FTC Sues AT&T Over Throttling Practices
Oct 28, 2014, 12:52 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Oct 28, 2014, 1:53 PM
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today filed a lawsuit against AT&T alleging the company has deceived consumers by throttling the speeds of subscribers to its unlimited plan. AT&T has throttled wireless speeds since 2011, but the FTC says it hasn't properly informed customers about the parameters that trigger it. According to the FTC, AT&T has slowed down broadband speeds of 3.5 million subscribers a total of 25 million times. Subscribers to its unlimited plans have filed thousands of complaints, accusing the company of using bait and switch tactics. The FTC found AT&T throttled data speeds of unlimited customers after they used as little as 2GB. Speeds were often reduced by 80 or 90%, making many network-based activities unusable. "AT&T promised its customers 'unlimited' data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "The issue here is simple: 'unlimited' means unlimited." The agency is charging AT&T with violating the FTC Act for changing the terms of service while customers were still under contract. AT&T no longer offers unlimited plans and instead requires customers to purchase data by the bucket. Most carriers throttle the speeds of those who use the network excessively. "The FTC's allegations are baseless and have nothing to do with the substance of our network management program, said AT&T general counsel Wayne Watts. "It's baffling as to why the FTC would choose to take this action against a company that, like all major wireless providers, manages its network resources to provide the best possible service to all customers, and does it in a way that is fully transparent and consistent with the law and our contracts."
Comments
Hope this makes it to court
If you're really opposed
But none of the AT&T lackeys on this website can ever be quoted for their hard line stance against how the current carrier oligopoly is ruining the market. You'll never hear them propose that these companies be busted up and the government regulations that prevent real competition from entering the market be removed. Nay, they just want to bellow about how the government should leave the market alone and let these carriers do as they please.
But be warned. These people do NOT hold the opinions of free market thinkers and capitalists. They are akin to animal rights acti...
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Zpike said:
to government regulation of AT&T, then you should also be opposed to the government regulations that allowed AT&T to become the customer abusing monstrosity it is today.
What regulations are you talking ...
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This is just a ridiculous and over the top strawman argument, on the same level with the people who argue that anybody who didn't vote for Obama is ...
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Then dont say unlimited..say 2gb then 10% normal speed
Throttling
