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story category 'Unlimited' AT&T Wireless Data Plans About To Be Capped?
Rumblings among insiders about implementing 5GB quiet cap, like Verizon...
(old news - 09:33AM Friday Jan 11 2008)
tags: prices · business · wireless · bandwidth · Cingular Wireless
An anonymous AT&T insider yesterday hinted to us that the company's wireless division would soon be implementing a 5GB monthly usage cap on some unlimited data plans. We contacted AT&T for official comment and were told that there's no changes in store that they're aware of, but they'd nudge us if anything official came along. Today we're seeing some discussion over at Howard's forums that would seemingly confirm there's some changes coming:
Click for full size
I just heard that the pda plans will no longer be unlimited but will be capped at 5 gigs. Users will not be billed overages but people with constant overages will be contacted to try to reassess the users needs. The new plans are nationwide so I'm not going to disclose my market but they are getting rid of the media bundles and M2M messaging. Text and data is now separate. PDA plans will be lowered to 30 bucks to match blackberry personal and media net unlimited is lowered to $15 bucks.
According to the poster, the plans will be live in a few weeks. Assuming these looming changes are true, AT&T may want to start removing the word unlimited from their advertising material. Verizon, who similarly advertised an unlimited service that actually had a 5GB monthly data cap, was busted last October by the NY Attorney General for false advertising. When we hear more on these rate changes we'll let you know.

Related:
  1. AT&T's 5GB Wireless Broadband Mystery Cap
  2. AT&T To Pro-Rate Wireless Early Termination Fees
  3. At AT&T, Human Contact Costs Extra
  4. New MEGA-Clearwire CEO Speaks
  5. Telus CAPS 'Unlimited' EVDO Data Plans
  6. Oh Look, Another Ridiculously Huge Wireless Data Bill
  7. AT&T: LTE Still 2-5 Years Off
  8. AT&T Kills Off $20 Unlimited Pre-Paid Data
Forums » 'Unlimited' AT&T Wireless Data Plans About To Be Capped?
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
·Verizon FIOS

VZW Did It

So why not AT&T? They all follow each other.

I just hope no one ever does away with free nights and weekends or mobile to mobile. Then phone expenses will get out of control like they were 10 years ago when you paid 19.99 a month for 30 minutes....

timcuth
Braves Fan
Premium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
clubs:
·AT&T Southeast

Re: VZW Did It

The only reason rates didn't stay the way they were 10-15 years ago is competition. And, IMHO, competition is starting to dwindle, mostly because of mergers. When they think they have enough control over the market, they will start trying to increase prices, again.

Tim
--
"Love consists in overestimating the difference between one woman and another" - George Bernard Shaw
~ Project Hope ~
karlmarx

join:2006-09-18
Nashua, NH
·Fairpoint Communic..

Re: VZW Did It

Wait, technology is cheaper than it was 5 years ago. Yet they still want to raise prices? Why is that? Because they are almost a monpoloy (triopoly). Verizon, now AT&T, my guess is sprint won't be far behind.
This isn't a true capitalist society. The reason these monopolies exist is that the US has become a merchantilist society, where the megacorps control the producting and distribtion of wealth through subsidies, state control and monopolies. If we were a true capitalist society, then you and your neighbor could start up a wireless cell phone provider, provide better service and lower prices. The fact of the matter is that the capital outlay required to build this means the megacorps will ALWAYS go back to the monopoly theory, which means they can raise prices and impose limits that a true capitalist society would never be subject to.
The solution, of course, is to break them up, AGAIN.
--
Relgion and Politics don't mix! I have firsthand knowledge of what happens when ANY religion mixes with ANY politics.

S_engineer

join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

Re: VZW Did It

Breaking them up again is not the solution. This would only lead to another clustrf### of Sunrockets, Adelphias, McCleods, and other 2 bit companies that steal, pillage, and run or go out of business. Furthermore, if we were a true capitalist society, then we wouldn't have the USF subsidizing PEOPLE throughout this country. Now doesn't that go against your Marxist hero?

Goes both ways slick, also remember how many people those evil Corporations employ, not to mention the tax revenue from those people and the business itself!
--
Let's pluck 'im and see if he's ripe!"
- Larry (MEN IN BLACK, 1934)

timcuth
Braves Fan
Premium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
clubs:

Re: VZW Did It

Corporations don't pay taxes. Well, they do, but it is all passed along to their customers.

Tim

S_engineer

join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

Re: VZW Did It

Your joking right....or were you the genius behind the dead guy check cashing attempt yesterday?
--
Let's pluck 'im and see if he's ripe!"
- Larry (MEN IN BLACK, 1934)

CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
There has never been a true pure capitalist society...

OSUGoose

join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH
clubs:

Dont Do It.

At&t dont be stupid and do this, its one of the main reasons you have some of your data/pda customers. I know i will leave or downgrade my service, if you pull this.
russotto

join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA

Re: Dont Do It.

They don't want customers who have the service because they really need true unlimited data; those customers are costing them money. They DO want customers who think they need unlimited data but actually don't use all that much.

AR
Premium,ExMod 2001-04
join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON

edit:
January 11th, @10:47AM

Re: Dont Do It.

But the latter customer will not order a wide array of data products either.

The guy who uses a lot of data will most likely order a lot of content and varied data products (upsell opportunities)- that will provide additional revenue streams.

verolom

join:2002-03-23
Eatontown, NJ
Asking AT&T not to be stupid is asking the impossible.
ImBatman

join:2004-04-21
Lancaster, CA

said by OSUGoose See Profile :

At&t dont be stupid and do this, its one of the main reasons you have some of your data/pda customers. I know i will leave or downgrade my service, if you pull this.
Isn't AT&T the shortest and most accurate definition of stupid?
I'm pretty sure I found a dictionary or thesaurus that had AT&T as the number one definition/word.
xenophon

join:2007-09-17

How to lose customers

Verizon lost a lot of data card customers to Sprint (see evdoforums.com) due to the cap. Seems like ATT/Verizon are struggling with capacity while Sprint is not. Sprint also shows better performance than both.
BuzzDar

join:2006-01-28
West Frankfort, IL
·magicjack.com
·Vonage
·Packet8

Re: How to lose customers

The only people that are complaining about the data cap are the people that are streaming music, movies and/or people downloading lots and lots of stuff every day. I check my mail surf the web can do just about anything i want that is LEGAL or within the T.O.S. and never even come close to using that much.
xenophon

join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..


edit:
January 11th, @12:18PM

Re: How to lose customers

It's somewhat easy to go over 5GB legally (on data cards, not phones). But it's not the fact that many don't go over 5GB, it's the concern of the cap that has caused many to switch to Sprint. The bottom line is that many are actually switching. According to evdoforums.com, Verizon used to outsell Sprint (in data cards) before the cap, now Sprint outsells Verizon 2:1.

timcuth
Braves Fan
Premium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
clubs:

Re: How to lose customers

Yep, I use about 5 MB on my phone each month and I feel like I use it a lot. I cannot conceive how I would use over 5 GB on a cell phone.

Tim

huntml

join:2002-01-23
Mullica Hill, NJ

Re: How to lose customers

I activated a new Sprint Moto Q9c on 24DEC07, and as of this writing it's logged 1145797 KB of lifetime data usage, all in accordance with Sprint's TOS.

Sprint's data is an awesome deal compared to the other carriers, and only getting better -- I pay $30/mo for *truly* unlimited data, unlimited SMS, navigation, and also get access to the basic 'SprintTV' offerings, though I think the video offerings from the wireless carriers are pretty hoky and gimmicky and not worth paying for.

I am actually glad VZW has tightened its data usage policies/increased its data rates (no more per-minute billing for data, which allowed a lot of users to use their data services in a somewhat unlimited fashion during nights/weekends) and now ATTM appears to be following suit. Sprint has been bleeding customers for awhile now, especially iDEN (Nextel) customers, and becoming an even more superior choice for mobile data services can only help it.
stridr69

join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA


edit:
January 12th, @12:40AM

Re: How to lose customers

Not to mention, roaming on Verizon's network when needed.
I've used Sprint's data package since 11/18/07 on a Motorola V3m, and I'm VERY impressed with their service. Sprint is the ONLY offering of 3G service in San Luis Obispo, CA. And it's impressive. Their basic data package ($15.00) includes NFL network on their Sprint TV package. Not bad, as my local Cable Co. doesn't offer NFL network, and it's rather cool to be at my local watering hole watch'in NFL network on my phone. Yes, it's a gimmic, but..I like it. CNN on-the-go, any one? Fox news-on-the-go? You have it.
Sprint, IMHO-has their shyt together for 3G offering in the U.S. ATT? I've checked your website-No-Go in SLO county. Verizon Wireless? SSDD-you offer 3G in Monterey County-NOT in San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara County. You do though in Ventura county. What's yure problem there, Verizon. It's why I bailed from Verizon over a year ago. SSDD.

P.S. And I don't worry about download cap's-current there isn't any with Sprint's data package.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
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said by BuzzDar See Profile :

The only people that are complaining about the data cap are the people that are streaming music, movies and/or people downloading lots and lots of stuff every day. I check my mail surf the web can do just about anything i want that is LEGAL or within the T.O.S. and never even come close to using that much.
Funny though as my new AT&T Blackberry allows streaming music.
BuzzDar

join:2006-01-28
West Frankfort, IL

Re: How to lose customers

i would say check your T O S because i bet just because you can DO IT dont mean you are suppose to.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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Putnam, CT
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Re: How to lose customers

said by BuzzDar See Profile :

i would say check your T O S because i bet just because you can DO IT dont mean you are suppose to.
It's a preloaded application on the AT&T firmware for the Blackberry. I haven't tried it but if they don't allow it I would think they would not put it on their firmware.

djrobx

join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME


edit:
January 11th, @11:49AM

Yeah, AT&T preloads phones with all kinds of links to streaming audio and video sites (they do call it "media" net after all). The iPhone has the youtube stuff in it too.

If you're doing those things periodically when out and about, 5gb is probably enough. I think this is of concern mostly to people who are using wireless data as an alternative to DSL or cable. Im sure AT&T doesn't want to start losing DSL revenue to inexpensive wireless data plans.

Personally, I'd rather save $5/month and have a 5gb cap. However, they're overcharging for "PDA" internet plans. Why is that more expensive? It's just a data pipe. $20/month is the most I will spend on a mobile data plan.


OSUGoose

join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH
clubs:
·AT&T Midwest
·Cingular Wireless
·Verizon BroadbandA..
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: How to lose customers

one has never used the built in gps featre of the moto q9h then, that thing is allways using data to find addresses, update routes, ect.... and thats a preloaded app they put on the phone, dont get me started on the xm mobile app thats preloaded that streams xm sat radio.....

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:

Re: How to lose customers

My Blackberry has GPS also and they made it a huge point to remind me of that. Thank god my car has it built in.

djrobx

join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME


edit:
January 11th, @02:46PM

I don't doubt it uses the data pipe frequently, but have you measured the actual data transfer? Just because you're making a lot of transactions doesn't necessarily mean you're consuming lots of data. Unless you're a cab driver or pizza delivery guy I can't imagine you need to use your GPS THAT often.

Lets say XM is streaming at 80kbps. If you listened to music for 8 hours:

8 hours = 28800 seconds
80kbps x 28800 = 2,304,000 kbits = 288,000KB.

So, 5GB would equal around 145 hours of streaming music! Even if you had higher quality, that's a tremendous amount of time to spend on your cell.

timcuth
Braves Fan
Premium
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
clubs:
·AT&T Southeast

Re: How to lose customers

I wonder how many streaming XM subscriptions they have sold? I looked at it very briefly and it appeared to be worthless. And I have been a regular XM subscriber for years.

Tim
--
"Love consists in overestimating the difference between one woman and another" - George Bernard Shaw
~ Project Hope ~

huntml

join:2002-01-23
Mullica Hill, NJ

said by djrobx See Profile :


Unless you're a cab driver or pizza delivery guy I can't imagine you need to use your GPS THAT often.
You forget that GPS/mapping apps also have real-time traffic. For those of us with long commutes the ability to see traffic info in real time is more important than the mapping capability. Now that I have a phone with integrated GPS I basically turn it on every time I get in the car, just so the traffic function can warn me of anything I need to avoid.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME

Sprint has ~ 2/3 the overall customers that AT&T or Verizon does on its EVDO network.

AT&T + 60 million
VZW + 60 million

Sprint + Nextel = ~54million (q3 2007)
I'm assuming ~ 20 million iDEN + Boost
Resellers (voice?) = ~ 4 million
Sprint CDMA = ~40 million.
--
Canada = Hollywood North
xenophon

join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: How to lose customers

Right, and since the user/tower ratio is better for Sprint, they have better performance and more capacity to allow truly unlimited. As Sprint migrates data card users to WiMAX, load will be taken off the EVDO network, allowing for even more capacity on phones.

But this shouldn't be a concern for ATT phone users, just laptop card users. Sprint appears to be winning when it comes to data card users in performance, capacity and with no limitations.

SprintEVDO4Life

@myvzw.com

Re: How to lose customers

And don't forget that as Sprint continues to lose customers due to more defections, capacity will also increase this way.

No, seriously, how many VZW/ATT data users have moved over to Sprint? Do you have any real figures?
Cjaiceman

join:2004-10-12
Aurora, CO
·Comcast

said by xenophon See Profile :

Seems like ATT/Verizon are struggling with capacity while Sprint is not. Sprint also shows better performance than both.
I've actually seen the opposite of what you are stating. On my HTC Kasier (AT&T) I can get 1.5-2Mbps download durring the middle of the day, on my Sprint PPC-6800 I usually get 680-1250 Kbps, and Sprints network around here sucks, I drop calls all the time, the HTC rarely drops calls.

But as others have said, "Your millage will vary"
--
HOT JAMZ 94FM
Listen Live at »sc7.shoutcaststreaming.us:8206/listen.pls
xenophon

join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: How to lose customers

There will be differing experiences, but on average, Sprint consistently shows better performance, especially for data cards. Phones will vary significantly as the bottleneck is typically in the phone, not the network.

Phones
»/mspeed?domains=1

Cards
»/archive/spcsdns.net
»/archive/myvzw.com
»/archive/mycingular.net

wruckman
Ruckman.net

join:2007-10-25
Northwood, OH

At it again

Looks like they are at it again. Trying to gouge the customer. They must think they can get away with anything.
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY

iphone we barely knew ya..

so long iphone... let me tell you people won't be lined up around the block this time once at&t f..., I mean screws up their service plans even more..

See 8 replies to this post

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
·ViaTalk
·AT&T DSL Service

Just freaking great....

I just jumped and got a Blackberry with AT&T as they were practically giving them away. The manager at the store was doing early upgrades like they were going out of style. Now I know why......

See 15 replies to this post
IanR

join:2001-03-22
Madison, NJ

and soon unlimited contracts will become...

... limited as AT&T customers leave in droves.

Come on AT&T everyone who wants your iphone has one so this is not the time to beat uup on your customers... Still what should one expect of a company using the AT&T name. Service? Forgetaboutit.
ImBatman

join:2004-04-21
Lancaster, CA

Re: and soon unlimited contracts will become...

said by IanR See Profile :

... limited as AT&T customers leave in droves.

Come on AT&T everyone who wants your iphone has one so this is not the time to beat uup on your customers... Still what should one expect of a company using the AT&T name. Service? Forgetaboutit.
Are they still using the AT&T name this month?

Boomerang86
Got FUD?
Premium
join:2002-10-18
Walden, NY
clubs:
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
·RoadRunner Cable
·FrontierNet Intern..
·Vonage

That's funny...

"PDA plans will be lowered to 30 bucks to match blackberry personal..."

On the AT&T Wireless website, BB Personal is $34.99 here. I lucked out and locked in the same plan on Cellular One for $30 just before the Death Star takeover; looks like I'll be keeping that for a while!
--
Don't pay ME back, pay it forward.

ninjatutle

join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

Affecting heavy tethering users?

So is this what their aiming at? The rumor doesnt say anything about the people who have the data card service.
deadzoned
Premium
join:2005-04-13
Baton Rouge, LA
·Cox HSI

I wonder

I wonder if this will have any affects on the wi-fi side with the I-Phone? Seems like a pretty big change that at&t is talking about here. Do they really have that much of a problem with their system that they need to impose caps on everyone?

Wake up and upgrade your networks at&t! I hate how the phone/cable businesses in the U.S. decide that rather than innovate they will just cut back on existing services instead.

Honestly, it's simple supply and demand. If the consumer is using more, you upgrade your capacity to meet the demand. Instead they go backwards and go from unlimited to 5gb a month cap. Stupid. It impacts the consumer negatively and in the long run it's going to come back to haunt them anyway since they will eventually have to increase capacity through network upgrades anyway.

Hardly shocking I guess. I need to make sure I let my mother know about this since she's kind of going crazy right now with her new I-Phone. She's going to guide dog school for a month and she is planning to use the I-Phone as her primary source of Internet/E-Mail needs. She might hit that cap rather quickly if she's not using wi-fi all of the time.
jvanbrecht

join:2007-01-08
Bowie, MD

Re: I wonder

This will not effect the iphone, even at full data rates, running 24/7 the edge phones would not hit 5GB
NightHawke

join:2002-02-28
Rockport, TX

When AT&T Does Give That Nudge...

they are going to get a punch in the mouth for it.

They need to rethink their strategy on this real quick if they are going to retain any of their wireless broadband clientèle.
I'd hate to see my Sprint EVDO service get overloaded with custies defecting from the Evil Empire, but I do say, WELCOME!

Of course, this kind of change may invalidate a large number of contracts, so if I were Joe Consumerist on their service, I'd be digging for that clause.
joker5656

join:2006-06-23
Greenville, SC
·Charter Pipeline

Can Someone Shed some light

"Assuming these looming changes are true, AT&T may want to start removing the word unlimited from their advertising material."

Assuming they do start doing this, isn't it pretty much bait and switch? please correct me if i'm wrong but i would like to know. And what about those people that already bought one months ago under the assumption that the plan was free? Seems to be bait and switch. i see legal battles if someone can prove bait and switch.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

5 gig cap even with tethering clause?

I wonder

ctceo
Premium
join:2001-04-26
South Bend, IN
clubs:

Combined?

If that is correct then the average user would have to pay for multiple accounts. According to my NetStats I used 21.74gb DL/10.23gb UL. And that's just my pc. I watch about 3 or 4 TV shows straight from the broadcasters official website, and play about 5-7 hours a day 4 days a week of WoW, and view about 3-5 websites for news articles and such.

Is this cap actually even necessary.
benc
Premium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
·Charter Pipeline
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Callcentric
·AT&T Midwest

To Those Who Talked About Data Cards....

...did any of you click the link in the article? What they were talking about was PDA data.

I don't think they were talking about what plan you'd get for USB/PCCard/ExpressCard/mini-PCI data cards. For that you'd get "Data Connect," instead of "PDA Personal Max."

On the Cingular site, there's a distinction between "PDA Personal" and "Data Connect."

The PDA Personal Max (Unlimited data + 1,500 SMS) costs $45/line extra.

The PDA Personal Max w/Tethering (Unlimited Data + 1,500 SMS) costs $85/line extra.

The Data Connect (Unlimited Data, no SMS, standalone) costs $60.

Although, I'd like to know if this includes "tethering" plans, which to me seem similar to "Data Connect."

As for PDA Personal Max w/ Tethering, I think they should offer a choice with no SMS. It'd be silly to get 1,500 SMS in conjunction with SMS block, but if I wanted a Phone/PDA with Internet I'd do just that.
smogrady

join:2003-06-17
Chicago, IL

January 21st or 22nd

We were shopping for data plans yesterday. The rep at an "authorized dealer" said new rate plans will come out the 21st or 22nd of January.
grumpy3b

join:2001-12-11
Lompoc, CA
·Millenicom
·DSL EXTREME

Wording is everything...

I suspect many people are reading phrases something along the lines of "unlimited web browsing" as if it means "unlimited data transfer" Or some simliar wordplay on the part of AT&T it gives them an out when penializing people who actually do lots of LEGAL data movement.

If comes down to what is the difference...is streaming part of web browsing? Is watching a season of Heroes on the NBC site a violation of the TOS limiting the type of traffic or is it part of web browsing?

It will ultimately be yet another court decision...again...cripes this is an hours thing anymore and it is because they make more over the time things are in doubt then it costs to fight the matter in court. And who knows they might win one. And judges do not seem to really comprehend the numbers involved when settling the matters and assigning fines. a company like AT&T deals with billions daily worldwide. Sow what if the spend $5M on defense and then $10M on any fines & settlements...BFD...they made a few BILLION (or whatever) over that period.
Jerkface

join:2005-06-05
Washington, NJ

Re: Wording is everything...

It is official. They are implementing a 5gb cap. I am holding the plan in my hand right now.
grumpy3b

join:2001-12-11
Lompoc, CA
·Millenicom
·DSL EXTREME

Re: Wording is everything...

bummer!! I went with Millenicom (Basically Sprint EVDO w/o a contract and a free Frankin USB Modem). No caps at all...umlimited data of any sort for $50/mo...

BTW, careful how you hold that "plan" in your right hand...it might constitute a violation of the AT&T TOS.

Mitzi

@suddenlink.net

Does this mean that the new data plan I just contracted for with unlimited m2m & the $20 data plan isn't unlimited? (signed about 2 weeks ago) Or does it mean that new people will have a 5 gb limit? I was assured my data plan was unlimited.

Another question that I can't seem to get clear. I know it's answered above but I couldn't really understand the answer.

1>My son has an iphone in Arkansas. I have an iphone in Texas. We both have the $20 data plan and unlimited m2m. When he and I text each other, does it knock off of each of our 200 minutes?
2> Also, if someone texts me, whether on the network or not, are minutes deducted out of my 200 minutes as well?

I'm new to the data/phone world and I can't find these answers at ATT. I didn't want the iphone particularly, and certainly didn't want a contract with att, but my co-workers took up a collection & bought the phone for me, and I, feeling beholden to them, felt I needed to activate it. (they didn't offer to pay the monthly bill) I'm wishing now I hadn't activated it, though the phone is pretty fun.

btw, you can't get a prepaid plan when activating if you qualify for the 2 year contract, I tried. I hate cell phone contracts and now I have one. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but I'm not sure they knew the trouble they were causing for me. I'll gripe about it here, I don't want them to know I'm a little aggravated and though the phone is snazzy, I don't think it's worth the headaches that I've already had, and now I'm worried & stuck.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Forums » 'Unlimited' AT&T Wireless Data Plans About To Be Capped?


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