back to article Listen up, AT&T, this could be YOU NEXT: $40m sting for throttling 'unlimited' mobile data

The FTC has reached a settlement with TracFone in what could be the first of many refunds for screwed-over customers with so-called unlimited data plans. The US regulator said the cell network must pay back $40m to customers who used its prepaid unlimited data plan and found their connections deliberately strangled, stretching …

  1. a_mu

    and in the UK ?

    So my broadband is 'up to' X,

    but if I pay more, I get up to 2X

    But most if the time, I only get X/2

    So I'm being throttled back also..

    I pay for X , but get X/2, less I pay more !

    1. frank ly

      Re: and in the UK ?

      No, that's contention and overselling their overall data capacity. Throttling is when you notice a distinct and sudden drop in speed after you've downloaded a certain amount of data during a period of a day (or whatever). That speed drop can be gradually stepped as you pass various trigger points of data download amount.

      Virgin Media used to be very heavy and distinct in that they would halve my speed when I went over 1.5GB in a day. Nowadays they have a more nuanced approach which is explained deep within their website.

      1. Fluffy Bunny

        Re: and in the UK ?

        "Virgin Media used to be very heavy and distinct in that they would halve my speed when I went over 1.5GB in a day", however I assume they notified you of these limits in the advertising before you signed up.

        1. frank ly

          @Fluffy Bunny Re: and in the UK ?

          " I assume they notified you of these limits in the advertising before you signed up."

          No, they didn't. Back when I 'signed up' (when it was still NTL), they had a clause that said they (paraphrasing) "had the right to take technical measures to protect their network from customers who behaved in such a way as to ... blah, blah, blah ....". This seemed to be about hackers and script kiddies and snoopers etc. which would be a perfectly reasonable thing to do, of course. The throttling was only revealed when many people noticed distinct throttling characteristics and talked about their experiences on various forums, thus reaching the obvious conclusion. Virgin Media refused to admit that they were throttling and made nebulous comments about 'protecting their network' before finally admitting that they were throtting and writing clear terms into new contracts.

          I don't mind the data throttling and would say that the current way in which it is done seems reasonable and is clearly stated in the T&Cs. What I don't like, and do mind, is the lies and obfuscation that went on before they started being honest about it.

      2. a_mu

        Re: and in the UK ?

        whats the difference to the user in 'variable contention' and variable data rate / throttling ?

        So I pay for 60 , but I get 30 , due to contention,

        or I pay for 60 and get 60, and after a time, the data is throttled .

        As far as I see, both limit the amount of data in any 24 hour period !

        Ok one might be more severe in practice in its implementation than the other,

        but to the user they are both the same.

        1. Tom 13

          @a_mu

          Well, the problem here it isn't practical to build out a system that completely eliminates contention. Let's say you have a network, your usage curve is a normal curve, and you expect a mean usages of X. Now, it turns out that at X you can support 5X in raw users. So you run the numbers and if you build out your network at 2X 95% of the time everyone still gets full bandwidth. The other 5% of the time you'll have contention, and when it happens will be random.

          The data caps will always hit you.

    2. Mark 85

      Re: and in the UK ?

      They do that in the States also... the "up to" is legalese for "fat chance but you might on a good day for 2 minutes".

      The unlimited plans never had that "up to" statement for the ones I saw. But there was a "get out of jail free" clause about "conditions may not allow you full speeds....."

      1. Charles 9

        Re: and in the UK ?

        It wasn't the speeds that were the issue but the hidden data caps, basically breaking the definition of "unlimited". I suspect people have started suing for false advertising, and the FCC would rather set a standard than have any allegations of collusion end up in the federal courts where they have less control.

        1. Tom 13

          Re: and the FCC would rather set a standard

          No, that's the FTC. And this exactly what I and others have contented in the past with respect to throttling of internet speeds. We don't need net neutrality, we just need to enforce our existing laws. In this case, Trac contracted to deliver unlimited service and failed to make good on that contract. Whether or not the average punters actually get anything out of this is still TBD.

    3. Da Weezil

      Re: and in the UK ?

      ADSL speeds are also dictated by line length expressed bt your router as attenuation, a line with 20db att is always going to be much better than one with 50db, 65db is the maximum that most routers can report and at that length a user will be seeing very low speeds.

      This stuff isnt always as black and white as it seems - my 40db line only does 8(ish) megs on ADSL 2+ (around 5.5 megs on ADSL) but does 67 megs on FTTC.

    4. a_mu

      Re: and in the UK ?

      Isn't throttling data another way of imposing a data cap ?

      I'm being limited as to how much I can download in any 24 hour period.

  2. Oninoshiko
    Thumb Up

    good job

    good job FTC!

    1. Gray
      Facepalm

      Re: good job

      Yeah, Good Job indeed. The Corp makes $40 Billion with predatory business tactics, and our dedicated Gov't agency rakes in a $40 Million take for the general tax coffers.

      Just how does this help the consumer, eh?

      1. Down not across

        Re: good job

        Did you read the article?

        The US regulator said the cell network must pay back $40m to customers who used its prepaid unlimited data plan and found their connections deliberately strangled, stretching the definition of "unlimited."

        I think you may have misunderstood who is getting what.

  3. Red Bren
    Thumb Up

    Truth in advertising?

    What a novel concept!

    1. P. Lee

      Re: Truth in advertising?

      >What a novel concept!

      I think "oxymoron" was the word you were looking for.

  4. JLV

    Ah ah. Bet AT&T wishes it had subsidized Trac's legal team. Now it has a precedent against it.

    FTC is teh bomb :-)

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

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