Public Interest Groups Disagree on Merits of AT&T Throttling Policy
Data throttling is likely to remain a sore spot for some consumer and public interest groups. AT&T last week clarified its throttling policy, but what it offered didn’t satisfy all critics.
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"Our unlimited plan customers have told us they want more clarity around how the program works and what they can expect,” AT&T said. Under its previous policy, AT&T slowed service for subscribers when subscribers entered the heaviest 5 percent of users in a given month in a given area. Under the revised policy, customers with a 3G or 4G smartphone who have an unlimited data plan, will see speeds reduced if they use 3 GB of data or more in a billing cycle. Customers with an LTE smartphone have a 5 GB cap, before they see speeds lowered. “For context, less than 5 percent of smartphone customers use more than 3 GB per month,” AT&T said.
Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said the group had more concerns with the previous policy than the plan articulated by AT&T Thursday. “We don’t think throttling is necessarily a bad thing or at least it may be the best of a range of options for controlling congestion,” Wood told us Friday. “It’s better than blocking a particular website or any website. It’s better than punitive overages for people once they go past their caps.” But Wood said throttling remains “a blunt tool for managing congestion.” Wood said it hasn’t been tested whether net neutrality rules limit or prohibit data throttling.
"At last AT&T has removed the mask and stopped pretending that it continues to offer unlimited data even to the customers it claimed to have grandfathered under its old policy,” said Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld. “At the same time, AT&T has made it clear that this has nothing to do with any ’spectrum crunch’ and everything to do with its refusal to invest in its network without more bribes from somewhere. For AT&T, the spectrum crunch has become the all purpose excuse for everything -- from refusal to meet rural build out obligations to collecting new charges from app developers to forcing customers to buy more expensive and more limited data plans by throttling users who bought unlimited plans. Unfortunately, until the FCC takes notice, AT&T will continue to substitute overcharging customers for investing in its network."
Parul Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, was more critical of AT&T. “This attempt by AT&T to clarify its wireless plans only generates more questions,” Desai said. “How can a product advertised as ‘unlimited’ have a clearly defined limit? How exactly is this going to ease congestion and improve service? If a customer uses most of their data during off-peak hours, why should that customer be throttled? The only thing that does seem clear is this is another way to squeeze money out of customers.”
The FCC’s December 2010 net neutrality rules do allow carriers to take steps to manage congestion, through usage-based pricing. The FCC had no comment on AT&T’s revised throttling rules. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a speech at GSMA last week, “At the FCC, we've recognized that for mobile carriers, like other businesses, matching price to cost can yield efficiency and other benefits. … We recognize that investment won’t occur without revenue and without returns on investment -- and that is why we haven’t prohibited usage-based pricing.”