Oh, hello AT&T

Today, I woke up and checked my phone for missed messages. I noticed that I had a txt AND email from AT&T which said that I was in the top 5% of users of data usage. It also said that because this is my first warning… they wouldn’t do anything this month. It’s just a warning.

So why am I writing this? Well, I fired up AT&T’s own app to see just how much data I used this month. Just over 2 GB?! What? That’s just over the limit of their smallest data plan! How can that be. In fact, none of my usage was anything over the top. Have a look at these images. “extraordinarily large amounts of data” is what they call 2GB of data transfer per month? I’m at about HALF of my anytime minutes and I’m actually still way under the lowest text messaging plan even though I pay for unlimited text’s. No offense AT&T, but fuck you! I’ve been with you since the OG iPhone. I’ve never been late on a single payment. I was grandfathered into your unlimited data plan when you guys pulled that option. I’ve stayed put when Verizon got the iPhone. I even stayed put when Sprint got it. I’ve dealt with all of your bullshit this whole time. Do you really think that your users will just bend over and take this in the keister? I’m not… I’m calling into that convenient phone number that you provided EXPECTING a damn good response.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_throttling

Full AT&T email below:

Dear GENE CRUCEAN,

Like other wireless companies, AT&T is taking steps to manage exploding demand for mobile data. We’re responding on many levels, including investing billions in our wireless network this year and working to acquire more network capacity.

As mentioned on a previous bill, we’re also taking additional, more immediate steps to help address network congestion and improve reliability. One of these steps involves a change for some customers who use extraordinarily large amounts of data in a single billing period – about 12 times more data than the average smartphone user.

For the current billing cycle, your data usage indicates you could be affected by this change. Here’s how it works:

Smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.

We’re writing because you are in the top 5 percent of heaviest data users for this billing cycle. Because we recognize that data usage can change from month to month, you will not see reduced speeds this billing cycle.

Beginning with your next billing cycle, we’ll send you a text message if you are approaching the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. We’ll also send you a second text message if you cross into the top 5 percent of heaviest users, at which point you may see reduced speeds for the rest of the month.

Customers have several ways to manage extremely high data usage.

Wi-Fi offers great speeds and doesn’t add to your wireless data usage. Consider using Wi-Fi when possible for applications that use the highest amounts of data, such as streaming video apps, remote web camera apps, large data-file transfers (like video) and some online gaming.

You may also consider switching to a tiered data plan if speed is more important to you than having an unlimited data plan. Customers on tiered plans can pay for more data if they need it, and will not see reduced speeds.

To estimate how much data different activities use, and find out more about Wi-Fi or tiered data plans, visit https://www.att.com/dataplans or call Customer Care at 800-331-0500.

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