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There is a lot of FUD flying around over this issue. Hopefully I can dispel some of it. Firstly, it's a fair usage policy, not a hard limit. You don't get char

by ZoFreX 16y ago

There is a lot of FUD flying around over this issue. Hopefully I can dispel some of it. Firstly, it's a fair usage policy, not a hard limit. You don't get charged for over-use with a FUP. With my contract (which is with Orange), if I go over the FUP a little bit, nothing happens. If I take the piss then they will ask me to upgrade to a larger data package, or use less, or lose it. Secondly, the "T-Mobile says no videos or downloads on your mobile" idea isn't entirely correct. If you hit the 500MB limit in a month, your internet continues to work on your phone! However, streaming video and other data heavy activities will not work once you are past the limit. Lastly, it's really, really hard to use 3GB of data on a mobile phone. I have 3G watchdog installed on my Droid and the only time I've come close to 500MB is when I was tethering. 500MB doesn't sound like a lot these days, but on a mobile phone it really is plenty. My usage over the last 6 complete months is as follows: 295, 316, 388, 166, 407, 211 (all figures in megabytes) and I use my phone pretty heavily. YMMV of course. However, I would understand anyone being upset by these changes. I hope Ofcom finds in the consumers' favour and the change is repealed, or people are allowed to get out of their contracts early with no penalty. The way T-Mobile has handled this, from the "announcement" (or lack thereof), to telling people what their smartphones are and aren't for, is a lesson in how not to do things.

mbreese 16y ago
> your internet continues to work on your phone > streaming video and other data heavy activities will not work I fail to see how those two things can both be true.
- ZoFreX 16y ago
  I know for sure that transmission of HTML and images etc (i.e. most of what you need for webpages) and email continue to work when you hit the limit.
  - potatolicious 16y ago
    So... not quite unlimited after all? I have to echo omh and steveklabnik, I frequently use over 500MB (though usually under 1GB) without doing anything "funny" (e.g., tethering, torrenting, or just generally being a dick to the pipe). Most of my usage is streaming videos and music - a "fair" enough use of an "unlimited" data plan I would say! It's good to hear that these new terms won't impact you materially, but realize that a great many legitimate users are impacted by these new restrictions. Furthermore, as smartphones become more powerful and we are able to do more and more with it, bandwidth needs will only increase, and plans need to scale with that. This is a huge step backwards in wireless data connectivity. T-Mobile: unlimited mobile internet!* *unlimited mobile internet includes only circa 2004 features like email and mobile web.
    - ZoFreX 16y ago
      Yes, I don't disagree that this is a step backwards, and that there are legitimate users being caught out. My point was mostly about the falsehoods that are being spread. I found some figures by the way, 90% of T-Mobile customers don't go over 500MB, and "a single digit minority uses 30% of the bandwidth". I worked out that if 91% of their customers use 500MB, and 9% use 3000MB, this change reduces their overall bandwidth usage by 31% (assuming all those 9% switch to using only 500MB... if they jump ship, TMobile save 37%), but only pisses off 9% of their customers. I'm sure financially it's a net win... PR-wise... not so much. (Most of that 91% are "well below" the 500MB line, if we assume 250MB average then the savings are over 50%! I can see why they wanted to do this) Edit: Noticed while searching for figures that they have backed down! "There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract and we apologise for any confusion caused"
omh 16y ago
Lastly, it's really, really hard to use 3GB of data on a mobile phone I've just been looking at an upgrade and found that I've been using about 1GB a month. This is mainly through streaming radio as I travel to work, and if my commute was longer (or it wasn't half underground!) I could easily use 2-3GB on radio alone. Incidentally, I used to use FM radio for this but since I got an iPhone this isn't an option!
- ZoFreX 16y ago
  Using Spotify every day is one of the biggest factors in my usage, but I never got over 500MB. Can you get Spotify on iPhone? One of the big bandwidth savers is that you can download your playlists to your phone, so the songs only have to be downloaded once (You can cache up to ~3000 songs like this). You can set it to only sync when on wifi, so you'll have all your songs when you're out and about (and underground!) without using so much of your 3G bandwidth.
  - steveklabnik 16y ago
    > Can you get Spotify on iPhone? The problem is not the iPhone, it's that you can't get it in the US.
steveklabnik 16y ago
My girlfriend used 3GB of mobile data a month or two ago. She listens to a lot of Pandora. Your experiences are not able to be extrapolated to another chunk of the population.
- ZoFreX 16y ago
  I said it was hard because I was thrashing it. In one of those months, I left Windows Update running while my phone was tethered. During the summer, I was using Spotify every day, on the walk to work and on the walk home again. Even under such heavy usage I didn't get close, I think a very small percentage of people use more than half a gig (which begs the question, why bother limiting it in the first place if most people don't touch it?)
  - seanmcq 16y ago
    The limit justifications are fairly simple, you've already listed a dozen things you don't do that you know would take you over the limit. In the presence of no limit, you, and most people, would do those things. It would use radically more bandwidth.
daimyoyo 16y ago
I'm probably not a typical user, but I average 10GB per month on my phone. So being able to use non-throttled data for 2 days doesn't seem like an attractive offer to me. That said, if AT&T forces me to go onto a tiered plan(I still have the unlimited now) then I'll be looking for a new phone company.

by ZoFreX 16y ago

mbreese 16y ago

> your internet continues to work on your phone > streaming video and other data heavy activities will not work I fail to see how those two things can both be true.

ZoFreX 16y ago
I know for sure that transmission of HTML and images etc (i.e. most of what you need for webpages) and email continue to work when you hit the limit.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  So... not quite unlimited after all? I have to echo omh and steveklabnik, I frequently use over 500MB (though usually under 1GB) without doing anything "funny" (e.g., tethering, torrenting, or just generally being a dick to the pipe). Most of my usage is streaming videos and music - a "fair" enough use of an "unlimited" data plan I would say! It's good to hear that these new terms won't impact you materially, but realize that a great many legitimate users are impacted by these new restrictions. Furthermore, as smartphones become more powerful and we are able to do more and more with it, bandwidth needs will only increase, and plans need to scale with that. This is a huge step backwards in wireless data connectivity. T-Mobile: unlimited mobile internet!* *unlimited mobile internet includes only circa 2004 features like email and mobile web.
  - ZoFreX 16y ago
    Yes, I don't disagree that this is a step backwards, and that there are legitimate users being caught out. My point was mostly about the falsehoods that are being spread. I found some figures by the way, 90% of T-Mobile customers don't go over 500MB, and "a single digit minority uses 30% of the bandwidth". I worked out that if 91% of their customers use 500MB, and 9% use 3000MB, this change reduces their overall bandwidth usage by 31% (assuming all those 9% switch to using only 500MB... if they jump ship, TMobile save 37%), but only pisses off 9% of their customers. I'm sure financially it's a net win... PR-wise... not so much. (Most of that 91% are "well below" the 500MB line, if we assume 250MB average then the savings are over 50%! I can see why they wanted to do this) Edit: Noticed while searching for figures that they have backed down! "There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract and we apologise for any confusion caused"

omh 16y ago

Lastly, it's really, really hard to use 3GB of data on a mobile phone I've just been looking at an upgrade and found that I've been using about 1GB a month. This is mainly through streaming radio as I travel to work, and if my commute was longer (or it wasn't half underground!) I could easily use 2-3GB on radio alone. Incidentally, I used to use FM radio for this but since I got an iPhone this isn't an option!

ZoFreX 16y ago
Using Spotify every day is one of the biggest factors in my usage, but I never got over 500MB. Can you get Spotify on iPhone? One of the big bandwidth savers is that you can download your playlists to your phone, so the songs only have to be downloaded once (You can cache up to ~3000 songs like this). You can set it to only sync when on wifi, so you'll have all your songs when you're out and about (and underground!) without using so much of your 3G bandwidth.
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  > Can you get Spotify on iPhone? The problem is not the iPhone, it's that you can't get it in the US.

steveklabnik 16y ago

My girlfriend used 3GB of mobile data a month or two ago. She listens to a lot of Pandora. Your experiences are not able to be extrapolated to another chunk of the population.

ZoFreX 16y ago
I said it was hard because I was thrashing it. In one of those months, I left Windows Update running while my phone was tethered. During the summer, I was using Spotify every day, on the walk to work and on the walk home again. Even under such heavy usage I didn't get close, I think a very small percentage of people use more than half a gig (which begs the question, why bother limiting it in the first place if most people don't touch it?)
- seanmcq 16y ago
  The limit justifications are fairly simple, you've already listed a dozen things you don't do that you know would take you over the limit. In the presence of no limit, you, and most people, would do those things. It would use radically more bandwidth.

daimyoyo 16y ago

I'm probably not a typical user, but I average 10GB per month on my phone. So being able to use non-throttled data for 2 days doesn't seem like an attractive offer to me. That said, if AT&T forces me to go onto a tiered plan(I still have the unlimited now) then I'll be looking for a new phone company.