If AT&T provides any indication, we won’t have to worry about the idea of unlimited data plans any more. The nation’s No. 2 carrier announced in June that it would eliminate its unlimited data plan in favor of tiered options, which limit data to either 250MB or 2GB. Verizon apparently has something similar planned for its LTE network, which should start rolling out later this year. It makes me wonder what will become of the data plans for the 38 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers not on AT&T or Verizon.
If a recent class action lawsuit sheds any light on the matter, we might see the other carriers limit their plans, too, though not necessarily because Verizon and AT&T opened that door. The suit, filed in California, accuses T-Mobile of false advertising practices relating to their data plan. It comes as no surprise that this is over the word unlimited and what exactly it means. T-Mobile throttles data speeds when customers exceed certain usage levels. In the case of the lead plaintiff in this case, his data speed was reduced to 50Kbps after he consumed 10GB of data.
I never understood how wireless companies got away with advertising an unlimited plan, but then, after getting customers to sign a contract, place limits on usage. Most times companies leave themselves an out. In this case, T-Mobile does have a warning in its terms and conditions: “Your data session may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted if you use your service in a way that interferes with or impacts our network or ability to provide quality service to other users.” The ambiguous language makes it easy for T-Mobile to throttle data speeds when customers use high amounts of data.
In a way this is necessary for T-Mobile. The company allows uses to tether their smartphones to laptops for no extra charge, and that type of usage can really run up data consumption. T-Mobile doesn’t have unlimited available bandwidth, so it has to take measures to manage its network. What is in question is the practice of advertising unlimited and then making changes on the fly. That doesn’t sound like an ethical business practice, yet it seems that all the carriers do it.
Will we ever see companies honestly and clearly advertise the limits on their service plans? I would hope so, but it seems like they get a free pass on the matter. Considering the long commitment wireless carriers require for customers, it seems like they should be as up front as possible about the terms of their plans. To this point they’re not. Hopefully this lawsuit changes that.
