Data Usage

A few months ago, I received a warning that I had gone over the 150GB limit AT&T had imposed upon people using their Internet service. I was warned that they would give me three warnings and after the third one I would be charged an extra $10 for each 10GB over the limit. The very next month I got another warning, saying I was within 65% of the limit. The email gave a link to a page where I could view my data usage, but it didn't work.

They did give examples of what that amount of data could be:

(click for larger view)

 

I saw what they were trying to infer, that no "normal" person - the average Internet user - would use such huge amounts of bandwidth.  There was also this explanation:

AT&T has experienced a dramatic increase in the amount of data that is sent and received over its wireline broadband networks. This dramatic increase is driven primarily by a small fraction of our customers. In fact, the top 2% of customers use about 20% of the total capacity on our network. A single high-traffic user can utilize the same amount of data capacity as 19 typical households. Lopsided usage patterns can cause congestion at certain points in the network, which can slow Internet speeds and interfere with other customers' access to and use of the network.

150 GB is far more data than most customers ever use in a month. Our average AT&T High Speed Internet customer uses only about 21 GB per month.

What they were not-so-subtly saying was that slobs like me were responsible for the restriction, not only for myself but for others.  Nice try, but no cigar.  I understand that the company can change their policies - I don't agree with it, but I understand how these large corporations operate.  I didn't agree to it when I signed up for it, but I'm sure there was some wording in the "contract" I "agreed to" by using their service that the agreement can be changed at any time without notice to me.  I resent that, but I also resent being made out to be the bad guy.

After having connection problems for nearly a year and not being able to get satisfaction from AT&T, I finally took matters into my own hands.  Without going into details (because I'm sure I broke several company rules) I finally managed to get my problems sorted out.  After getting my promised speed back, I made up for lost time, downloading all sorts of videos, movies and music.  (acquired legally)  I could finally view the videos and listen to podcasts from the Dallas Cowboy website, catch up on YouTube videos I had bookmarked and watch all sorts of programming such as movies on Hulu, program episodes I had missed on Discovery and The History Channel and other network websites.

(in case you're thinking that my usage STILL seems excessive, just let me add that just an audio only mp3 podcast from the Cowboys site can be 40-50mb with the videos being in the 2GB range.  During the season, the site would have two radio shows and sometimes 6 or more videos posted each and every day, plus interviews and highlights after games.  I also bought quite a few mp3 albums from Amazon, d/l a few movies I had been wanting to see from the same site.  A fairly low-resolution movie on Hulu can be 4-500MB.  As you could tell from the graphic posted above, 25HD movies can account for a significant part of the entire total.  That can add up, maybe not in a hurry, but over the course of 30 days it can be a significant amount.  I would also make the mistake of leaving my Internet radio on even when I lay down to sleep)


I've not received another warning and since I've signed up for U-Verse, the cap has been raised to 250GB. I also found out the bandwidth meter is working for me now.  Here's a screen shot of my data usage history over the last few months: (I've snipped out my phone number)

Anyone else notice the similarity between the graph and a certain obscene gesture? It's pretty much my sentiments towards AT&T.