Skip to main content

The FTC is suing AT&T for throttling customers with unlimited data

AT&T store.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Bald-faced attempts by wireless carriers to move customers off unlimited data plans are nothing new, but apparently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn’t taking them lying down. This afternoon, the department announced that it’s suing AT&T for throttling subscribers in an “unfair or deceptive manner.”

The FTC, which worked closely with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the case, alleges that AT&T didn’t clearly articulate its throttling policy in marketing materials. The carrier importantly failed to impart the implications to customers who renewed their contracts, violating the FTC Act when it charged those who canceled their contracts after seeing reduced speeds.

Recommended Videos

Related: AT&T loses unlimited data throttling case, forced to pay iPhone owner $935

AT&T made a more egregious transgression in the seemingly arbitrary way it reduced bandwidth. The FTC estimates that roughly 3.5 million customers were impacted more than 25 million times over several years, many without notice or explanation. Their speed was repeatedly cut to dial-up levels on an average of 12 days out of the month, making services like Web browsing, GPS navigation, and video streaming nearly impossible to use.

Wayne Watts, AT&T’s top lawyer, dismissed the FTC’s allegations in a statement. “It’s baffling as to why the FTC would choose to take this action against a company that, like all major wireless providers, manages its network resources to provide the best possible service to all customers,” he wrote.

Prior to a policy revision that took effect in March of 2012, AT&T purported to throttle only the “top 5 percent of users.” That doesn’t appear to have been the case; the FTC notes that reductions in speed occurred regardless of network congestion, after as little as 2GB of usage. The carrier’s current policy states that customers with unlimited data will see reduced speeds after using 3GB of data on 3G, or 5GB of data on LTE, in a month.

Subscribers complained to AT&T by the thousands about slow speeds, and the carrier’s own internal research showed that consumers perceived the throttling practices as a “bait and switch.”

Related: Verizon tells FCC that data throttling is necessary to keep the network going

The FTC’s lawsuit marks the second time a federal agency has chastised a major wireless carrier for dishonest “network optimization” policies. Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sent Verizon a strongly-worded letter regarding the carrier’s stated intention to begin throttling high users of unlimited 4G LTE data on heavily trafficked cell cites. “It is disturbing to me that Verizon Wireless would base its ‘network management’ on distinctions among its customers’ data plans, rather than on network architecture or technology,” Wheeler wrote.

Verizon later backtracked, announcing it had no plans to revise its throttling.

Topics
Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Yes, Reddit is down. Here’s everything you need to know
The Reddit app icon on an iOS Home screen.

Bad news, fellow Redditors. If you're trying to browse your favorite subreddit right now, you're probably unable to. Why? Because Reddit appears to be down due to technical difficulties.

What's going on with the outage? Do we know when it'll be back up? Here's a recap of everything we know.
Why is Reddit down?
On the Reddit status website, the company indicates an "unresolved incident" taking place on November 20. The company confirms "degraded performance for reddit.com," which appears to be accurate.

Read more
I traveled 8,000 miles to get an Android phone unlike any I’ve used before
Someone holding the Lava Agni 3 smartphone.

The U.S. smartphone market is a well-known entity in 2024. Apple dominates the flagship space with the iPhone, Samsung's Galaxy S handsets are a reliable force every year, and Google's Pixel phones continue improving. But what about budget phones? There are some decent choices from Google, Motorola, and OnePlus, but your options are limited.

It's a trusty, if somewhat unexciting, swath of smartphones, especially when you get a glimpse at what's happening in other parts of the world. On a recent trip to India with MediaTek to see the company's presence in the Indian tech market firsthand, I was given the Lava Agni 3 — a new smartphone release from the India-based company Lava.

Read more
The Nubia Z70 Ultra just gave the Galaxy S25 Ultra some tough competition
A render of the Nubia Z70 Ultra.

With all eyes on Samsung and the upcoming Galaxy S25 release, it's easy to forget about other players on the field. And the Nubia Z70 Ultra could be the underdog competitor no one considered. This powerful phone was just announced in China and will see a global launch on November 26 for roughly $635.

This phone has a lot going for it, but the absolute first thing that catches the eye is the breathtakingly gorgeous design. I'm a fan of Post-Impressionist art, and I have to say that the Starry Night pattern looks better than any case could dream of, but this handset is no slouch in the specs department either. It comes with the same display as the RedMagic 10 Pro and has a screen-to-body ratio of more than 95%. The Nubia Z70 Ultra uses a 16MP underdisplay camera rather than a pinhole camera, giving the screen a more complete look.

Read more