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T-Mobile Starts Going After Heavy Users of Tethered Data

Posted by timothy on from the limited-resources-unlimted-desires dept.

VentureBeat reports that T-Mobile CEO John Legere has announced that T-Mobile will cut off (at least from "unlimited" data plans) customers who gloss over the fine print of their data-use agreement by tethering their unlimited-data phones and grab too much of the network's resources. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Legere says the company will be "eliminating anyone who abuses our network," and complains that some "network abusers" are using 2TB of data monthly. The article says, "This is the first official word from the carrier that seems to confirm a memo that was leaked earlier this month. At that time, it was said action would be taken starting August 17 and would go after those who used their unlimited LTE data for Torrents and peer-to-peer networking."

12 of 346 comments (clear)

  1. So it's not unlimited, then... by EthanV2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm starting to get tired of this mentality from service providers that, just because someone is using their services in ways they didn't expect, they're somehow 'abusing' the service. If you advertise the service as unlimited, it should be unlimited. You shouldn't care that I'm using it to torrent or do whatever.

    If you can't provide a truly unlimited service, don't advertise it

    1. Re:So it's not unlimited, then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If the contract explicitly forbids tethering and torrenting, then that's what subscribers are bound by.

    2. Re: So it's not unlimited, then... by thejam · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I actually wasn't trolling, and even used my real Slashdot ID, while you're hiding anonymously.

      Please, provide a substantive retort, not an ad hominem attack. My remark about marketing is sincere: it is normal and expected, by decent people in the real world I was born in, not to headline every possible deficiency, weakness or insecurity in a negotiation, e.g., job interview, craigslist sale, courting possible spouses, etc. People put their best face forward, but if asked a direct, unambiguous, detailed question, they don't respond in a way that is technically wrong. Yes, there is a dance, where people don't want to reveal too much, too soon. I believe most people know this or at least act as if they know this, and do it themselves. Somehow, in this instance, you think this practical reality of adult life shouldn't apply.

      An absolutely unlimited internet connection is technically impossible, since the bandwidth of any network in the universe, however measured, is finite, and I believe you understand this. So you know that what is being marketed to you cannot *literally* be true, without some sort of qualification. By insisting that the pretty reasonable limitation imposed by T-mobile (de-prioritization beyond 21GB, the 97 percentile of users) is beyond the pale, it's hard to take your complaint seriously. If you say it should instead be the 98 percentile, well, we could discuss that. Instead you are, in effect, complaining about the laws of physics.

      To be generous to you, perhaps you're instead worried about all the naive users who are buying the "unlimited" plan, but they don't understand that truly "unlimited" plans violate physical laws, and so they think that what they've got is *truly* unlimited. I'm sorry, that argument doesn't fly for me either, as I find it difficult to imagine any substantial number of users too uninformed or uneducated to understand the universal finiteness of network capacity and yet realistically able to configure their own tethering set-ups such that they're in the group that T-mobile is going after. Maybe it's possible if a friend set it up for them, but then that friend would understand the situation. So, practically, it is unlimited for the users that don't understand, and for those that do, well, they expect and can read the fine print.

    3. Re:So it's not unlimited, then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you don't need to tether for torrenting.

      never mind that selling you data is selling you data, not selling you data on the condition that you don't use the data.

      If they make no mentioning of tethering limitations in the agreement you sign up for, then you are correct. But when you have a bundle of conditions in an agreement you can't usually just pick and choose which parts of the agreement you want. Did you know that Google Photo's unlimited storage isn't really unlimited? There is a number of restrictions on what you can and can't do with the "unlimited" storage they are offering. You can't say that you want the unlimited part, but not the restrictions part of the agreement.

    4. Re:So it's not unlimited, then... by Xyrus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm starting to get tired of this mentality from service providers that, just because someone is using their services in ways they didn't expect, they're somehow 'abusing' the service. If you advertise the service as unlimited, it should be unlimited. You shouldn't care that I'm using it to torrent or do whatever.

      If you can't provide a truly unlimited service, don't advertise it

      I believe that these "unlimited plans" were making the assumption that people aren't assholes. That's a terrible assumption to make.

      Most user's aren't going to run torrents on their phones. In fact, I'm almost certain that type of use case wasn't even considered when they decided on the "unlimited plan" idea. They were probably only looking at the "average" use case with some deviation boundaries. But then along comes the spider that is Joe/Jane Torrent, who blows all usage estimation out of the water and screws over everyone else in an area by using his/her phone as an internet hub.

      Companies should know better by now. Offer an "unlimited" anything and there will always be some part of the population who will use it in ways that will demonstrate just how stupid that idea was.

      --
      ~X~
    5. Re:So it's not unlimited, then... by thejam · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not a lawyer, but there's a big difference between an ad and a contract. A contract requires consideration: both parties must exchange something real for the contract to be valid. But an ad has no consideration (beyond wasting your time, etc.)... it's a 1-way offer. It's probably much easier to resolve a contract dispute than a false-advertising claim, in court. There's also the PR/goodwill aspect that Bestbuy is concerned about: clear, unambiguous evidence that Bestbuy doesn't sell what it advertises would probably make headlines, at least in the tech press and twitterdom, and would cause Bestbuy to lose customers.

  2. So much for net neutrality by cloud.pt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, let me get this straight - an ISP is gonna selectively cut off clients' data plans based on their abuse of: 1. a data cap that from an "unlimited" that is not unlimited, since the user signed a contract that had some sort of fair use policy allowing redefinition of the word "unlimited" by the ISP,for marketing purposes; and 2. Did I read that right about them targeting torrent and p2p users first? Didn't the US just pass a net neutrality law? Isn't protocol-specific "accusing" a type of discrimination punished by law when it concerns American citizens, because it would automatically assume the content these users were trading was illegal without a serious base for such accusation? I mean, seriously. Who gave these corporate douches the power to decide how their service is to be used. It's about time all service providers understand that a user has a right to privacy that goes well beyond his right to sniff on the user's content.

    1. Re:So much for net neutrality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Yea, they will "selectively" cut off users who somehow thought transferring 2TB of data over a cell network is no big deal as opposed to indiscriminately screwing with every subscribers QOS to accommodate the moron who also likes to overuse the "reply all" button.
      Long ago someone decided we should make the most sophisticated technologies we have easily usable by total morons, with the inevitable results. No one wants to control how you use the service, rather they want to limit the pathological behavior of people who bring their own doggie bags to the all you can eat restaurants.
      3 shrimp for $9.99???!!! I thought this was all you can eat?
      Yes sir, That IS all you can eat for $9.99. Marketing takes advantage of stupid people, so it all works out in the end. If course that doesn't stop the "free" generation from claiming injury where they have no standing. Other than that, I'd say you've understood the issues pretty well.

  3. why tethering specifically? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It always boggles my mind why any carrier should have any problem with tethering. In fact restricting tethering should be illegal. Usage is usage whether I use it on my phone or on my computer tethered to my phone. It's all the same usage.

    Now if "abuse" is the real problem, then go after that. If some guy is using 2TB of data per month does it really matter whether he is doing that on his phone or with a computer tethered to the phone? Because it's just as easy to do it with just the phone as it is with a computer tethered to the phone.

    So instead of putting the limitation on a proxy for the real problem, and thereby eliminating a use model that could very well be legitimate and network friendly (i.e. tethered data use of say 100MB/mo. for example), why piss those people off by drawing the wrong line in the sand.

    Also, if 2TB/mo. is a limit that you are going to start cutting people off for, then the plan is not *really* unlimited, so stop marketing it that way.

  4. Re:You keep using that word. I don't think it mean by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Common sense says that nothing can be advertised as unlimited, because nothing on Earth is unlimited.

    I'd have sympathy if they were using, say, 20GB a month, which is still a lot for a phone user...but 2 TB? Come on. I'd rather not have my connection slow because people are torrenting with their phone data.

  5. Re:You keep using that word. I don't think it mean by Sqr(twg) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Common sense says that nothing can be advertised as unlimited, because nothing on Earth is unlimited.

    No, it doesn't. "Unlimited" has a very well-defined meaning that is obvious for most people. "Unlimited" usage of a 6 Mbit connection means that you can use the full 6 Mbit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (This works out to about 2 TB/mo.)

    Obviously, this is bad for the network, which is why offering an "unlimited" wireless plan is an incredibly stupid idea. But that is what T-mobile did. Blaming their customers for their own mistake and calling them "thieves" is pretty low.

  6. Re:You keep using that word. I don't think it mean by thsths · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I agree - especially if tethering is not allowed.

    You can use a few GB if you watch a few movies. You can even use 20 or 100 GB if you tether. But 1TB and more is really not typical *private* internet use any more. If people want to serve websites or torrents, they should not do it on their phone.