Another blow to deceptively marketed "unlimited" data plans

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Another blow to deceptively marketed “unlimited” data plans

Jon Brodkin at Ars Technica:

The FCC's new rules ban throttling except in cases of "reasonable network management." AT&T could argue that the throttling is necessary to keep its network running smoothly, but FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has objected to throttling of plans that are supposed to be unlimited and forced Verizon Wireless to back down from a throttling plan last year.

I have no problem with good-faith network management, but if a plan is subject to throttling, it can’t be marketed and sold as “unlimited.” The FTC is sending the right signal here in choosing to pursue this case, and Judge Edward Chen of the US District Court in Northern California has demonstrated that he understands the issue.

The network that can provide real unlimited data at usable speeds with no fine print has an opportunity to significantly increase its user base, but I haven’t found one yet. Let me know if you have.

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