FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: In the land of mental razzle dazzle by cell phone providers, the Federal Trade Commission is taking AT&T to task for allegedly misleading many of its “unlimited data” customers.
AT&T allegedly told its “smartphone” consumers that can have the “unlimited data” plan. But apparently forgot to tell them that after they have used as little as 2 gigabytes of data in a billing period that data speeds would be reduced, considerably.
Some consumers quoted the definition of the word “unlimited,” while others called AT&T’s throttling program a “bait and switch.” Many consumers also complained about the effect the throttling program had on their ability to use GPS navigation, watch streaming videos, listen to streaming music and browse the web, FTC officials said.
According to the complaint filed last month, the throttling program has been severe, often resulting in speed reductions of 80 to 90 percent for affected users. Thus far, according to the FTC, AT&T has throttled at least 3.5 million unique customers, a total of more than 25 million times.
“AT&T promised its customers ‘unlimited’ data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez had said. “The issue here is simple: ‘unlimited’ means unlimited.”
When customers canceled their contracts after being throttled, AT&T charged those customers early termination fees, which typically amount to hundreds of dollars.
The complaint charges that AT&T violated the FTC Act by changing the terms of customers’ unlimited data plans while those customers were still under contract, and by failing to adequately disclose the nature of the throttling program to consumers who renewed their unlimited data plans.