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I’m not really sure why you are angry at the carriers. Knowing about the limits and how much you need is kinda your job. I know that I need at least half a tera
by ugh 15y ago
I’m not really sure why you are angry at the carriers. Knowing about the limits and how much you need is kinda your job. I know that I need at least half a terabyte per month when I’m using my laptop and I know to always check how much bandwidth I can get from the carriers.
Your responsibility.
- veyron 15y agoWhat are your thoughts about AT&T crippling unlimited data customers going over a specified limit (iirc 3GB)?
- ugh 15y agoDepends. I don’t care about it if it’s clearly stated just how much bandwidth you get. I’m not in the US but in Germany carriers will often tell you they have unlimited flatrate plans but also state that if you go above a certain bandwidth use you will be throttled to GPRS speeds. I have no problem with that. It depends on how clearly it’s communicated. I can see how others may be misled by that marketing, though, so it’s no super great. No reason to get angry, just reason for concern. Some German carriers are much more upfront about that (they might say “1GB of data, throttled to GPRS speeds above that”) and I obviously prefer that kind of marketing. It’s less confusing and more honest.
- samstave 15y ago@UGH My problem isn't about "you know what you're getting, it's clearly communicated" My anger is because THERE IS NO FUCKING UNLIMITED PLAN AT ALL We are on HN, I have been on the internet DAILY for 15 years now. EVERY SINGLE DAY for many hours. As a travelling consultant, I rely heavily on mobile access to the internet. The fact that I had an unlimited account in the past - but now that speeds are getting acceptable, they are crippling them by cost. It is corporate greed and it is bullshit.
- ugh 15y agoMaybe they can’t give you an unlimited plan? Data is seriously expensive for the carriers.
- veyron 15y agoMaybe they shouldn't force customers to take an unlimited plan in the first place if they couldn't support it. For a very long time, until you could actually use that much data, att forced us to sign 2-year contracts with unlimited data.
- beedogs 15y ago> Data is seriously expensive for the carriers. That is a load of horseshit.
- batista 15y agoReally? What do you know about the cost of infrastructure and its capacity? Thank you.
- beedogs 15y agoI know enough to conclude that it hasn't gotten more expensive to ship bits in the past ten years. Yet, here we are in the US, shifting from unlimited data plans to rate-limited, capped plans, and no one seems to have come up with a convincing explanation as to why that's occurring.
- veyron 15y agoIt's simple: - unlimited data plans were doled out when network operators knew full well that people couldn't actually use enough data to cause a crisis. - Data usage spiked because people found new uses for phones which demanded more and more data (e.g. streaming shows) - Operators found themselves underdeveloped with no prospect of demand tapering off - At these levels, it maximizes the operator's profits to push people into rate-limited plans.
- TillE 15y agoData is much, much cheaper in Germany. I can get 5GB on e-plus for €15/month (~$20). I'm pretty sure no carrier in the US offers a better deal than $10/GB.
- galadriel 15y agoWell, T-Mobile prepaid has 5 GB data for $30 at their 4G speed. Also includes unlimited SMS and 100 minutes of talk. Pretty decent deal for me.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- brudgers 15y agoI think anger is justified to the degree the plan is structured to cost significantly more than a reasonable person would expect - i.e. caveat emptor should not be the approach of reputable companies. While it is perhaps somewhat legitimate to criticize an HN'er for failing to calculate the rate at which a data plan will be consumed at a given bandwidth, it is of questionable appropriateness in regard to the general public.