Evil Carriers: AT&T To Throttle Your Unlimited Data Plan Starting In October

You may have heard that a small percentage of wireless subscribers use up most of the 3G spectrum. These so called "data-hogs" (disclaimer: some of us here are probably proud members of that club) have been the scapegoat of carriers, for all their service issues, and now we're learning their life is about to get even more complicated. Indeed, after killing its unlimited data plans to reduce the problem, and cracking down on tetherers, AT&T has announced it's going even further this week and will reduce the connection speed of those users still boasting unlimited data plans who abuse the airwaves. The goal, they claim, is a better world for everyone else; how thoughtful. Here is the official statement:

One new measure is a step that may reduce the data throughput speed experienced by a very small minority of smartphone customers who are on unlimited plans – those whose extraordinary level of data usage puts them in the top 5 percent of our heaviest data users in a billing period.  In fact, these customers on average use 12 times more data than the average of all other smartphone data customers.  This step will not apply to our 15 million smartphone customers on a tiered data plan or the vast majority of smartphone customers who still have unlimited data plans. Starting October 1, 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.  Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.

As you can see, AT&T is trying to sugar coat this bitter pill by saying "almost" nobody will be affected. Yet this is a horrible move. Of course, you'll tell me that unlimited has never been anything but a buzz word. But, blocking the pipes is the worst thing that can happen just as we're starting to get cool data hungry services like iCloud or Spotify. On the good side, it's nowhere near as evil as Comcast cutting user's Internet Service for using the Google Music beta for their streaming needs. Necessary evil? [Image Credit: Gizmodo]

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