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> Customers will get full LTE speeds until they reach 22GB of usage, after which they’ll be subject to reduced data speeds and de-prioritization. > Hotspot tet

by croon 10y ago

> Customers will get full LTE speeds until they reach 22GB of usage, after which they’ll be subject to reduced data speeds and de-prioritization. > Hotspot tethering — up to 10GB at LTE speeds — is included, as are calls and texts to Mexico and Canada. That's certainly an alternative take on the definition of "unlimited" than the one I'm accustomed to. Curious: What's the reduced speed? Is it less than 1Mbit/s? If so, good luck doing anything other than reading/checking mail/look at a map. And yet the articles are discussing "watching videos" without connecting to wifi.

ferbivore 10y ago
Carriers have been using this particular definition for years. I used to have a plan that included 5 GiB of HSPA+ traffic, followed by an all-you-can-eat 50 KiB/s buffet. Technically unlimited!
wccrawford 10y ago
T-Mobile's 10G plan says it reverts to 3G speeds after you hit your data cap. (This is the plan I'm on.) Their "unlimited" plan doesn't seem to have that clause, but it does say that after 30GB you'll be prioritized behind other customers and might see a drop in speed.
scarface74 10y ago
The "reduced speed" is whatever it takes to prioritize customers on the same tower who are not over the limit so they get full speed. If you aren't on a congested tower, your speed isn't impacted. Seems fair to me. Unlike wired internet, wireless carriers can't just throw money at the problem and get more bandwidth. A certain spectrum can only carry a certain amount of data. Even building more towers and having each tower serve a smaller radius won't help in a really congested area like a football stadium.
- croon 10y ago
  > The "reduced speed" is whatever it takes to prioritize customers on the same tower who are not over the limit so they get full speed. If you aren't on a congested tower, your speed isn't impacted. Seems fair to me. I'm not saying it isn't fair, I'm saying it's false advertising. I also know the technical limitations on the radios on the towers (worked in the industry). But suggesting that it's unlimited, both from the ISP side and the Bloomberg side, is disingenous at best, and suggesting it can replace wifi in that implementation, even more so. That said: You can get unlimited 4G in both Tokyo and Seoul, and those are pretty dense. Again it technically couldn't work if everyone got it and used it as much as they could, but arguing that the US ISPs can't do better is patently false.
  - scarface74 10y ago
    How is it "false advertising"? 1. It is "unlimited" - not "unlimited full speed" 2. They tell you about the deprioritization. On an anecdotal note, my family was in an extended stay for a few months while we were waiting to get our house built. The hotel wifi was abysmal. We were tethering our phone to our AppleTV - Binge On allowed us unlimited video tethering - we were using 80-100Gb per month successfully without a noticeable slow down. We were not in a congested area. But part of the problem isn't the carriers fault. It takes years to get approvals from cities to build towers sometimes.
    - michaelt 10y ago
      It is "unlimited" - not "unlimited full speed" It doesn't say "unlimited full speed any day any time any location" either. I'm planning an internet service that provides unlimited 600 Mbit/s wireless internet. But it'll only be available from 3pm-4pm on the day of the first full moon of every month in one building, in the basement, inside a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying beware of the leopard. I think we can both agree that calling my product "Unlimited" would be false advertising.
- deleted 10y ago
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by croon 10y ago

ferbivore 10y ago

Carriers have been using this particular definition for years. I used to have a plan that included 5 GiB of HSPA+ traffic, followed by an all-you-can-eat 50 KiB/s buffet. Technically unlimited!

wccrawford 10y ago

T-Mobile's 10G plan says it reverts to 3G speeds after you hit your data cap. (This is the plan I'm on.) Their "unlimited" plan doesn't seem to have that clause, but it does say that after 30GB you'll be prioritized behind other customers and might see a drop in speed.

scarface74 10y ago

The "reduced speed" is whatever it takes to prioritize customers on the same tower who are not over the limit so they get full speed. If you aren't on a congested tower, your speed isn't impacted. Seems fair to me. Unlike wired internet, wireless carriers can't just throw money at the problem and get more bandwidth. A certain spectrum can only carry a certain amount of data. Even building more towers and having each tower serve a smaller radius won't help in a really congested area like a football stadium.

croon 10y ago
> The "reduced speed" is whatever it takes to prioritize customers on the same tower who are not over the limit so they get full speed. If you aren't on a congested tower, your speed isn't impacted. Seems fair to me. I'm not saying it isn't fair, I'm saying it's false advertising. I also know the technical limitations on the radios on the towers (worked in the industry). But suggesting that it's unlimited, both from the ISP side and the Bloomberg side, is disingenous at best, and suggesting it can replace wifi in that implementation, even more so. That said: You can get unlimited 4G in both Tokyo and Seoul, and those are pretty dense. Again it technically couldn't work if everyone got it and used it as much as they could, but arguing that the US ISPs can't do better is patently false.
- scarface74 10y ago
  How is it "false advertising"? 1. It is "unlimited" - not "unlimited full speed" 2. They tell you about the deprioritization. On an anecdotal note, my family was in an extended stay for a few months while we were waiting to get our house built. The hotel wifi was abysmal. We were tethering our phone to our AppleTV - Binge On allowed us unlimited video tethering - we were using 80-100Gb per month successfully without a noticeable slow down. We were not in a congested area. But part of the problem isn't the carriers fault. It takes years to get approvals from cities to build towers sometimes.
  - michaelt 10y ago
    It is "unlimited" - not "unlimited full speed" It doesn't say "unlimited full speed any day any time any location" either. I'm planning an internet service that provides unlimited 600 Mbit/s wireless internet. But it'll only be available from 3pm-4pm on the day of the first full moon of every month in one building, in the basement, inside a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying beware of the leopard. I think we can both agree that calling my product "Unlimited" would be false advertising.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]