'Unlimited' Data Plans With Very Obvious Limits Are Only Getting More Confusing

'Unlimited' Data Plans With Very Obvious Limits Are Only Getting More Confusing

5 years ago
Anonymous $xdcOWPpsb_

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20191104/08193543315/unlimited-data-plans-with-very-obvious-limits-are-only-getting-more-confusing.shtml

Back in 2007, Verizon was forced to strike an agreement with the New York State Attorney General for marketing data plans as "unlimited" when the plans had very clear limits. Twelve years later and it's not clear the industry has learned much of anything.

After their efforts to strictly monetize usage didn't go well with consumers, wireless carriers around 2012 or so returned to offering unlimited data plans. But much like the unlimited data plans of old, these plans have all manner of bizarre restrictions. Verizon, for example, bans users from even watching videos in HD unless they sign up for more expensive plans. Carriers also throttle usage after you reach a certain amount of data for the remainder of your billing cycle. There are also limitations on how frequently you can use your phone as a tethered modem or hotspot.