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AT&T will throttle heaviest unlimited smartphone data users starting Oct. 1

Admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:47:33 +0000

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) confirmed that starting Oct. 1 it may throttle the data speeds of smartphone users who are among the heaviest top 5 percent of data users in a given billing period.

AT&T said that those customers who are affected can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. Before customers have their speeds throttled, likely down to 2G EDGE data speeds, AT&T said it will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.

The carrier said the new policy will affect a “very small minority” of subscribers who use an “extraordinary” amount of data. “In fact, these customers on average use 12 times more data than the average of all other smartphone data customers,” the company said in a statement, explaining that users in the top 5 percent are streaming very large amounts of video and music daily. “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.”

AT&T did not indicate what amount of data usage would qualify users to be in the top 5 percent of heaviest users, but noted that as demand for mobile data increases, the top 5 percent threshold will change from month to month. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel told FierceWireless that the announcement is not tied to any specific product launch or change at AT&T. According to data from The Nielsen Company, 95 percent of average U.S. smartphone users in the first quarter used under 1.5 GB of data per month.

The blog 9to5 Mac first reported that AT&T would throttle users’ data speeds.

AT&T isn’t the first to throttle users’ data speeds. T-Mobile USA announced in May it would not charge customers for data overage fees but would instead throttle users’ down to 2G EDGE speeds if they went over their data allotments. Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) instituted usage-based smartphone data plans in early July and charges a /GB overage fee. However, Verizon said in February, ahead of the launch of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4, that it would begin throttling the data speeds of its the top 5 percent of its heaviest unlimited data users.

Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) does not charge overage fees or throttle its smartphone data users, but its Virgin Mobile brand will begin throttling the speeds of smartphone users who use more than 2.5 GB of data per month. The company said less than 3 percent of its customers currently use that much data monthly.

For more:
- see this release

FierceWireless

Mobilicity drops data roaming rates by 70%, now $1.50/MB

Admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:06:54 +0000

One of Canada’s newest wireless carriers Mobilicity already has a low roaming rate of .20/minute for North American calling, but now they’ve also dropped the data roaming too. It’s not a measly drop of 10% or 15%… it’s to the tune of 70%. What used to be /Mb for data is now only .50 per MB. Mobilicity, who’s currently in the midst of a Alien re-branding effort, stated in a release that this is “adds up to a better wireless experience, not an expensive one.”

Source: Mobilicity
Via: CNW

MobileSyrup.com

Mobilicity drops data roaming rates by 70%, now $1.50/MB

Admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:06:54 +0000

Source: Mobilicity
Via: CNW

MobileSyrup.com

Mobilicity releases the Huawei E1691 Data Stick at $79.99

Admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:42:53 +0000

Mobilicity has removed the Option Data 452 from their lineup and added the Huawei E1691 Data Stick. This can be yours for .99 no-contract and for /month you can Unlimited internet. Mobilicity also stated that current “customers can bundle a monthly Internet plan for 50 percent off – bringing the cost of unlimited 3G surfing [...]

MobileSyrup.com

Verizon: Motorola Xoom customers can keep 3G data plans after LTE upgrade

Admin — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:56:41 +0000

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) said its data pricing for the LTE version of the Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) Xoom tablet will be the same as its EV-DO version of the gadget. However, it’s unclear whether this means that all future Verizon LTE tablets will have the same data pricing as the carrier’s EV-DO tablets.

Verizon’s pricing came to light in the details it provided for the new tablet, which recently went on sale. Xoom users will be able to upgrade their device to support Verizon’s LTE service for free sometime in the second quarter. (The Xoom currently supports Verizon’s EV-DO network.) Customers will have to ship the tablet to Motorola in a prepaid FedEx envelope, and the upgrade is expected to take six business days from the time customers ship the gadget to be complete.

In an FAQ explaining the process, Verizon said customers will not have to change their service plans when the LTE upgrade is complete. Verizon has said EV-DO data pricing for the Xoom falls under its previously established tablet pricing plans: 1 GB of data for per month; 3 GB for ; 5 GB for and 10 GB for . A Verizon spokeswoman, Brenda Raney, confirmed to FierceWireless that Xoom customers who buy the EV-DO version will not have to change their plans when they upgrade to LTE.

The nation’s largest carrier is selling the Xoom for 0 when paired with a two-year contract and 0 without a contract. At deadline, a Verizon spokeswoman could not clarify as to whether all future LTE tablets will have the same data pricing as the carrier’s current EV-DO tablets.

Last week at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said the Xoom is worth 0 (sans contract)–despite the fact that the 32 GB version of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad with AT&T Mobility’s (NYSE:T) no-contract HSPA+ service retails for 9. “We felt that our ability to deliver 50 Mbps (via LTE) would justify the 9 price point,” Jha said. “It is 32 GB with 3G and a free upgrade to 4G. Being competitive with iPad is important. We feel that from the hardware and capabilities we deliver we are at least competitive and in a number of ways better [than the iPad].”

Verizon has said its LTE network delivers average real-world downlink performance of 5-12 Mbps and real-world uplink speeds of 2-5 Mbps.

For more:
- see this MobileBurn post
- see this Verizon FAQ page
- see this Verizon page

FierceWireless

Sprint 3G data service scores well in Beantown, but AT&T dominates elsewhere, survey shows

Admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:40:12 +0000

The Boston Globe

A survey of 18 US cities conducted by the technology website PCMag.com found that Sprint’s 3G data network – used for services other than voice calls, such as Internet browsing and texting – delivered better overall performance in Boston than the networks of its three main rivals: AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA.

But the survey showed a very different result for the rest of the country, where despite months of relentless criticism about dropped calls and sluggish 3G performance, AT&T was ranked number one.

Sprint Connection | News and views on Sprint Nextel –

Att Ends Unlimited Data Plans… The Party is over!

Admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:00:50 +0000

Att announced today that it is ending its unlimited iphone data plans for a month, introducing new plans for new customers on June 7th, 2010:

DataPlus — Provides 200 megabytes (MB) of data. for example, enough to send/receive 1,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 150 emails with attachments, plus view 400 Web pages, plus post 50 photos on social media sites, plus watch 20 minutes of streaming video

DataPro — Provides 2 gigabytes (GB) of data. for example, enough to send/receive 10,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 1,500 emails with attachments, plus view 4,000 Web pages, plus post 500 photos to social media sites, plus watch 200 minutes of streaming video

This is terrible news for new customers.
Thankfully existing contracts are not effected, and Att is “generously” offering to allow existing contracts to chose this new plan with no contract extensions.

New plans cost a month for the DataPro and for DataPlus.
Att has announced it is also ending the unlimited iPad data plans.

for unlimited data with an existing plan, or for limited?
Each 1 gigabyte over costs a user and Att will send a txt to a device nearing the monthly limit.

Att iPhone News, Hacks, App Reviews, How To and jailbreak

De la Vega on Wireless Data

Admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:36:51 +0000

AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega speaks at the GSM Association’s Mobile Innovation Marketplace in Atlanta, GA about the wireless data revolution and innovation.
AT&T Your Podcast Delivered

Cable players could ape AT&T’s shift to usage-based data pricing

Admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:16:33 +0000

AT&T Mobility’s (NYSE:T) decision to move to usage-based pricing for mobile broadband has sparked a great deal of discussion and criticism around the wireless industry. It also could push smartphone owners (via WiFi) to stream more video and access more data over the wired, uncapped broadband networks of cable operators. However, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said it’s clear that the cable industry too will move toward usage-based pricing. Article (sub. req.)

FierceWireless