Gizmodo: data cap

AT&T Adds DataConnect Overage Charges, Pulls Plug on Unlimited Pre-Paid Data Plans

Sean Fallon — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Shockingly, AT&T has discovered that *gasp* people are abusing their unlimited pre-paid data service by tapping into it with their laptops. As a result, the plug is being pulled on the $19.99/month option starting on November 12th. AT&T will also place a cap on the legitimate laptop DataConnect plan that works out to 5GB a month for $60. Overages will be billed at $0.00048 per kilobyte, which translates into a bank account-busting $480 per gigabyte. However, rumors claim that AT&T will terminate service once a $100 overage threshold has been reached. [PhoneNews via Engadget Mobile via MobileBurn]

T-Mobile Removes 1GB 3G Data Cap for G1 Android Phone

Jason Chen — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:01:47 EDT

T-Mobile's just rolled back on their 1GB usage cap on their 3G plans for upcoming G1 Android customers, instead going to a hold-up-while-we-figure-this-out route. The statement they give now states that they can reduce throughput for "a small fraction" of users who are using too much data, but exact terms and limits are still being reviewed before they're finalized. Statement after the jump.

Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network. At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service to all of our customers.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers.

T-Mobile Restricting 3G Data Usage to 1GB a Month Without Penalty

Sean Fallon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:22:00 EDT

If you examine the fine print on T-Mo's G1 launch page, you will find an interesting bit of information with regard to 3G usage. Apparently, they will be soft-capping data to a slim 1GB a month max in each billing cycle. If you exceed the maximum, the powers that be will strike you down to an anorexic 50 kbps or less until the next cycle begins. Obviously, that is completely intolerable for a power user and apt to send them into a fit of rage. We will just have to wait and see if this policy is actually enforced. [T-Mobile]