USA: Wireless phone data may soon get very limiting.

Unlimited wireless data is dead
By Suzanne Choney

It was just a matter of time: As more Americans have become smart phone users, their appetite for Web video, music downloads and other data-intense apps on those phones has increased. And now it's time for some who are the heaviest users to pay the heaviest price, be it a slowdown in their service, or extra dollars for data.

Starting Saturday, T-Mobile will reduce data speeds for those subscribers who exceed 5 gigabytes of data use in a billing cycle; previously that cap was 10 gigabytes. Officials with Verizon, the country's largest wireless carrier, have indicated repeatedly they're looking at implementing data caps and higher fees for those who exceed them. Last June, AT&T changed its data plans so that smart phone users pay $25 a month for 2 GB of data; each additional gigabyte is $10.

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They've started doing similar things here in the UK too. I'm quite glad that I'm tied in to a data contract with "unlimited" data included, rather than a cap - although I'd like to know how unlimited it really is

I hope that global roaming charges and data prices drop substantially over the coming years, as using data use abroad costs several pounds per MB on many standard phone contracts! That's the sort of pricing that was around 10 years ago.

Well - I'm happy as well.

I've got unlimited "Free" internet (3G) and unlimited SMSs. Awesome But all of this still has limits. You can download 10gigs through 3G for free, but it'll take you 2 months.

Those so called "unlimited data" plans always had catches to them. A year or so ago, I had a Cricket Wireless notebook modem, and was paying for "unlimited" service. After 5 to 6GB was reached during the billing cycle, it slowed to a crawl, around 10KB/sec. Enough to web browse with.

Not that 70KB/sec was burning the tires off of the net, anyway. But to cap it, after promising unlimited, is robbery. I dropped them after only three months of service. Cell based web service is good if you're on the run, but it's too slow, and too costly as well.

Cat

Ian, here in the states the consensus seems to be this (at least from Verizon's TOS) .. "unlimited" does not mean "unreasonable", which of course is determined by Verizon, so even if one pays for unlimited service, it still doesn't guarantee that you are free from restrictions. Thus, the intentional vagueness of corporate hierarchies prevails and the consumer ultimately pays for it.

All that it amounts to is false advertising. Unlimited is supposed to be just that, throwing a "reasonable" clause in is just shafting their customers. We, the customers, should know what is reasonable of our different situations.

I'm glad that Time Warner doesn't impose this clause on me, as I download 100 to 120GB per month, and sometimes 150GB. And not at 90 to 100KB/sec, either.

I have a cell phone, but don't use the data services on it. Too costly for me.

Cat