AT&T caved to complaints that it's placing
unreasonable limits on the "unlimited data" plans it offers smartphone
subscribers.
The cell phone company said Thursday that from now on, it will
only slow down service for its "unlimited data" subscribers
when they hit 3 gigabytes of usage within a billing cycle.
Previously, the company had been slowing down service when
subscribers entered the heaviest 5% of data users for that month
and that area.
There was no way for subscribers to find out ahead of time what
the limit was. AT&T would send a warning by text message
to people who approached the limit. The data throttling would then kick
in a few days later. Thousands of subscribers complained about the
policy online.
"Our unlimited plan customers have told us they want more clarity
around how the program works and what they can expect,"
AT&T said in a statement Thursday.
AT&T doesn't sell the "unlimited data" plan any more, but
subscribers have been allowed to keep it. The company charges $30
per month for the plan.