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Meters Still a No Show for Many AT&T Customers
And Those Who Have it Still Cite Inaccuracies
AT&T caps on DSL and U-Verse users officially went live on May 1, with DSL users facing a 150GB monthly cap, and U-Verse users facing a 250GB monthly cap (both paying $10 per each additional 50GB consumed). At the time, AT&T confirmed that not all customers had access to the meters, though the company isn't clear on specifically when all users will see the option. More than a month later and many users still say they have no meter, and those who do state the meter still has accuracy issues that have not been resolved. AT&T's decision to measure from the DSLAM could be increasing usage estimates by including ATM and PPPoE overhead -- a possibility AT&T has not commented on.
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iLive4Fusion
Premium Member
join:2006-07-13

iLive4Fusion

Premium Member

legal?

How the hell can this crap company charge overages and not even tell you when your going to hit the cap's? This is exactly why I left for Charter.
decifal7
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN

decifal7

Member

Re: legal?

This sorta proof is like selling inventory that you do not have imo.. I smell a lawsuit coming!
Pv8man
join:2008-07-24
Hammond, IN

Pv8man

Member

Re: legal?

And I expect all those lawsuits to go nowhere except in the direction of AT&T's favor.

Both political parties are lobbied by the elite.

( sorry, not trying to turn it into a political thing, but it's true.)

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: legal?

no you can't charge for something if you can't show that it was used.

iLive4Fusion
Premium Member
join:2006-07-13

iLive4Fusion

Premium Member

I hope something does come of this because its not fair to customer's who aren't as educated as some of us may be or they can't monitor every single person in the household.

Most people don't time their netflix/youtube usages household wide to see if they are going to hit the cap. And there are going to be some nasty lawsuits just like Verizon and AT&T have had in the past for billing issues.

mlundin2
@ku.edu

mlundin2 to iLive4Fusion

Anon

to iLive4Fusion
ATT's site says this when I try to check my usage:

"The U-verse data measurement report is currently under construction. When completed, you will be notified if your usage exceeds the allowance. Until that time, U-verse customers should not be concerned about their usage patterns for billing purposes.

To learn more about how to manage your usage, please visit www.att.com/internet-usage"

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson to iLive4Fusion

Premium Member

to iLive4Fusion
How can they? because there is no law that says they can't do it.

And if the government made laws to protect consumers....we would have a certain group crying about "government interference" and how the "government needs to stay out of our lives"...and then they turn around and demand government make laws banning anything they dont like
west5648
join:2006-10-14
Madill, OK

west5648

Member

Maybe?

The only thing I can think of for the reason im not seeing the meter is that I am in contract for the 20 bucks a month elite package. So I guess they cant meter me till the contract is up....?
Ricanlegend
join:2011-05-18
Bronx, NY

Ricanlegend

Member

Re: Maybe?

Get ready for a lawsuit paradise
Arty50
Premium Member
join:2003-10-04

Arty50 to west5648

Premium Member

to west5648
No, that's not true. Along with the caps, they rolled out a new TOS. You should have gotten an email about it.

If you did nothing within 30 days of recieving that email, then you automatically agree to the news Terms. Otherwise, within those 30 days you have the ability to reject the new terms and cancel your contract and/or service without paying an early termination fee if you're on contract. The beauty of a contract is that if it materially changes, both parties must agree to the change. If one doesn't then the contract is null and void.

Anyay, after I got the email I called to cancel my service. I also found out that one system said I was on contract while the other said I wasn't. This despite the fact that I specifically told the operator who signed me up for the deal last year that I didn't want to be under contract. So I was especially glad that I was able to cancel without an early termination fee.
jarschmi
join:2007-07-18
Milwaukee, WI

jarschmi

Member

Re: Maybe?

Where are these TOS change emails located? I've gotten absolutely nothing from ATT on this...
unoriginal
Premium Member
join:2000-07-12
San Diego, CA

unoriginal to west5648

Premium Member

to west5648
Sure they can. They sent the change to the terms of serivce in March and gave people 30 days to agree or reject them. By continuing to use the service past that 30 day window you agreed to the usage caps. Personally we rejected them by switching to Road Runner instead.

mark_foley
@level3.net

mark_foley

Anon

Re: Maybe?

Ok, what about the rest of us that are stuck in the duopoly between dumb and dumber?

In my area, it's either comcrap and their 250gb cap, or at+t uverse and their 250gb cap. At least at+t is 24mbps vs comcast being at 8 here.
lemonade1
join:2003-12-13
Los Angeles, CA

lemonade1

Member

switching to other ISP

That's why I will consider switching to Dslextreme or Sonic.net.
I constantly use about 100 GB a month, last month bumped to 130 GB, so 150 may not be enough in the future, especially I'm thinking of using Onlive cloud gaming...
Pv8man
join:2008-07-24
Hammond, IN

Pv8man

Member

Re: switching to other ISP

yeah, We use a Uverse business line for the small business I work for.

I called AT&T about the caps and the rep said

"Oh you only use about half of the cap, so I wouldn't worry about that...This is only to stop the bandwidth hogs. "

My response...

1. A bandwidth hog is someone who UNLOCKS their modems speed to make it unlimited.

2. using the connection you pay for is not "hogging bandwidth" because you are only allowed to download at the speed you pay for.

3. If you use up all of your minutes that you pay for each month, are you a minute hog?
noisefloor
join:2010-05-09

noisefloor

Member

Re: switching to other ISP

U-verse business class is held to the same cap??? BWAHAHAHA
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

Re: switching to other ISP

If true very bad for business as Comcast business is cap free or has a much higher cap.

removed
Premium Member
join:2002-02-08
Houston, TX

removed to Pv8man

Premium Member

to Pv8man
said by Pv8man:

1. A bandwidth hog is someone who UNLOCKS their modems speed to make it unlimited.

This is not possible on AT&T's DSL network, nor has it been possible with any other service in the last 8+ years.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

glad

I'm so glad I switched to Comcast. At least their meter works.
45612019 (banned)
join:2004-02-05
New York, NY

45612019 (banned)

Member

Re: glad

Oh please. Comcap isn't any better. They're the AT&T of the cable industry.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: glad

their meter works. AT&T's doesn't. they are far from being AT&T.
45612019 (banned)
join:2004-02-05
New York, NY

45612019 (banned)

Member

Re: glad

As long as AT&T's meter doesn't work AT&T users remain uncapped.

You, on the other hand, have to deal with a cap.

I think I'll stick with my ISP that is unable to get its shit together and can't manage to cap me properly.

So you're right... they are far from AT&T... they're actually worse.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: glad

How is the company that knows how to make their equipement work worse than the one that doesn't know how to make their equipment work? That makes no sense. I'm surprised AT&T even has a working network if they can't get something as simple as a usage meter working.

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to 45612019

Premium Member

to 45612019
said by 45612019:

As long as AT&T's meter doesn't work AT&T users remain uncapped.

One would think. However, this assumes logic by AT&T's billing department.
mogamer
join:2011-04-20
Royal Oak, MI

mogamer to 45612019

Member

to 45612019
said by 45612019:

As long as AT&T's meter doesn't work AT&T users remain uncapped.

You, on the other hand, have to deal with a cap.

I think I'll stick with my ISP that is unable to get its shit together and can't manage to cap me properly.

So you're right... they are far from AT&T... they're actually worse.

ATT must have a meter in place, otherwise how would they have conducted their research when they made their announcement? They're probably measuring people right now. I wonder if some people will be shocked when they get their bill in August? After all, with their new TOS banning lawsuits, they have no obligation to have a meter their customers can see.

On the other hand. Maybe this company is that screwed up and they don't have a working meter yet. They could have pulled those numbers out of their rears (i.e. just copied Comcast's numbers).

Oh well, I'm glad I'm not involved with this drama anymore. I'm now a happy WOW customer. Getting slightly higher speeds at a lower price with no caps.

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

ctceo

Premium Member

Just stoppit at&t!

I checked mine for last month at the RG level for the exact period that they say was the "metered period" and their total wast almost 40GB higher than what we actually used.

hadrins
@bellsouth.net

hadrins

Anon

Re: Just stoppit at&t!

They were off by 10GB for me. I could change to U-verse and stay on the same basic plan/price, but I would have to change routers. That is a $100.00 upgrade. I just looked at May's usage and it was almost 200GB. Guess we watched a few HD movies.

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

ctceo

Premium Member

Re: Just stoppit at&t!

They would likely give you a router for free at rebate costs. Besides that if you upgrade to uverse there is no (functioning) meter currently.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

They are even failing at failing....

Caps are one thing. I do understand why AT&T implements them.... It is a free world, where capitalism rules, no oversight whatsoever, so they can charge for their product whatever they feel like. And hey.... someone needs to pay for their executives fat bonuses, and their lack of willingness to invest in fiber from the get go, it might as well be us sorry asses.

But if you can't tell your customers accurately what they have downloaded, and furthermore have the audacity to state that it could take THREE DAYS before the records on the website are updated..... you are really failing at failing. Sorry, but if you accidentally get infected by some malware that makes you part of a botnet that will use your connection as one of thousands to "DDOS" some host, it would be nice that something triggers in say.... 6 hours that says: You are processing an awful lot of data, are you sure that is you? Instead of having 80 Gb on Friday, and all over sudden on Tuesday you get notified: Guess what! It's 300 now and you are over.

Whoops, someone left their PC on with malware, and it started flooding hosts like there is no tomorrow as part as a botnet. Sure, that infection is the users responsibility, but there is NO EXCUSE from AT&T's side to not update your data e.g. once every hour, or once every 2 hours, randomly staggered at an hour more or less to load balance it.

I know how much Kilowatt/hour I use at 07:35, and I can see the difference if I check again at 09:10. If AT&T can't do that, they might as well give up. They probably wanted to do it cheaply (just like U-Verse, not going with fiber from the get-go, but using copper to stay on the cheap).

And yes.... why should we have to pay for ATM and PPPoE overhead? We didn't ask for that data?

Example: Electricity is ALWAYS lost when sent out in the grid. A minimal amount just leaks into the open sky, is lost in resistors along the way, etc.... point and case: The number of electrons that the electricity company sends out, is MORE then the number of electrons that arrive at your house. Thus, you will only pay for the electrons that actually arrive there, NOT for the "support" electrons (which is a bad term, but makes the compare easy) that are needed to get those electrons to my house.

AT&T is going to charge us for every dropped packet now? If they measure at the DSLAM, any dropped packets due to poor line quality, is going to be added to your cap. It may not amount to much, but if you have a bad line, it could be a noticeable difference.

If they can't do it right, they should stop trying.
flbas1
join:2010-02-03
Fort Lauderdale, FL

flbas1

Member

Re: They are even failing at failing....

said by maartena:

Whoops, someone left their PC on with malware, and it started flooding hosts like there is no tomorrow as part as a botnet. Sure, that infection is the users responsibility, but there is NO EXCUSE from AT&T's side to not update your data e.g. once every hour, or once every 2 hours, randomly staggered at an hour more or less to load balance it.

If they can't do it right, they should stop trying.

What if a group of malicious people (school kids, company you are complaining about, etc) gets YOUR IP Address somehow (email, website, logs, social engineering, etc), and decides to simply PING you nonstop from a couple of hundred locations. Each of those PING's consumes a fraction of your bandwidth, and you would never notice it. EVEN IF YOU TURN OFF YOUR PC because of the UVerse Router. You have to turn off your TV/data stream (at the router?) to avoid this "attack".

Death by 1000 paper cuts.
mlcarson
join:2001-09-20
Santa Maria, CA

mlcarson

Member

Regulate it

The government should step in and regulate the metering if these ISP's want to implement it. Make it so burdensome and expensive on the ISP so they won't do it. I want a meter that's certified accurate by somebody besides the ISP. The utilities and the gas stations have to have their meters certified, why not the ISP? Hell, why not require a physical meter that shows the amount of data used in real time. If there was a cost to this crap, it wouldn't be done.

And also regulate the advertising of "unlimited" if there's a cap or metering involved. Force them to state exactly how many GB you get for your base payment and how much extra each additional GB is. There needs to be truth in advertising.
Wilsdom
join:2009-08-06

Wilsdom

Member

Re: Regulate it

You talk as if lawmakers are on our side. They would prefer if the internet disappeared. No more wiener shots, among other things. Government only regulates other meters to protect companies from consumer tampering.

TheATThater
@swbell.net

TheATThater

Anon

They did not start on May 1st but a few days before.....

They had the meter up and running since February of this year. Although, they were not pushing the caps yet it was for users to help see their usage I guess. I have been screwed by them before May 1st. For the month of May they began from April 27th and for the month of June they did the same. They began to count my usage against me before their May 1st day. So I always already 75 some gigabytes and went over for the month of May. I have a household of five, two of which use Netflix often. We all have HDTV's so we hit out cap quickly. Before the meter officially went into effect on May 1st and each month after that.

They report the usage after four days of the date so it comes down to each house to be bandwidth police. After hitting the cap they have a disclaimer on the bottom. They will post each day the following day if you have gone over the cap. They never have. It still takes four days.

I am pretty sure I will go over for a second month. I plan to switch to TW because that is all they have left in my area. A small telcom company my friend works for will be offering WiMax but it is very expensive at the moment
decifal7
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN

decifal7

Member

the

The issue lies in the fact that if they bill you for going over, you really can't tell how and when you went over. Your basically ordering off the menu hoping to hell that the item you ordered isn't the 500 dollar bottle of champagne.. If you cannot actively monitor your usage, they should not be billing nor capping..

I mean hell, if the electric department couldn't read the meters to figure out how to bill you they'd just have to take your word that you only used a five hundred kilowatts a month. Would they think that's fair? HELL NO! They would demand that some law be put in place to allow them to see usage for their selves. We should have that right as well from a borderline monopolistic functioning organization.

Argue it all you want. They know wireless is capped to hell and back and satellite isn't really an option. And cable is just as random as they are on building out. Many have nowhere else to go, so your gonna have to pay their way or the highway. They have our government bought and paid for. They can and will do what they want until something drastic happens to halt these practices in this country...
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

And my company

Is using AT&T global network with about 15x15mbs. They have coverage in all states and abroad. Were not capped but speed sometimes drops so low I only see 3mb/s download. Makes me wOnder what type of connection they use.

Doug126
@speakeasy.net

Doug126

Anon

No meters in Orange County CA

All my friends in the area have no working meters also. The page still says "comming soon"

pjcamp
@spelman.edu

pjcamp

Anon

"including ATM and PPPoE overhead"

I think that would be a feature, not a bug.

This is exactly why I dumped AT&T for Comcast Business. It has issues but usage limits are not among them.

Flippant
So Much For Subtlety

join:2000-06-04
Katy, TX

Flippant

No Meter = No Cap?

Actually I am very happy not to have a meter. As long as it does mean I will not be charged for any overage. Please keep your meter and your caps, I want no part of them.

pinoyz
@sbcglobal.net

pinoyz

Anon

Enabled now in my area?

Not sure if this means the meter is being enabled in my area now or what.. now it says this.. "We're sorry, but we're unable to display your Internet usage at this time.

Please try again later. (105)"

Before it said that it was still underconstruction..

hadrins
@bellsouth.net

hadrins

Anon

Re: Enabled now in my area?

I got the same error message when i check form a Linux machine. From windows and firefox it worked.