FTC sues AT&T over claims about smartphone data plans, says 'unlimited means unlimited'
Saying that a company’s marketing claims about “unlimited” data offered to smartphone customers should, in fact, mean that data usage is unlimited, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced that it has filed suit against AT&T Mobility LLC.
The company, contrary to its claims to consumers, “throttled” their data speeds once a certain level of usage was reached that month, “to the point that many common mobile phone applications—like Web browsing, GPS navigation and watching streaming video—become difficult or nearly impossible to use,” says an FTC press release describing the case.
“The issue here is simple: ‘unlimited’ means unlimited,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in the release. The suit (PDF) was filed in federal district court in San Francisco.
However a top lawyer for AT&T said there is no basis for the FTC’s complaint, the Washington Post (reg. req.) reports.
“It’s baffling as to why the FTC would choose to take this action against a company that, like all major wireless providers, manages its network resources to provide the best possible service to all customers,” said Wayne Watts, a senior executive vice president at the company. He said AT&T handles its provision of service to customers “in a way that is fully transparent and consistent with the law and our contracts.”
An unemployed truck driver earlier won an $850 award in a similar suit filed in small claims court in California against the telecom giant.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Pro Se Plaintiff Wins $850 Small-Claims Award in Data-Throttling Case Against AT&T”
Associated Press: ” Matt Spaccarelli, AT&T Case: Telecom Scraps Appeal, Ponies Up $850”
Hat tip: Daily Mail.
