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T-Mobile Takes Aim At What it Calls Unlimited LTE Data 'Thieves'

T-Mobile has announced it's taking aim at unlimited data customers that eat far more than their "fair share" of network resources. In a blog post, T-Mobile CEO John Legere says starting today the company will begin cracking down on unlimited LTE users who have found ways to bypass the limits imposed on tethered data. While smartphone use is unlimited on unlimited plans, tethered modem use is capped at around 7 GB per month for those customers.

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These customers, claims Legere, are "thieves," who are "downloading apps that hide their tether usage, rooting their phones, writing code to mask their activity, etc."

According to T-Mobile, around 1/100 of a percent of the company's 59 million customers are simply tearing through tethered data, some using as much as 2 terabytes per month. Starting today, those users will start getting nastygrams from the uncarrier, and moved to a limited LTE plan if they don't heed the warning.

Why make such a public proclamation regarding a move that's expected to only impact a small fraction of T-Mobile's customers? The company wants to assure the FCC the company is playing nice with the agency's new net neutrality rules and clearly communicating network limitations to its users.

"These abusers will probably try to distract everyone by waving their arms about throttling data," proclaims Legere. "Make no mistake about it – this is not the same issue. Don’t be duped by their sideshow. We are going after every thief, and I am starting with the 3,000 users who know exactly what they are doing."

According to the T-Mobile FAQ the carrier has "developed technology" to take aim at these heavy tethered data users, but doesn't get any more specific than that.

»twitter.com/JohnLegere/s ··· rc%5Etfw

Most recommended from 222 comments



buzz_4_20
join:2003-09-20
Dover, NH
(Software) Sophos UTM Home Edition
Ruckus R310

14 recommendations

buzz_4_20

Member

Unlimited

That word... it does not mean what you think it means.

I mean, if you're trying to replace your home broadband connection with LTE (why would you anyway) but that's not really the Spirit of the Unlimited plan.

Also when can we stop pretending that phone data is in any way different then tethering data?

karlmarx
join:2006-09-18
Moscow, ID

13 recommendations

karlmarx

Member

Like most companies

There is a clear disconnect between marketing and engineering. Marketing wants to advertise 'unlimited' so they do, but engineering is telling them 'we can't do that'. It's funny that way, because comcast has the exact OPPOSITE problem. Engineering it telling them 'we can do unlimited', but marketing is saying 'we can't do that'. T-mobile at least is listening to their engineering group, and maybe marketing will change their wording. Comcast, however, is to firmly entrenched in the bean counter/marketing/fat cat pocket, so they will never offer 'unlimited', even though engineering has clearly stated it's not a problem.
mmay149q
Premium Member
join:2009-03-05
Dallas, TX

6 recommendations

mmay149q

Premium Member

Here's my thoughts

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· BBVG-MNY


I'm not saying what Legere did was wrong, I support the decision if it's actually harming the network, however I think it's about time that these Wireless Carriers, all of them, start implementing the pCell technology and using it, since the whole gripe is about how "data hogs use too much and slow everyone else down" then it's time we start implementing a solution to FIX the issue instead of a solution to FIX investor wallets. But we all know that's not going to happen as then the Carriers won't be able to blame their anti-consumer BS reasons to take even more of your hard earned dollars on the bandwidth boogyman, and most of the BS they're pushing today in terms of capped data plans will have to cease.

Personally I still like TMob over the other carriers, and I don't see this as a bad thing considering they are being pretty transparent about it, but I really hope the pCell technology kicks off and we can start forcing the carriers to compete on price, and bring back unlimited data, I mean if people start footing the capacity bill, and don't need the carriers cell towers to get their data, they won't have a choice! Oh well, here's to hoping! Personally I'd rather live in a world that's run by US THE PEOPLE, the pCell technology could actually relegate carriers to dumb pipes, as long as they don't get congress on their side and deem the technology illegal.......
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT
·Frontier FiberOp..

5 recommendations

tired_runner

Premium Member

There's always someone....

... out there who will ruin it for the rest.

The speeds in my area have taken a considerable hit, and I'm not surprised this is targeted towards that group.

I get the economic need behind consolidating your means of Internet access so you're not having to pay twice, or perhaps its more practical to just have one access for anywhere. But it's silly to think one can consume content in the same manner as a wired connection considering the likely ratio of wireless devices to a cell site compared to wired.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

4 recommendations

MovieLover76

Member

Good

Protect the network from these people abusing the network.
Use all the semantics you want, the truth is T-mobile tethering is not unlimited and that's clear in the TOS.
No one is being cheated by them going after people abusing the network by hiding tethered data.
It's unlimited smartphone data, not unlimited household internet.
Pay for a home connection for that.

It's clearly explained in the TOS and their plan descriptions.
If you don't like it go somewhere else.
Don't ruin unlimited smartphone data for those who use it as intended.

cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL

3 recommendations

cb14

Member

The right move

The conditions are crystal clear- tethering 7GB only. If you use illegal tricks to extract more, you are a thief and quite frankly I see a good reason for criminal prosecution here. There is no way for anyone to offer unlimited tethering for such a price without letting the network collapse. And BTW I am not a fan of unlimited even for smartphone, rather low cost per GB PAYGO. Right now, I am subsidizing the 100 GB/month streamers.