Database Users

[news] AT&T Pulls the Plug on Its Unlimited Data Plans

Poor att users, I'm so glad I switched to t-mo.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/197755/atandt_pulls_the_plug_on_its_unlimited_data_plans.html
The New AT&T Mobile Data Plans
•· DataPlus is the cheapest plan available, which provides you with 200MB of data for $15 per month, a much better value plan for light data users who pay $30 for the unlimited plan right now. AT&T says that on average, 65 per cent of its customers use less than 200MB per month. If you exceed 200MB in a month, you can get another 200MB for an additional $15.
•· DataPro is the new highbrow mobile data plan from AT&T, which includes 2GB of data for $25 per month, and will charge each additional GB used over this limit at $10. This new plan is designed to replace the outgoing Unlimited plan, as AT&T claims 98 percent of its smartphone customers use on average less than 2GB of data per month.
•· The Tethering plan for iPhones will work only along the $20 per month DataPro plan, and costs an additional $20 monthly. Unfortunately, this extra $20 won't give you any extra GB of data usage, as the 2GB included in the DataPro plan will be shared between your phone and the tethered device. Tethering for iPhones is expected to be available when Apple releases iPhone OS 4 this summer.
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So this is only for new customers right? I'm assuming the customers already on unlimited will keep it correct?

sucks for them. $45 a month for 2GB including tethering optionis just ridiculous.

im sure AT&T will force people to switch to this plan eventually like they did the smartphone plans.

FYI, this is grounds for any current customer to get out of the ETF if they try and force you to switch over before your contract is up.

agreed I feel sorry for you guys, we get screwed with 3 year contracts, but im ok with that since I pay $30 for 6gb and that includes tethering. To pay an extra $20 and not get an increase in your bandwidth limit sucks.

Ouch.
Maybe my girlfriend's iPhone will have a tragic accident so we can get out of Dodge...
*sad face*

pjcforpres said:
FYI, this is grounds for any current customer to get out of the ETF if they try and force you to switch over before your contract is up.
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So is this for sure. I am on ATT right now and been thinking about dropping them and getting a new service. Either Verizon or Tmobile. Even though tmobile isnt all that great its cheaper for a 3 person family plan. AND I would be able to have my N1 on 3G. Edge really sucks.

i don't think the new ETF has taken into effect; i called yesterday and asked how much it would be to get out of my family plan, and the rep gave me numbers based on $175 and not $325; thinking about moving to Sprint (23% discount from employer plus EVO)
also, i don't think this is grounds for getting out of paying ETF since, as of now, customers still have the option to keep current data plans and if they switch, it doesn't renew contract
while this is a bad deal for those who uses data a lot, this is somewhat of a benefit for my dad's iphone (i just checked and since he got the phone, he only uses about 100mb/month) so he can save $15/month

i imagine the unlimited will be grandfathered just like the old 10cent/kb plan i used to have since like 2000
glad ive got the unlimited while it was still available, according to this tiered pricing my bill last month just for data would have been over 50 bucks.

futango said:
So is this for sure. I am on ATT right now and been thinking about dropping them and getting a new service. Either Verizon or Tmobile. Even though tmobile isnt all that great its cheaper for a 3 person family plan. AND I would be able to have my N1 on 3G. Edge really sucks.
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Mmmm, considering what ATT is doing here, I'd say Tmo is great. In addition to the fact that you're stuck using Edge, which adds even more value to Tmo.

futango said:
So is this for sure. I am on ATT right now and been thinking about dropping them and getting a new service. Either Verizon or Tmobile. Even though tmobile isnt all that great its cheaper for a 3 person family plan. AND I would be able to have my N1 on 3G. Edge really sucks.
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you should just call ATT and ask how much it would be if you terminate your contract; you can have an answer directly from them

futango said:
So is this for sure. I am on ATT right now and been thinking about dropping them and getting a new service. Either Verizon or Tmobile. Even though tmobile isnt all that great its cheaper for a 3 person family plan. AND I would be able to have my N1 on 3G. Edge really sucks.
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I doubt it because [according to Engadget] current unlimited data subscribers are welcome to keep their $30/mo plan for as long as they'd like, so you're not being forced to change your plan.
When I first read about the change I thought it sounded pretty bad, but I just checked my data usage and I only use just over 1gb a month despite very very heavy web browsing on my phones. If I tethered often or streamed video, I might not like this plan, but I cannot fathom how much web browsing I'd have to do to go over 2gb a month.

If you guys use the wifi tethering feature, they probably won't be able to detect that you are tethering, right?

What I don't understand is how they will find out if you're tethering?
What if you're using a Nexus One on AT&T with FroYo. How would they know if you're tethering or just using your phone a lot?

yeah this stinks in a way. but all of us are grandfathered in. this is only for new customers. until you sign a new contract you can keep using the current pricing. but after that...
i've been out of contracct for 4 years now and only use unlocked phones, so i guess i could theoretically stay grandfathered indefinitely.

Paul22000 said:
What I don't understand is how they will find out if you're tethering?
What if you're using a Nexus One on AT&T with FroYo. How would they know if you're tethering or just using your phone a lot?
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they really cant tell the difference. so dont even worry about it. the only thing that could give it away is if you blow thru insane amounts of data, and download things like 500mb torrents which obviously gives you away.

Paul22000 said:
What I don't understand is how they will find out if you're tethering?
What if you're using a Nexus One on AT&T with FroYo. How would they know if you're tethering or just using your phone a lot?
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They can't unless they built it into the phone. So if you can get froyo on your att nexus you can tether without paying the fee.
All other 2.2 phones will be modified by their respective carriers to "check in" before enabling the built in tether option.

RogerPodacter said:
they really cant tell the difference. so dont even worry about it. the only thing that could give it away is if you blow thru insane amounts of data, and download things like 500mb torrents which obviously gives you away.
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This is true. I have used my WinMo phones to tether on at&t for quite some time, beginning with HTC Faraday. Back then I called because I was stupid having problems getting the faraday to tether to my personal computer (The one I tested it on was fine) and the guy was like, you have to buy the tether package for $60/month to get the right cable. I was like no I don't, I did it earlier on another PC. He stammered and was like, well, if you try to access data heavy sites like youtube, it probably won't work. I was like okay w/e...hung up, played around, got it to work, and streamed an episode of Family Guy with no problems just to prove him wrong (once I let it DL. stupid EDGE). I've yet to see an extra charge for my data. (even when I was using the $10 MEdia Net package with a smartphone, which I was with the Faraday)

i going to ride out my grandfathered tmobile plan for as long as i can... $5/month for unlimited 3G data and tether/hotspot

in light of at&t's new pricing we shouldn't complain about extra 10 for evo

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/02/atandt-makes-sweeping-changes-to-data-plans-iphone-tethering-comi/
http://gizmodo.com/5553418/att-just-killed-unlimited-wireless-data-and-screwed-everybody-in-the-process
those are the giz and engadget links.
basically they are getting rid of unlimited data and are charging you buy the megabyte/gigabyte. it's 15 a month for 200mb and 25 a month for 2gb. if you go over the 200mb limit on that plan it's another 15$ for 200mb that month. so that means for 1gb of use on that plan your paying 65$ for 1 gb on that plan. and if your on the 2gb plan it's 10$ for another 1gb. only good thing is if you use more than 200 you can switch to the higher priced plan and save some money, and it seems you can do this on a month to month basis.
there is a lot more stuff in the articles you guys should read. but honestly we shouldn't complain about the 10 dollars extra for the evo. for that ten dollars we get unlimited txt, unlimited data, and unlimited mobile to mobile. no other carrier can provide this. on other carries txting alone costs like an extra 20 a month for unlimited.
you know what i'll be happy to pay the 10 a month on the evo even though i live in miami without 4g. that 120 a year will just help get 4g out to everyone faster. we're lucky it's just ten. look at what other carriers are doing, we are really lucky.

good now more people will be coming to sprint lol

Nice! iPhone users will suck it up. haha that's funny new iPhone will users will love this

Haha this is sad. Happy i switched to flexpay
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i was going over my plan with a sprint rep the other day just to make sure i was ready for the evo and she told me that the unlimited mobile-to-mobile is ANY mobile, across any carrier! i had just assumed it was in-network mobiles.
thats freakin' AWESOME. way to go sprint

SilverStone641 said:
i was going over my plan with a sprint rep the other day just to make sure i was ready for the evo and she told me that the unlimited mobile-to-mobile is ANY mobile, across any carrier! i had just assumed it was in-network mobiles.
thats freakin' AWESOME. way to go sprint
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Yep, "Any mobile, any time." It's saved me so many minutes, and you get it long as you have an everything data plan.

Thank God I'm switching from AT&T. The new data plan prices are asanine. The point of getting an iPhone is to promote more web use. In life I learned that if you have too little of something you tend to need/use/want more. AT&T will make a killing off overage buckets.
Netflix is supposedly coming to the iPhone. Are you telling me that 200mb a month will suffice when streaming a movie. You will easily use that just watching ONE movie. You have to be a fool to even consider those plans an option.

To be honest, if it was not for Sprint's price, I would be with Verizon. So the extra $10 is not a super deal breaker... it is just annoying, but still maybe a bit cheaper then Verizon. I just hope that those extra $10 help install a bunch of
4G towers everywhere because I want to get my money's worth.
What annoys me is that I am supposed to get unlimited, but it was always known to have a soft cap at 5gb. So now I bet they will enforce it. Does my $10 make it truly unlimited in 4G AND 3G? I get no clear answer here. Because I KNOW that I will be on 3G more than 4G...
Also... I used to get free tethering in Sprint with my plan (I have a shared plan with my wife, 1500 mins, unlimited) Do I no longer get that? Do I have to pay the stupid $30/month for that? That is what annoys me.
Also what will happen when/if they go to 2.2? Will they disable the hotspot in Froyo?
As far as ATT is concerned... I just feel sorry for them, and for those that have to use them. Verizon makes a good point that your phone is only as good as your network, and theirs sucks. My buddy has to walk outside to send a text on his iphone. Many of the people I work with have Iphones that don't work well at all where we are. They would rather deal with THAT then give them up. I feel sorry for them to be that blinded. Have a phone that does not work at your place of work just to have an iphone... that is retarded.

$250/mo with AT&T or Less than $100/mo with Sprint. I could care less about the $10 premium for 4G considering how much I used to pay. I believe that these new plans will drive many people away.

cpnichols said:
To be honest, if it was not for Sprint's price, I would be with Verizon. So the extra $10 is not a super deal breaker... it is just annoying, but still maybe a bit cheaper then Verizon. I just hope that those extra $10 help install a bunch of
4G towers everywhere because I want to get my money's worth.
What annoys me is that I am supposed to get unlimited, but it was always known to have a soft cap at 5gb. So now I bet they will enforce it. Does my $10 make it truly unlimited in 4G AND 3G? I get no clear answer here. Because I KNOW that I will be on 3G more than 4G...
Also... I used to get free tethering in Sprint with my plan (I have a shared plan with my wife, 1500 mins, unlimited) Do I no longer get that? Do I have to pay the stupid $30/month for that? That is what annoys me.
Also what will happen when/if they go to 2.2? Will they disable the hotspot in Froyo?
As far as ATT is concerned... I just feel sorry for them, and for those that have to use them. Verizon makes a good point that your phone is only as good as your network, and theirs sucks. My buddy has to walk outside to send a text on his iphone. Many of the people I work with have Iphones that don't work well at all where we are. They would rather deal with THAT then give them up. I feel sorry for them to be that blinded. Have a phone that does not work at your place of work just to have an iphone... that is retarded.
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never heard of a cap on sprint so don't know about that. and there are at least 5 different ways to tether on an android phone through either root or applications like pda-net. i think it's like 10 dollars and once you buy it you can tether all you want with the program. the 30.00 a month thing is for people who don't know about those type of things.

cpnichols said:
Also... I used to get free tethering in Sprint with my plan (I have a shared plan with my wife, 1500 mins, unlimited) Do I no longer get that? Do I have to pay the stupid $30/month for that? That is what annoys me.
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If you tethered with Sprint for "free" you were stealing data.
cpnichols said:
... that is retarded.
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that's offensive.

pididente said:
If you tethered with Sprint for "free" you were stealing data.
that's offensive.
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i always wondered why it was ok to talk about tethering hacks but not about warez / hacked apps... both should be considered stealing.
and i am so over this "anti-retarded" movement. i think it is retarded...

gqstatus0685 said:
Thank God I'm switching from AT&T. The new data plan prices are asanine. The point of getting an iPhone is to promote more web use. In life I learned that if you have too little of something you tend to need/use/want more. AT&T will make a killing off overage buckets.
Netflix is supposedly coming to the iPhone. Are you telling me that 200mb a month will suffice when streaming a movie. You will easily use that just watching ONE movie. You have to be a fool to even consider those plans an option.
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Keep in mind netflix on the ipad too, that runs on 3g as well and is restricted to the caps
cpnichols said:
To be honest, if it was not for Sprint's price, I would be with Verizon. So the extra $10 is not a super deal breaker... it is just annoying, but still maybe a bit cheaper then Verizon. I just hope that those extra $10 help install a bunch of
4G towers everywhere because I want to get my money's worth.
What annoys me is that I am supposed to get unlimited, but it was always known to have a soft cap at 5gb. So now I bet they will enforce it. Does my $10 make it truly unlimited in 4G AND 3G? I get no clear answer here. Because I KNOW that I will be on 3G more than 4G...
Also... I used to get free tethering in Sprint with my plan (I have a shared plan with my wife, 1500 mins, unlimited) Do I no longer get that? Do I have to pay the stupid $30/month for that? That is what annoys me.
Also what will happen when/if they go to 2.2? Will they disable the hotspot in Froyo?
As far as ATT is concerned... I just feel sorry for them, and for those that have to use them. Verizon makes a good point that your phone is only as good as your network, and theirs sucks. My buddy has to walk outside to send a text on his iphone. Many of the people I work with have Iphones that don't work well at all where we are. They would rather deal with THAT then give them up. I feel sorry for them to be that blinded. Have a phone that does not work at your place of work just to have an iphone... that is retarded.
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the limits are:
3g = 5GB/month
4g = real unlimited
and yes sprint will disable tethering in froyo, they disabled gps in the sprint touch so only they could use it with their navigation app(which they charged for)

Yeah i seen the ATT price changes yesterday also. WTF are they thinking? Maybe the iPhone and it generated traffic is actually killing thier network after all. I would blow through 200mb in a day. I am a little over 5gb so far this month with VZW.

srtpusher said:
i always wondered why it was ok to talk about tethering hacks but not about warez / hacked apps... both should be considered stealing.
and i am so over this "anti-retarded" movement. i think it is retarded...
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yeah but with tethering it's not like you don't have the ability built in and data is data regardless of device so you shouldn't have to pay so much for the option. 15 or 20 is "reasonable" 30 is a little much in my opinion. and with the new 10 dollars extra we get "truly unlimited data" 3g and 4g. i don't consider it stealing, i consider it circumventing an idiot tax but thats just me.

thorpe24 said:
...the 30.00 a month thing is for people who don't know about those type of things.
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+1
People who don't know any better will get the $30 tethering package. However, being on XDA probably means that 98% of us know better. I am willing to bet that the following will work:
ROOT + Wi-Fi Tether app = Free Wi-Fi tethering.

actually some one has tried it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=694047
this thread has stuff about wifi-tether etc.

Just because you can afford the extra $10 for whatever reason they give, does not negate the fact that its bogus. Changes are always incremental, so if you delay or prevent increases in fees, the less you pay in the long run. By letting any company do this without complaining, it makes it alright in their eyes and they will do it more often. Wouldn't you from a business standpoint?
Besides, Sprint has been bleeding postpaid customers for years, they should continue to bring in new people with the low plans and not tax the higher end users (cuz they know they will pay)

T-Mobile 5GB Data Throttle Starts Oct.16 :-(

Got TMO Nexus owners ?
Tether or hotspot your laptop all day long like me ?
http://www.tmonews.com/2010/10/t-mobile-reducing-data-cap-will-throttle-speeds-after-5gb-of-usage

Oh no! damn. This sucks.

That's fair. No extra charges.

It is unfortunate, but it was inevitable. As long as there are no extra charges, 5 GB of 3G speed seems fair. Blame everyone who abused their connections >:|

This seems fair, at least its not like 2gb and overage like those poor suckers on ATT
Sent from my awesome Nexus One using XDA App

5 GB on a mobile device is a lot to use. Are you guys streaming HD movies on your phone or somethin??

I agree seems fair. Att is going down hill fast.
FWIW I had 5 gig tehter plan on blackberry as my main internet connection for two months. I came very close but never hit 5 gigs. This was 8 hours a day at work + pleasure.
Id rather have a choice than be stuck with either.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

dude 5gigs is a **** ton... if you are blowing over that every month then you prolly need to look into using wifi a bit more often...

didn't know 10Gb cap.
how slow will it be? i wanna watch streaming video on bed.

Just be glad you're not in the UK, most carriers here limit you to 500Mb now.

Rusty! said:
Just be glad you're not in the UK, most carriers here limit you to 500Mb now.
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Oh wow, that would REALLY suck. I definitely go over that easily every month. I have never come close to 5gb though. I'm on AT&T right now with a grandfathered unlimited plan, so I'm ok (for now).

At least the TMO unlimited plan is still unlimited, just at a slower speed once the 5GB is reached. With other carriers charging for overages, I'm not sure how they (the other carriers) can get away with calling it "unlimited".

im guessing this doesnt affect tzones ($5 plan) users... since when i goto my account, even if ive been using over 2gb of data that month, it says ive used zero data... im guessing this is because everything is going through a proxy

norazi said:
im guessing this doesnt affect tzones ($5 plan) users... since when i goto my account, even if ive been using over 2gb of data that month, it says ive used zero data... im guessing this is because everything is going through a proxy
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wow i never thought of that actually...

can the proxy setting be used for other data plans to bypass this data cap? I normally use 6 to 8gb per month as the tether is my only internet access.

The 5GB limit is fair. At least they don't charge you for overages like ATT. My buddy has a 200MB plan because ATT f-ed him when he tried to grandfather his unlimited data plan from ~3 years ago. Now he makes me turn on my N1's hotspot whenever we hang out.

Rusty! said:
Just be glad you're not in the UK, most carriers here limit you to 500Mb now.
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+1
My jaw nearly hit the floor when I read that, and then read people complaining about it

I'm around 1.5-2GB per month right now and don't believe that I'll ever read 5GB unless I start downloading huge files all day! I believe this is the right way to treat customers compared to the "big two's" plan. Also, I'm a loyal T-Mobile customer for 7 years now.

I can live with 5GB limit...but they better never change it again to any lower

Victimized ?
Tomorrow (paintball day heheh) is the throttle day.
Post up if your a victim.

The ethics of tethering on a non-tethering contract

A different thread (Here) degraded into an angry, but compelling discussion of tethering ethics.
Since the other thread was so lively, but off of original topic, I figured this would be a better, less phone specific, location.

This guy burned through 105G of data in a billing cycle.
Wow.

Twiddler said:
This guy burned through 105G of data in a billing cycle.
Wow.
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I don't care if people tether provided they keep it at a reasonable rate. I think the T-Mo 5 GB limit is plenty for tethering and I don't care if they throttle past that point. 105GB is completely and utterly retarded and I wouldn't hesitate to say that he was probably downloading illegal files while tethering.

You're using AT&T and you're concerned about ethics LOL. They're screwing you every chance they get. If you get the chance to return the favor, be my guest.
The only crisis of conscience I might have is degrading the user experience of someone else on that same antenna.

The 'I don't give an F' users eventually bring the issue to a head; they push the limits and draw the attention of the carriers.
On the positive end, this (kind of) spurs bandwidth and rollout plans.
On a negative end, this hurries security and monitoring development that closes off these avenues.
There's no reasoning with 'power' users though; they'll take anything that's not nailed down. We all just have to live with it.

Turducken said:
You're using AT&T and you're concerned about ethics LOL. They're screwing you every chance they get. If you get the chance to return the favor, be my guest.
The only crisis of conscience I might have is degrading the user experience of someone else on that same antenna.
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I've never had any issue with AT&T, but I have had issues with T-Mobile. It's funny that a provider can be so cheap (T-Mobile), yet can't seem to get any subscribers... wonder why? :C
Could it be their poor service/coverage? Probably.
I used to tether a while back, but I got a letter from AT&T telling me if I continued I'd lose my unlimited data and be automatically enrolled in their 4GB for $45 tethering plan. I since stopped, and bought myself a 5GB "4G" data connect card @ $50 per month ($10 for every GB over). Seemed like a reasonable deal.
If you're gonna tether, good luck, you will get caught eventually. c:

MikiOCN said:
I've never had any issue with AT&T, but I have had issues with T-Mobile. It's funny that a provider can be so cheap (T-Mobile), yet can't seem to get any subscribers... wonder why? :C
Could it be their poor service/coverage? Probably.
I used to tether a while back, but I got a letter from AT&T telling me if I continued I'd lose my unlimited data and be automatically enrolled in their 4GB for $45 tethering plan. I since stopped, and bought myself a 5GB "4G" data connect card @ $50 per month ($10 for every GB over). Seemed like a reasonable deal.
If you're gonna tether, good luck, you will get caught eventually. c:
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So instead of using something you were already paying for, you now are paying for another monthly charge to continue doing what you were already doing before? Yep, definitely. Sounds like you've never had an issue with AT&T. At least not one that you want to admit.
But in all honesty, it cripples the system when people are overusing. Then again, we should be getting what we pay for. And considering the unreasonable rates carriers provide compared to elsewhere in the world... f*** them.

I honestly don't tether that much these days. I only use it when the internet is down and at best, I use about 200MB worth of data from tethering. Haven't been caught and I am pretty sure T-Mobile doesn't care enough to send me a warning about tethering on a non-tethering contract.
With that being said, I did hit my 5GB limit. Twice. Without the use of tethering. Throttled speed is honestly not that bad, I can still do some stuff.

upichie said:
So instead of using something you were already paying for, you now are paying for another monthly charge to continue doing what you were already doing before? Yep, definitely. Sounds like you've never had an issue with AT&T. At least not one that you want to admit.
But in all honesty, it cripples the system when people are overusing. Then again, we should be getting what we pay for. And considering the unreasonable rates carriers provide compared to elsewhere in the world... f*** them.
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When you say unreasonable rates VZW certainly comes to mind
I don't tether but really don't see the problem with it. As someone else stated when it comes to 'power users' they are out there and we all have to deal with it no matter what the service you use, ie DSL/CABLE/SAT etc.
What about the 'ethics' of locking bootloaders and loading my phone full of bloatware? ROFL...

I don't think its unethical to use your data the way you want to use it. You are paying for the data. I think caps, for the price of unlimited home broadband (and not achieving close to the same speeds as those of home broadband) is unethical.

If my contract says unlimited data, I see nothing unethical about it. It is my data to use when and how I want to. The only thing unethical is the fact that I pay $160 a month for 2 lines.

Whats the difference between using 2GB of data on your phone compared to using 2GB of data when you've got a laptop tethered to it? You should just be able to pay for data and thats that. No paying extra if you want to tether.
It is abusing it if you have unlimited data and rinse it all since it's never really unlimited. Maybe they should say how much data you're ACTUALLY allowed to use.

people should stop using 3G/4G as a replacement for home internet, sigh...

I am about to go a little off topic.
I think it is the fault of the carriers themselves. Earlier it was allowed for me tether as much as I wanted. I had an unlimited data plan (A real one).
Now I am limited to 2 gb (or not yet, only when I renew my contract) This is not caused by power users but because of wrongly anticipated investments. They need to get back their investment of economically aged techniques.
Also I am forced to buy more calling minutes and text when I want more data.
I think, especially compared to earlier, that giving us this little data for a ridiculously high price is unethical. 10 gb should be more fair. I mean they tell us to watch youtube on my phone at home. Why would I do that when I have a laptop or maybe later even a tablet?
Its not really unethical to download 105 gb unless you are downloading illegal stuff and causing others unable to use mobile data.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

Closed
No double threads, instead use the report button so we can act on the original thread
Twiddler said:
A different thread (Here) degraded into an angry, but compelling discussion of tethering ethics.
Since the other thread was so lively, but off of original topic, I figured this would be a better, less phone specific, location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Ekamsaral said:
I am about to go a little off topic.
I think it is the fault of the carriers themselves. Earlier it was allowed for me tether as much as I wanted. I had an unlimited data plan (A real one).
Now I am limited to 2 gb (or not yet, only when I renew my contract) This is not caused by power users but because of wrongly anticipated investments. They need to get back their investment of economically aged techniques.
Also I am forced to buy more calling minutes and text when I want more data.
I think, especially compared to earlier, that giving us this little data for a ridiculously high price is unethical. 10 gb should be more fair. I mean they tell us to watch youtube on my phone at home. Why would I do that when I have a laptop or maybe later even a tablet?
Its not really unethical to download 105 gb unless you are downloading illegal stuff and causing others unable to use mobile data.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
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Well, people would tether because why bother having two Internet es, one at your home and one in your pocket? Sounds easier to have it all on your phone as you can tether to your other devices. Also, some people don't have tablets or aptops, etc. To even use, so they use whatever they can but I mean this is unlikely since they can afford such an Internet service on their device.
Also, it's the isp fault of their network can't support thousands or millions of users using their network, they should get better networks, etc since you're paying for the service. For the ones who download like several gigabytes of stuff, why not? It's the Internet and they paid for it. Watching a million videos, movies, watching live tv, etc. Why don't they leech off starbucks? Because they are paying for an "unlimited" service.
For the throttling, I find it stupid, or good. Stupid because unlimited users shouldn't be doing because they use a lot, it's a service they paid for. Well, how much they throttle anyways? But it's good because at the end of the month, that's when team network is the fastest, if the heavy users get throttled.
Either way, I think throttling is stupid and bad for user who paid for unlimited Internet,.
---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
AllGamer said:
people should stop using 3G/4G as a replacement for home internet, sigh...
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Why not? Although home Internet is faster, why pay for home when you have unlimited 3g/4g?

Im on sprint, so we have unlimited data in our contracts. I think its my right to use it in any way i like just like i do at home with fios. i can plug in any device i want into my router. I could give my dog her own videophone and verizon wont care. Cell carriers should be the same, they should treat it as a just a connection, thats it. we would all be happier.

I was on AT&T. Got the tethering notice and decided no more with them. I switched to Verizon.
When I tether, I really don't use that much data than I would on my phone. I average around 6.5GB a month on my phone usual data. From there, I would venture to say 2GB of data is tethering and when it's done, it's usually not even their peak network times. I don't think it's unethical because data is data. A byte is a byte whether it originated on the phone or the other device. The company has the capability, they just want more money for it.
Really, it boils down to moderation. If everyone tethered, but did it moderately, we could all enjoy it. But for the 105GB guy, he ruins it for all of us.

xplus93 said:
Im on sprint, so we have unlimited data in our contracts. I think its my right to use it in any way i like just like i do at home with fios. i can plug in any device i want into my router. I could give my dog her own videophone and verizon wont care. Cell carriers should be the same, they should treat it as a just a connection, thats it. we would all be happier.
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I agree.
As our devices become capable of higher volumes of data in a billing period, AT&T markets faster speeds (translation: greater volume in less time), more apps (translation: more downloads, more apps pulling data), we are expected not to use greater volumes of data if we have an unlimited contract.
As for people who say that power users cause network bottlenecks, I would like to see data to prove this allegation. I haven't seen any information to support this allegation. I believe that AT&T's network problems, including cell towers that lose internet, are a much bigger problem.

Power users don't cause the bottleneck. There's so few who actually use over a fairly small amount of data that it's ridiculous for the carriers to say that power users are the cause of network congestion and general slowness, which prompt data caps and other unpleasantness.
The actual issue is similar to Comcast's handling of torrenters. The whole Sandvine debacle wasn't caused because so many people were torrenting that the network couldn't handle it. The cause was simple greed and laziness--the provider sold more bandwidth than they actually possessed. The same is true for the mobile networks, as well. These guys know that "unlimited" is the magic word to sell data plans, but they don't want to spend the money necessary to expand network infrastructure to actually handle unlimited data access from thousands upon thousands of subscribers. So they blame it on the handful of folks who actually make use of the whole unlimited part, and throttle or cap bandwidth.
If they had been honest to begin with, we probably wouldn't be so torqued about it all.
I'm on T-Mobile and I tether fairly often, but not to excess, mostly because I have a 2GB cap and I'm almost always in a place where I can get wifi. The tethering is there for those 1% of times when there's no 802.11 nearby and I need to get my laptop online for whatever reason.
I pay for my bandwidth, I ought to be able to use it however I please. T-Mobile doesn't seem to mind whether my bits are pulled down through my Nexus S or my laptop.
Now if I could only figure out how to stop their proxies from compressing JPEGs...
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Heads up to HTC EVO 4G Wifi Tether people with sprint

I am friendishly warning you to NOT USE IT. It will void your contract and they will drop you. If you didnt know this before hand, you may want to stop. I love wifi tether but sadly it will end up getting me droped =/ Its in the sprint contract terms and what not

Thanks, were you dropped?

Nah. Just as a noob would, im new to all this root stuff, so i looked up if its illegal or not and it is with some companys. Especially sprint.. they can tell if your using wifi tether without paying their $30 a month for wifi. They'l drop you first off lol

ReapersDeath said:
Nah. Just as a noob would, im new to all this root stuff, so i looked up if its illegal or not and it is with some companys. Especially sprint.. they can tell if your using wifi tether without paying their $30 a month for wifi. They'l drop you first off lol
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It's NOT illegal. Yes, it voids your contract, but as most people will tell you, you have unlimited data, they can't tell you how to use it.
And FYI, sprint can NOT tell if you are using wifi tether or not. To them, it just looks like regular data being used on the phone.

sitlet said:
It's NOT illegal. Yes, it voids your contract, but as most people will tell you, you have unlimited data, they can't tell you how to use it.
And FYI, sprint can NOT tell if you are using wifi tether or not. To them, it just looks like regular data being used on the phone.
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Bingo! Data is data no matter which way you look at it. You can lift its skirt or drop its pants, it all looks the same.
Sent from my EVO

Hmm ok. misread some info.. But you have to think.. they can notice.. When you go from suttle data usage to some rapid burning usage its sort of obvious

Yes that is correct. If your a constant 1gb user every month for like a year then jump to 10gb's they'll question that. Just don't go throwing up red flags and you'll be fine. There's been threads on here with ppl being dropped only cause in their words 'I'm gonna stick it to sprint' and they go and use 20+ gb's. And you wonder why sprint sends out the we're letting you go letter
Sent from my EVO

ReapersDeath said:
Hmm ok. misread some info.. But you have to think.. they can notice.. When you go from suttle data usage to some rapid burning usage its sort of obvious
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As long as you don't abuse the tethering and rack up 10s of GBs of data consistently, Sprint could care less right now about whether or not people who choose to stick with them are tethering for free, as Sprint continues to lose customers.
Sprint is more concerned right now with how much data is going over the air than how people are sending it, because too much data over the air slows service to everyone.
There have been more people who have had their contracts cancelled who were paying the $30 dollars per month, but racking up enormous amounts of data (more than 10GB consistently) than people who do not pay the $30 dollars, but use tether more sparingly. In fact, there are many users right here on this site who have tethered for a long time, who Sprint has never done or said anything to.

I was about to say,i've been using my tether for over 6 months and i've never been repremanded for it,from sprint.

tethering is to risky imo.. sprint is unpredictable

Speeding is illegal too, doesn't mean I won't do it on the way home. I figure Sprint told me, that my phone would connect to their advanced 4G network, as they would eventually cover most areas with it and yet now my phone will never be usable on their 4G if they get disgruntled about my tether then they let me go to VZW
Sent from my Synergized Evo with aggressive Freedom using the XDA app

ReapersDeath said:
tethering is to risky imo.. sprint is unpredictable
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If you read the terms and conditions, racking up enormous amounts of data (whether you are paying for tethering or not), as well as tethering for free are both violations of your contract. However, Sprint will cancel your service quicker for the excess data usage (even if you are paying the $30 per month), than they will over free tethering, because too much over the air usage slows down service to everyone, which is one of the biggest complaints about Sprint (Service being too slow).

Well they probably would drop you if you had like 50gigs+ every month and the only way you could do that is downloading major porn or like downloading world of warcraft 3 or 4 times lol

I've been tethering since we had what seemed like a 20 step rooting sequence using adb commands. In other words ancient history in terms of the Evo. They've never given any indication of caring, but I only tether when I need to. I've downloaded torrent sized files, but never very often. I probably use more data flashing roms from my dropbox than I ever have by tethering.

I wonder if the can supposedly glean this info from CIQ. They do take user stats and most likely apps stats.

I use about 12 gigs monthly since 06. No hitch

I personally don't use the tethering all that much. I find that it decreases my battery life by like 726237x. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't bring my phone charger with me everywhere. So.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

Doesn't matter. I can't even use Wifi tethering.
My 3G speed is honestly making me think about switching to VZW, even though I wont get unlimited data. I can literally only pull 24 kB/s down (yes, 193 kbps - TERRIBLE) during the day. At night (1am+) I can pull about 1000 kbps.
I used to be able to get way better speeds, but over the last month or two it has literally come to a crawl. I only use Wifi on my evo now, i can barely use the market on 3g. I attribute this to the recent S2 and iPhone 4s. It's probably also related to my area, Southern Cali. Very populated and probably too much traffic (no 4g either... stupid.)

try boosting your 3g. theres a thread somewhere to do it.. it like calibrates your 3g to the best it can do

Tried searching around, no such luck for this thread. All I've come across is a some other users getting speeds just as bad as me.
Can't believe I'm paying the $10 dollar data fee per month, I could probably get a better connection from dialup.