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Zach Epstein |Sep 21st, 2011 at 06:05PM
Sprint will reportedly introduce a 5GB cap on mobile hotspot data for smartphone users beginning October 2nd. A purported leaked document obtained by SprintFeed states that Sprint’s $29.99 Wi-Fi tethering add-on for smartphones will no longer be unlimited beginning early next month. Additional data above the 5GB cap will be billed at $0.05 per megabyte according to the document. The new policy would not impact standard smartphone data, nor would it affect the mobile hotspot function on tablets. This is ...
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Todd Haselton |Jul 28th, 2011 at 02:45PM
AT&T will begin to throttle data speeds during the first week of October, 9to5 Mac reported on Thursday. The carrier could move to throttle the data speeds of its biggest data users in an effort to ensure network stability for its first LTE devices, which are expected to launch later this year. It remains unclear how low AT&T will knock the throughput down to, but 9to5 Mac says Virgin currently forces data hogs down to 256Kbps until the next billing cycle after they use more than 2.5GB. T-Mobile also ...
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Andrew Munchbach |May 19th, 2011 at 01:05PM
In a report today, Reuters noted that Verizon Wireless’ cellular data offerings are in for a major overhaul. “Verizon Wireless plans to kick off pricing changes this summer by eliminating smartphone plans that allow unlimited Web access for a flat fee,” reads the article. “It will replace them with tiered pricing that forces heavy data users to pay more for mobile data.” The report goes on to paraphrase Verizon Communications’ CFO, Fran Shammo, who explained that “af...
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Zach Epstein |Mar 14th, 2011 at 08:36AM
A new report on Sunday states AT&T will soon introduce data caps to its wireline broadband subscribers nationwide. AT&T has confirmed the move, which will go into effect on May 2nd. The caps will be set at 150GB per month for DSL customers and 250GB for U-Verse subscribers. AT&T will charge $10 for every 50GB over the cap, though overages will not be charged until customers exceed the cap in three separate months over the life of an account. The carrier states that only 2% of DSL subscribers will ...
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Zach Epstein |Mar 11th, 2011 at 12:51PM
AT&T on Thursday responded to a Better Business Bureau complaint alleging that the carrier is capping data speeds on new “4G” devices like the Motorola ATRIX 4G. The BBB grievance was part of a series of complaints, both public and private, pertaining to slower than expected upload speeds on devices like the ATRIX 4G and HTC’s Inspire 4G. AT&T responded to BGR’s request for comment earlier this week, but the carrier’s statement left some room for interpretation. Now, any ...
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Zach Epstein |Mar 9th, 2011 at 12:12PM
Some Motorola ATRIX 4G and HTC Inspire 4G owners on the AT&T network have been up in arms since purchasing their new 4G handsets. Despite the presence of “4G” in each moniker, users are experiencing slower than expected upload speeds on the devices. Some users like Zack Nebbaki have been so upset by the slow upload speeds, they’ve gone as far as to create a petition to voice their discontent. While we wish we had something more concrete to report, we just received the following comment...
Breaking
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Andrew Munchbach |Mar 1st, 2011 at 02:00PM
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference this afternoon, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo told investors that Verizon Wireless plans to move to tiered data plans in the near future. The plans, which could roll out as early as this summer, may be based on consumption, speed, or a combination of the two. “We are still working on the models,” said Mr. Shammo. The CFO mentioned that Verizon Wireless consciously decided against a tiered data option with the recently launched iPh...
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Andrew Munchbach |Jan 13th, 2011 at 01:59AM
Perhaps it was too good to be true. In a conversation with PCMag, Virgin Mobile made known that its $40 per month truly unlimited data plan was going the way of the Dodo. Citing the need to implement network controls to ensure optimal experience,” the company said the $40 Broadband2Go plan would now carry a monthly cap of 5GB. Since all Virgin Mobile subscribers are on month-to-month agreements, the new 5GB cap will take affect on the first day of a new billing cycle after February 15th. Any Broadband2...
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Andrew Munchbach |Oct 13th, 2010 at 08:38PM
It certainly was a good day for Cupertino-based electronics company, Apple Inc. The company’s stock hit an all-time high of $301.96 per share — before closing at a more modest $300.14 per share — and, according to Gartner research, Apple now holds 10.4% of U.S. computer sales.Market analytic firm Gartner is reporting that U.S. PC sales grew by roughly 2.2% from Q3 in 2009 to Q3 in 2010. In that same time period, Apple PC shipments increased by 13.7% to total 1.83 million units. Apple is now ...
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Andrew Munchbach |Oct 13th, 2010 at 06:46PM
Recently, T-Mobile released a statement detailing how it would handle customers who utilize more than 5 GB of data per month on their mobile devices. The statement reads:Beginning on October 16, T-Mobile will begin to reduce data speeds when a customer reaches 5GB of usage in a billing cycle, in accordance with T-Mobile terms and conditions. This change should only affect extreme data users (less than 1 percent) and is being made to ensure that all subscribers receive the best Web performance available by lim...
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Andrew Munchbach |Aug 10th, 2010 at 09:45PM
A California smartphone user has filed a class-action lawsuit against his wireless provider, T-Mobile USA. The plaintiff became upset and sought legal council after T-Mobile sent him the following message:Your data usage in this billing cycle has exceeded 10GB; Data throughput for the remainder of the cycle may be reduced to 50kbps or less.According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs phone became “virtually useless” after his data speeds were throttled, and the user is now stuck in a 2-year contr...
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Kelly Hodgkins |Feb 19th, 2010 at 03:14PM
With little fanfare, Comcast launched a new online file backup service called Secure Backup & Share for its broadband internet customers. The new service utilizes Mozy, an online backup solution that is currently managed by Decho Corporation, a subsidiary of EMC. Using a tool installed on your PC and soon Mac, the service will backup selected files to a secure online location that can be accessed from any web browser, including your web-enabled mobile phone. Three tiers of storage are available including ...
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Zach Epstein |Sep 25th, 2008 at 08:38AM
There wasn’t much relevant negative attention that came from Tuesday’s T-Mobile event showcasing the official announcement of the HTC G1. One large point of contention however, was the realization that the carrier planned to limit G1 owners’ 3G data throughput to 1 gigabyte per month. The imposed 1 GB limit would be a soft limit and excess data would be slowed or even impeded. No, no, no. Mainstream media, the blogosphere and potential G1 owners alike went right to work on the ridiculous sti...
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Zach Epstein |Aug 29th, 2008 at 01:18PM
Directly inline with rumors that made their way around the web a few months ago, Comcast has confirmed that it will employ a residential consumer bandwidth cap beginning October 1st of this year. Now before you start going too crazy, it should be noted that the cap will stand at 250 GB. 250 GB is most definitely more than enough for the typical to highly-active range of internet users. Once you pass over 250 GB per month of bandwidth you would definitely be best served by getting out more. In fact, Comcast st...