http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/12/a-not-so-brief-chat-with-randall-stephenson-of-att.html

I am not for regulation but I believe the government needs to step in here and reduce/eliminate ETF’s and regulate data plan pricing including horrid texting plans that should cost 75% less. AT&T can’t have their cake and eat it too. Sadly all other carriers need a kick in the ass too.

“3% of smartphone users use up to 40% of the bandwidth. It’s NOT all smartphone users who’ll get placed on notice.”

I’m assuming we’re talking about the ATT’s network? It might feel like 3% of smartphone users use up to 40% of the bandwidththat but those pipes were probably a lot smaller to start with.

Verizon Wireless might be laughing at ATT now but they will feel the pain as soon as they come out with a phone/apps that really test their network. Their current phones are just not there yet. They’ve had the time to see how ATT was being impacted by the large number of apps/iphone on the network. Verizon is just restrictive with apps riding their networks.

Just my 2 cents.

However, if you read between the lines, it looks like AT&T’s first order of business is to work on a way of automatically monitoring individual-device data usage and possibly throttling network speeds when someone reaches a maximum data usage limit. Until recently, AT&T had always maintained that it had no real information about what was happening on its network. Their recent statements about who uses how much data (to get customers to start blaming one another instead of AT&T) sound like the result of retrospective analysis of the entire user base — an attempt to get some data together in order to get a handle on their networking problems and to make a plan of action (which is what this post is about).

I’ve heard that T-Mobile can monitor and throttle individual device data usage. Maybe someone can confirm this.

I really think AT&T has managed and continues to manage this problem ineffectively. Developing a reputation for insufficient network services, increasing data usage fees, falling behind in network speed, and losing iPhone exclusivity all in the same year is not going to be pretty.

You pay $79.99 for a VZW plan with data, I pay $69.99 for an AT&T iphone plan. Plus $375 early termination fee in Verizon. Never mind.

AT&T needs to be very careful in how they go about this. I know they think they’re invincible because they have the iPhone but I’ll get a droid in a heartbeat if they take away my data

Exactly. I pay $30 for unlimited data and if they try to increase that on me before my contract ends, I will leave ATT. Verizon and Sprint are just as good in my area and they both have decent phones to choose from.

But, I also maintain that the point is to make these cellular companies compete with one another more directly. None of them is fundamentally better than the others. As a consumer, I benefit most from their attempting to compete with each other on the same basis (service quality, versatility, and cost), and not on the basis of the fact that one of them happens to exclusively acquire the ability to sell the best carrier-locked smartphone for two years.

jk Says:

December 9th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

I agree with ATT on this one, if you use gigs of data you should pay more than someone who uses less than 1 gig. Id love to pay $15 for 1 gig rather than $30 for data I dont use. Keep charging the 2-3 gig+ people $30 and tier the higher users over 4 gigs to $45. In this economy people will curb their data usage if they can pay less by using less. This will help the network load in the long run.” Every other company can charge those prices but surely not pathetic at&t dear…You sound like you work for that disgusting company…

2) I think the reason ATT struggles with all of the data hogs is bc they are all on one channel. VZW operates using two different channels one for voice the other for data. Think of it as a two lane road with a lot of cars, VZW has more lanes allowing for more traffic!

Your time will come sir.. eventually.. if things stay on this pace.. Verizon will change also.. The iphone changed the landscape.. people are using a ton of data on it, iphone users use more then 80% of all data on the network.. I have no problem with hogs being slapped on the wrist, but these hogs should also have the ability to leave at&t with no penalty, cause they signed the contract for unlimited.. Hope this all gets worked out soon, but I laugh at the folks that think it would be any different on Verizon.. if they had the iphone right now.. they’d be hurting too.. no one, especially not Verizon, expected the iphone to get this big(thats why they rejected the phone first)

I want to get the most out of my data plan so i have no issue using 4-6 gigs each month. this is one of the main reasons i bought the iphone.

Should i be paying less to my Cable TV provider if i watch 10 hours of TV, versus someone who watches 100 hours of TV each month?

Sure they can. If you understand how ATT’s GSM/HSPA networks works then it has everything to do with 3G. Unlike CDMA, voice and data run over the same channel on GSM/HSPA. Therefore, the more 3g data the more clogged the voice channels. Its directly relative.

AT&T cannot exclusively blame 3g data hogs for their problems in NYC- the problem pre-existed back from the iPhone launch and probably just got worse as more and more consumers jumped onto the iPhone.

It’s simply inexcusable to live in the biggest city in the world and have the amount of dropped calls that I have, daily.

As simple as crossing a bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn or from the Bronx to Queens, you WILL experience a drop call.

I’ve placed numerous complaints to customer service. Obviously, to this day the problems still exist.

I love my iPhone, I HATE AT&T.

Yeah, because we know Verizon’s unlimited data plan is really unlimited. No US carrier is going to give you an unlimited pipe. You may see it down the line, but it will cost you, big time.

Lte is a four year upgrade cycle.

I guess you’re referring to the AT&T that didn’t already get you to agree to pay in fact the same fee for a few hundred MB per month as those who use a few GB per month.

I’ve said before several times. AT&T has basic problems with its network that arose from overselling its network capacity and underestimating the potential network traffic associated with the iPhone 3G by an order of magnitude. They have not been straightforward about those problems at all, while they have been collecting millions of dollars from its iPhone users.

The best thing that can happen to the iPhone platform in the U.S. is to stop its carrier exclusivity. Doing so would probably double the number of iPhone owners in a very short time, and the carriers would then have to compete to offer the best network support for the iPhone.