[Vision2020] AT&T 3G data network?

[Steven Basoa]

> >
> > Anyone else notice a lack of 3G on the AT&T data network?  I'm  
> not even really sure what I'm asking about, but I've noticed since  
> yesterday that the little "3G" isn't appearing up in the corner on  
> my phone.  I still have cell signal but can only get data over wifi.
> >
> > Just curious
> >
> > DC

Judge awards iPhone user $850 in throttling case


Feb 24, 7:14 PM (ET)

By GREG RISLING and PETER SVENSSON

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - When AT&T started slowing down the data  
service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver  
and student, took the country's largest telecommunications company to  
small claims court. And won.
His award: $850.
Pro-tem Judge Russell Nadel found in favor of Spaccarelli in Ventura  
Superior Court in Simi Valley on Friday, saying it wasn't fair for  
the company to purposely slow down his iPhone, when it had sold him  
an "unlimited data" plan.
Spaccarelli could have many imitators. AT&T has some 17 million  
customers with "unlimited data" plans who can be subject to  
throttling. That's nearly half of its smartphone users. AT&T forbids  
them from consolidating their claims into a class action or taking  
them to a jury trial. That leaves small claims actions and arbitration.
Late last year, AT&T started slowing down data service for the top 5  
percent of its smartphone subscribers with "unlimited" plans. It had  
warned that it would start doing so, but many subscribers have been  
surprised by how little data use it takes for throttling to kick in -  
often less than AT&T provides to those on limited or "tiered" plans.
Spaccarelli said his phone is being throttled after he's used 1.5  
gigabytes to 2 gigabytes of data within a new billing cycle.  
Meanwhile, AT&T provides 3 gigabytes of data to subscribers on a  
tiered plan that costs the same - $30 per month.
When slowed down, the phone can still be used for calls and text  
messaging, but Web browsing is painfully slow, and video streaming  
doesn't work at all.
AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said the company will appeal the judge's  
ruling.
"At the end of the day, our contract governs our relationship with  
our customers," he said.
AT&T area sales manager Peter Hartlove, who represented the company  
before Nadel, declined to comment on the ruling. He argued in court  
that his employer has the right to modify or cancel customers'  
contracts if their data usage adversely affects the network.
Companies with as many potentially aggrieved customers as AT&T  
usually brace themselves for a class-action lawsuit. But last year,  
the Supreme Court upheld a clause in the Dallas-based company's  
subscriber contract that prohibits customers from taking their  
complaints to class actions or jury trials.
Arbitration and small-claims court cases are cheaper and faster than  
jury trials, but they force plaintiffs to appear in person and  
prepare their own statements. In a class-action suit, the work can be  
handled by one law firm on behalf of millions of people.
That means thousands - and possibly hundreds of thousands - of people  
who feel abused by AT&T's policy could seek to challenge the company,  
one by one, in arbitration or small claims court. The customer  
contract specifies that those who win an award from the company in  
arbitration that is greater than the company's pre-arbitration  
settlement offer will get at least $10,000. Spaccarelli picked the  
same amount for his claim, though AT&T's stipulation about a minimum  
award doesn't apply in small claims.
Nadel looked instead at the remaining 10 months in Spaccarelli's two- 
year contract with AT&T and estimated that he might pay $85 a month  
on average for using additional data. AT&T charges $10 for every  
extra gigabyte over 3 gigabytes.
Nadel said it's not fair for AT&T to make a promise to Spaccarelli  
when he buys the phone while burying terms in his contract that give  
the company the right to cut down data speeds.
Spaccarelli, 39, researched his case for a few months, and then spent  
three days putting together a binder of documents to bring to court.
"I need the money, but for me, this case is not about money at all,"  
Spaccarelli. "You don't tell somebody 'you have unlimited' and then  
cut them off."
Spaccarelli didn't quite uphold his side of the customer contract,  
and that's one reason his data usage was high. He used the iPhone to  
provide a link to the Internet for his iPad tablet, a setup known as  
"tethering." AT&T doesn't allow tethering unless customers pay extra  
for it, which Spaccarelli didn't do. It detected his tethering last  
year, and switched him from the "unlimited" plan to a limited one. He  
complained, and got his "unlimited" plan reinstated.
Even with the tethering, Spaccarelli's data usage wasn't excessive,  
he said - about 5 gigabytes per month. AT&T's Hartlove told Nadel  
about the tethering, and Spaccarelli admitted to it.
Earlier this month, a Southern California woman won a small-claims  
action against Honda over the gas mileage she got out of her Civic  
hybrid car. She was awarded $9,867. Meanwhile, a pending class action  
against Honda over the same issue would net Civic owners a few  
hundred dollars each. The plaintiff, Heather Peters, is an ex-lawyer  
who had opted out of the settlement.
AT&T's throttling of "unlimited" data comes as it tries to deal with  
limited capacity on its wireless network. When the iPhone was new,  
AT&T had ample capacity on its network, and wanted to lure customers  
with the peace of mind offered by unlimited plans. Now, a majority of  
AT&T subscribers on contract-based plans have smartphones, and the  
proportion is growing every month. That's putting a big load on  
AT&T's network.
Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA also throttle users, but their  
policies are gentler. Verizon only throttles if the specific cell  
tower a "heavy user" subscriber's phone is communicating with is  
congested at that moment. T-Mobile's throttling levels are higher for  
the same price, and the levels are spelled out ahead of time. AT&T  
subscribers have no way of knowing if they'll be throttled before a  
warning message drops in. If they keep using their phones, throttling  
kicks in a few days later.
---
AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson reported from New York. He can be  
reached at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson
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