text, and data along with HD video streaming and 10GB of tethering...
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With three of the four major U.S. wireless carriers duking out amongst each other with regards to unlimited data plans during the past week, AT&T was left to watch from the sidelines. The second place wireless carrier currently offers unlimited data, but only to customers that sign up for its DirecTV packages, which instantly adds at least $50 to your monthly outlay. Well, AT&T today announced that it is dropping the DirecTV prerequisite and will extend unlimited data availability to all customers starting tomorrow, February 17th. While it’s nice to see that AT&T is finally getting with the program that unlimited data should be available to all of its customers, pricing still remains...
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There is a new wireless war taking place, and three of the four major U.S. carriers are actively engaged in fighting. It all started when Verizon Wireless announced that it was bringing back a new and reinvigorated unlimited data plan with included HD video streaming and 10GB of mobile hotspot data. T-Mobile countered by matching Verizon’s plan specifics and offering a lower monthly out-of-pocket cost. Now it’s Sprint’s turn to bring up arms against the competition. The company has announced that it will offer customers unlimited talk, text and data for $50 per month if you sign up for Sprint AutoPay. If you want two lines, it will only cost you $90 per month. Adding a third or fourth family...
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When you are in fourth place among the America’s top four wireless carriers, you need to do something to stand out from the crowd. If you can’t best your rivals on speed, service quality or coverage, the best target to aim for is pricing. Sprint is doubling down on its “value” positioning today with the announcement of a new promotion that provides five lines of data for just $90 per month. That $90 pricing will get you unlimited data, calling and texting for each line. In order to take advantage of the pricing, you will have to sign-up for AutoPay for the first line, after which you’ll pay $50 per month. Adding a second person takes the total to $90 per month. Adding the third, fourth and fifth...
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Would you like unlimited data? If you are an AT&T customer, start searching for pennies in between the sofa cushions. The telecommunications company recently confirmed that it will be increasing the price of unlimited data legacy plans by $5. The public announcement followed email notifications to AT&T unlimited plan customers. A spokesperson for AT&T remarked, “Our Mobile Share Advantage plans and our AT&T Unlimited Plan provide several benefits that our legacy unlimited plan doesn’t. If you have a legacy unlimited data plan, you can keep it; however, beginning in March 2017, it will increase by $5 per month.” This comes after AT&T increased its unlimited data legacy plans...
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When is an unlimited data plan not an unlimited data plan? Well, according to Verizon, it’s when you use an “extraordinary” amount of data during your monthly billing cycle. Verizon has begun notifying customers that are currently using on average 200GB or more of data per month that they will have to abandon their unlimited data plans. Quite frankly, 200GB seems like an obscene amount of data to use over a wireless connection for a single month, but these customers are simply using the service as it was advertised. The new policy went into effect on January 5th, and these “data hog” customers will be forced to move one of Verizon’s newer data plans with data buckets starting on February 16th....
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Unlimited data plans have seen a slight resurgence among some of America’s wireless companies. AT&T resurrected unlimited data for customers that bundle in its DirecTV or U-Verse TV packages. T-Mobile and Sprint also offer unlimited plans for its customers. However, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint all have numerous restrictions in place, including throttling customers after 22GB, 26GB, and 23GB respectively have been consumed during a billing cycle. Even with the caveats, these “unlimited” plans are likely welcome to customers that use large amounts of data per month. However, if you’re a Verizon Wireless customer, don’t expect to see its deceased unlimited plan rise from the dead. Speaking...
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