T-Mobile’s announcement earlier today that unlimited 3G data would cost a minimum of $25-a-month for in conjunction with the purchase of an Android G1 was well received: it’s eminently reasonable and hugely competitive with AT&T’s iPhone plan. But lo, not all is as it seems. The fine print indicates that there is an effective cap of 3G throughput at the 1GB range per month… anything over “may” be degraded to 50Kbps, or EDGE speeds.
That’s shitty, but unsurprising: T-Mobile is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telecom, and in Germany, they are also stingy with the iPhone’s data: at debut, the cap was similarly 1GB, while Americans enjoyed AT&Ts ostensible unlimited throughput. I believe it’s better now, though.
There’s reason to want to give the benefit of a doubt here, though: T-Mobile’s American 3G rollout is still relatively new, and the G1 may be the first massive test of the system. Ramping the more omnivorous bandwidth users back a notch to maintain network performance is certainly better than wide scale complaint and revolt. The needs of the many something something.
T-Mobile 3G [T-Mobile G1 via Engadget]
Editor!
Repetition “unlimited data” in 1st sentence. “imminently reasonable” should be eminently. Who knows what an omnivorus is? A creature with every characteristic of all Paleolithic animals? Personally, I eat anything, and declare myself omnivorous.
Does it matter? Of course it matters.
@4
I’d interpret that as: they won’t charge your cap limit for Amazon music downloads, etc. Things they want you to do.
I’m so sick of “unlimited” not meaning unlimited. Even if you don’t even come close to the cap, it’s just plain dishonest.
The fact stuff like this is in the fine print however is not acceptable… Be open about what is exactly the terms, you cannot have ‘Informed Consent’ for an agreement when you put the features in bright big lettering, and the flaws in the ultra small microscope printing. It almost like saying its in a room in the sub sub basement of the planning department behind a door proclaiming “Beware of Lepoard!” Tell people forthright, high speeds up to 1gig of dl, after that slower speeds, you shouldn’t need more than a gig, but if we find the majority of the people need more than a gig, we will look at expanding the service if you are willing to pay for it. No one need to go to court, and anyone who does no judge would even need to sit down to listen.
What I get from the post is that ‘premium’ quality of service (QOS) data delivery is limited to 1GB per month, and then you go degraded.
Too bad you cannot pick which QOS you want for what you’re doing, otherwise the end of the month will always be such a drag ;-(
This is only really an issue when you cannot find WiFi. But, of course, if you wish to tether, then your out of luck (no tethering) anyway.
If i have a phone and I have a computer, and both have WiFi, it only makes sense that my phone should become a de facto hotspot to allow my computer (or perhaps even tiny purely bluetooth devices, because the phone has bluetooth too, but right now limited to the hands-free telephony profile) to access the internet when no terrestrial hotspot is available…. but then there is battery life of the phone, so maybe the answer is a USB cable for both power and communication?
I’ll hold off for the G2 or whichever network operator comes to their senses about tethering.
Well, seeing as the G1 doesn’t support tethering, this isn’t really much of a limitation. I think you’d really have to try to exceed 1GB in a month using only a phone. And perhaps technically it is unlimited; just if you hit the 1GB/month limit it gets slower.
Doesn’t seem so bad to me. Compare to “unlimited” laptop broadband cards from Verizon, which include bandwidth caps AND limit what *applications* you are allowed to run on it (no games, no skype)
Something else in the fine print: “Some downloads, such as movies, music, and games, not included.”
What? What do they think you want to use 1GB for?
PS: eminently, not imminently. And omnivorous has an o in there. But who cares.