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woodsdog
join:2015-06-26
Apex, NC

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woodsdog

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AT&T removing Internet Preferences option on Oct 2?

Please take this with a grain of salt. This is a big game of telephone where what I heard might not be what is intended.

I was just on the phone with someone at AT&T sorting out billing issues. She read an internal memo that said that they were going to do away with the Internet Preference for Gigapower users on Oct 2. Has anyone heard anything else about this?

To clarify, "Internet Preferences" is what they call the "deep packet inspection to target ads at us, the customers".

I really hope this is true, but I haven't seen anything about it. Please, please don't get mad at me for spreading false rumors, I'm just re-stating what I was read. Its very possible I am way out of context.

When they removed caps from Gigapower, it was on a Sunday. Oct 2 is also on a Sunday.
premisetech
join:2013-08-16
united state

2 recommendations

premisetech

Member

There are references to this internally but the date is October 3rd for me. I have been trying to find more details but have been unable to.

DarkenMoon
Premium Member
join:2013-11-14
Silver Springs, NV

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Does this mean prices are going up, or that everything will stay the same, they just won't use deep packet inspection anymore?

nwrickert
Mod
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL

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They are probably just removing the ability to opt out of deep packet inspection.

</cynicism>
DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Plano, TX

6 recommendations

DMS1

Member

said by nwrickert:

They are probably just removing the ability to opt out of deep packet inspection.

</cynicism>

Which, given that I can't believe anyone would have been stupid enough to pay the extra, would affect precisely nobody.

Gilitar
join:2012-02-01
Mobile, AL

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If true it's yet another reason for me to applaud AT&T! They are on a roll!

DarkenMoon
Premium Member
join:2013-11-14
Silver Springs, NV

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I wonder if it would effect latency and bandwidth if they stopped DPI?
premisetech
join:2013-08-16
united state

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Anon091d3
@2602:30a.x

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Anon091d3

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We're getting an update about Millimeter Wave. Sweet!
my thoughts
join:2016-06-19
Waukesha, WI

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As Oct 1 is a Saturday, I suspect the company is using Oct 1 as a Sept 31, in other words the last day of the 3rd quarter for reporting purposes.

Therefore Oct 2 in the start of the new 4th quarter, best time to make change, or wait till January for start of new fiscal year Jan 1, 2017 is also a Sunday.
Zanthra
join:2015-02-13
United State

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said by DarkenMoon:

I wonder if it would effect latency and bandwidth if they stopped DPI?

Very unlikely. They would almost certainly be doing passive inspection, so the packets get copied to a computer for inspection as they go through a router or switch, but otherwise get forwarded with no extra latency. Anything else would be far too likely to cause many problems with their network.

Also I suspect, if this is happening, they were not getting buyers for the data to make up for the equipment costs and loss of consumer confidence.

DarkenMoon
Premium Member
join:2013-11-14
Silver Springs, NV

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DarkenMoon

Premium Member

Dang, I was hoping for less latency. It seems to be sporadic at times.
ependergrass
join:2007-07-21
Edmond, OK

1 recommendation

ependergrass

Member

Highly interested in this development.... just signed up last week and am paying the extra to opt out. Mostly because it lets me go month-to-month, and Cox and Google fiber are in the area.
Paralel
join:2011-03-24
Michigan, US

1 recommendation

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Glad to hear they are dropping this. DPI has always been b******t.

Anon911d5
@erversolutions.com

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You can get a VPN for a year for about what you pay for Internet Preferences opt-out. Easy to set up on a computer and some VPN companies provide apps for you mobile devices.

Note that a VPN does not prevent others from monitoring your traffic once it exits the VPN tunnel.

Also note that if you pay extra to opt out of Internet Preferences, they still monitor your Internet connection, they just don't collect your personal data.
Paralel
join:2011-03-24
Michigan, US

3 recommendations

Paralel

Member

How many VPNs can handle the speeds that gigapower customers usually have without having a major negative impact?
Zanthra
join:2015-02-13
United State

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It was always in the back of my mind that Internet Preferences shouldn't really work. What valuable information could they have gotten from it? Cookies are already in widespread use for gathering that information, and the people who would set do not track, opt out or other things are consumers who likely won't make advertisers much money anyways (if only because they are aware of how this stuff works).

So really AT&T gets a very small fraction of users on their network who are not already being tracked by cookies, at great expense, and they are severely limited by encryption, or VPN.
teicher
join:2010-06-30
Raleigh, NC

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I would really like to know what is happening with this, Internet Preferences is the sticking point that keeps me from signing up for Gigapower. I don't feel like I have enough assurance that paying to opt out will truly keep me out of the data analysis either, there's no way to verify it.
DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Plano, TX

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DMS1

Member

said by teicher:

I would really like to know what is happening with this, Internet Preferences is the sticking point that keeps me from signing up for Gigapower. I don't feel like I have enough assurance that paying to opt out will truly keep me out of the data analysis either, there's no way to verify it.

But why the hell do you, or anyone else, actually care? As others have said, your activity is being tracked anyway by numerous means.
grabacon9
join:2013-08-21
Newark, OH

2 recommendations

grabacon9

Member

I'd care if it's slowing down my internet and besides they make enough cash on the internet bill alone!
teicher
join:2010-06-30
Raleigh, NC

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Why wouldn't I care? What's so good about agreeing to having AT&T do the equivalent of 24/7 wiretap on my internet connection to store and sell data about me that I can't see?

They already have ways to track my activity and analyze it and yet they still want do to deep packet inspection.

timothyhohar
join:2004-03-20
Apex, NC

3 recommendations

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said by Zanthra:

They would almost certainly be doing passive inspection, so the packets get copied to a computer for inspection as they go through a router or switch

Well, they are already doing this for the NSA. It can't be much harder to make 2 copies of every packet can it?
ependergrass
join:2007-07-21
Edmond, OK

1 recommendation

ependergrass

Member

Could the offer end date be meaningful on the sales site?

"$90 High Speed Internet 1Gbps Offer: For residential customers in select markets in GigaPower areas. Credit restrictions apply. 12 month agreement required. Pro-rated early termination fee (up to $180) applies if service is disconnected before end of 12 months. AT&T Internet Preferences: Offer requires customer to opt in to AT&T Internet Preferences at time of original order. Go to att.com/InternetPreferences. If customer later opts out after service installation, regular rate for service and other charges will apply. Pricing excludes taxes, installation, and other charges. Pricing subject to change. Offer ends October 22, 2016."

timothyhohar
join:2004-03-20
Apex, NC

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timothyhohar

Member

I have no idea
cirEOak
join:2016-09-09

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Yes, this is also what a Tier2 salesperson (supervisor) told me over the phone when I was ordering my service just a few days ago. I couldn't get them to explain how they are able to determine exactly what I was searching for on Google when my connection to Google is through SSL and is encrypted. After going around and around for a bit (55 minutes), she finally said,

"Sir, if I were you I would be concerned about this as well. But on October 2, the Preferences will be going away. We will still be selling (Gigapower) at $70 and applying the discount, but we will be discontinuing the option to opt-in to Internet Preferences."

She suggested that I call back on the 2nd or 3rd to place my order. She also offered that the Internet Preferences altogether will be going away. So customers who already opted in will still get their "discount", and customers who did NOT opt-in would be eligible to get the lower price. So if you already have Gigapower and are paying the full price, give AT&T a call on October 2 and ask for a price reduction. Remember, they are competing with Google Fiber, and in Google's markets they seem to be pricing competitively.

Opinion: this is one of the most shadiest things I have ever come across, especially how they try to explain that AT&T would be able to see the pages that I go to on Google, but somehow not be able to see anything I do at my bank's website. That's crazy talk. There is no way they can see the contents of ANYTHING while I am connected through SSL. It's encrypted! The only way they could do this is by being a man in the middle and act as if they are Google. But the catch is that they would also have to have Google's private key. Yeah, I'm gonna say this one is total BS. The only thing AT&T could really track with SSL sites is the fact that I connected to ______.com for ______ minutes, and that is it.
benk016
join:2011-06-05
Owasso, OK

1 recommendation

benk016

Member

They would still see a DNS request to google.com or drive.google.com then once you get there instead of AT&T watching you, google is.
craigvp
join:2016-07-06

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So can anybody clarify about the deep packet inspection? Are they going to offer the same price regardless in a few days.

I'm thining about switching to the 100mbit, but it's 70 dollars right now, which is the same price as their 45mbit. Why would they leave it the same price, this makes no sense.
tehkwhiz
join:2012-02-28
Columbus, OH

1 recommendation

tehkwhiz

Member

The $70 price point is their promotional price point, AFAIK at least for the non-Gigapower tiers. Non-promotional pricing for 75 Mbps is $94.95 a month.
craigvp
join:2016-07-06

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craigvp

Member

I called them, they said the 29 dollar rebate for internet preferences was good for the life of the service. So i'm super confused right now.
premisetech
join:2013-08-16
united state

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