16 replies to this topic

[FrankyG]

Found on the register HERE
be sure to have a look at the comments on the article - conclusion is that the telco's need a good kick up the ar*e, start advertising fairly and charging the customer fairly.

[Thumper Net]

The guy himself needs a kick up the backside who in there right minds downloads like he did from a mobile , i bet the 27,000 will be cheaper than the fine he would get for all the pirate movies ect he downloaded should he go to court  

[James]

ha ha! Man, people are stupid!!!!

[Confucious]

Wouldn't it be justice if they did do him for copyright theft? lol

[paholman]

They should have cut him off after he'd used up his 120MB allowance. Totally unfair.

Isn't it about time, Service Providers were stopped from advertising their data plans as "Unlimited" when they're capped with a limit?
Surely, Trading Standards should intervene as it's false advertising, not for this poor chap, but in general.

You can't call it "Unlimited" when it isn't.  It's "LIMITED" for ****'s sake,  they should it more clear, make them stop this false and mis-leading advertising.

Edited by paholman, 21 January 2008 - 10:41 AM.

[thelostsoul]

That's the one thing I can commend ATT on as far as I can tell.  

My question is, where did they come up with 150mb?  That's hardly enough to call it "unlimited".  I would understand if they made it like 2gb, since it'd be pretty difficult to rack up that much on a mobile connection, but 150mb?  That's just crazy.  I didn't even tether last month and I had apparently transferred 243mb, with no additional charges.  So, for once, I can say...thanks ATT for doing the right thing...for once...

[Confucious]

Where did you get 150Mb - Vodaphone is 120Mb.
My brother was contacted by T-Mob when his bill reached £500 which, I think, was at £3/Mb - turns out they hadn't added his new W'n'W when he upgraded so he wasn't charged but they let hin know when they thought his usage was excessive. T's "unlimited" is 1Gb on the plan where you can't use your phone as a modem and 3Gb where you can - which is reasonable IMHO.

[thelostsoul]

Ah, I skimmed the article, then posted...120's even worse then.....

On my PC, with a decent cable modem connection, I'll go some months where I'll transfer over 20gb.  On my phone, I'm not sure I've ever hit 1gb.  That includes streaming some videos, music, pushed emails, and frequent web browsing.  Although I still think T-Mo should call it the 1gb plan instead of unlimited, I wouldn't argue with them unless I got a bill for 27k without prior notification to excessive use.

[Confucious]

To go above 1Gb without using your phone as a modem is damn near impossible - I really get above 500Mb.
Also, with T it is only a FUP - you don't get charged if you go above, just warned.

[paholman]

Confucious, on Jan 22 2008, 08:25, said:

To go above 1Gb without using your phone as a modem is damn near impossible - I really get above 500Mb.
Also, with T it is only a FUP - you don't get charged if you go above, just warned.

The definition of "unlimited" means "there's no limit".  All Network providers are capping usage to a maximum level, so it's "LIMITED".


How can they get away with advertising it as "UNLIMITED" when it clearly isn't?

Broadban providers are being attacked for their "upto 8MB" adverts, when hardly anyone gets anywhere near that speed, so why aren't Mobile Network Providers being attacked too?

[Confucious]

There is no limit to what you can browse or when you can browse it - but as with most broadband providers there is a limit to the amount of data you can download which is clearly stated. What don't you understand?

[thelostsoul]

Confucious, on Jan 22 2008, 22:34, said:

There is no limit to what you can browse or when you can browse it - but as with most broadband providers there is a limit to the amount of data you can download which is clearly stated. What don't you understand?

Uhm, do you work for a service provider or something?

You know the only reason they put "Unlimited" is so they can charge $50/mo or whatever high price they do.  If they put 120mb/mo, they'd be providing a reason to discourage users from buying the plan.

And no, it's not always "clearly" stated.  It's often found only in the ToS, or the fine print.  

And you know the "unlimited" is misleading no matter how you look at it. If it refers to data transfer, then it is limited and is therefore lying.  If it refers to what you transfer, then sure it's unlimited, but it doesn't follow the trend of the limited plans.  If one is the 20mb plan offering 20mb of transfer, and the next is the unlimited plan, it should be understood that it offers unlimited transfer.  Anything else would be misleading, and therefore a simple attempt to turn over that extra penny.

Why are they not being attacked?  Because they've bent the rule so far, but have not broken it.  It's something all corporations do: bend the rules as much as possible to increase profit as much as possible without breaking rules.  They know they're pissing us off, but if we're still paying, they don't care.

But what do I care? ATT's giving me true unlimited data.  Though, they may be monitoring everything I do, according to the latest news posts...meh....

[Confucious]

First c- No I don't work for anyone telecoms related.
AFAIK Vodafone have never advertised 'Unlimited' Data - 120Mb is certainly not unlimited.
T-Mob do advertise Unlimited and to all intense and purposes it is. They have a FUP to stop anyone abusing the system wich is reasonable. They orriginally had a 40Mb limit which they raised to 100Mb on 2/2.5G and when they introduced 3G they quickly raised it to 1Gb for non Modem use and 3Gb for Modem use but it is sold for your phone - NOT primarily for laptop use and the 3Gb is a FUP not an absolute limit.

As this thread was orriginally about Voda my defense was probably a little OTT but attacking all ISPs and slating'unlimited' offers Was IMHO also OTT.

Just my 2d's worth.

[Thumper Net]

i use vodafone for internet and tv , i have here a fair use policy unlimited internet for half the price of t-mobile ( who have just switched off the free wifi hotspots for thier customers in holland , was only a marketing stunt to get people to sign up so be carefull in the uk as i see its now being offered to you )
my data from vodafone was over 700 mb thats surfing and watching unlimited tv and i did not pay any extra , but using a phone to download films or porn is stupid just hope the guy enjoyed what he had downloaded , as for a cut off that can be activated yourself in the settings in the my vodafone section , its his own fault sadly , i had a huge 490 euro bill from orange nl ( now owned by t-mobile ) for data use on holiday expensive for only 7mb total data , as orange had changed thier conditions without telling people , instead of per second they charge now per minute , this was done after the so called cheaper calls abroad , i have cancelled all 5 contracts with success and without any costs for this reason as they should have informed the customers of the changes and by looking around other dutch forums iam not the only one   have the costs from the uk also changed ? or is it just orange nl doing it so customers will leave and leave the new owner 2 mobile with less customers than it wanted ( so far 250,000 have cancelled )    

[Confucious]

How much do you pay in Holland for Unlimited with Vodaphone Peekie?

[Thumper Net]

i pay 9.99 euros per month for internet on vodafone and that is also a hspda 3.5g network as well   unlimited tv is extra for 20 channels its 7.99 euros a month both offer the first month free and can be switched on and off when ever the user wants to , handy if you go on holiday for a few weeks  

[Confucious]

That's very good! Does it include use as a modem as well? Or Skype? What restrictions (if any) are there?