A co-worker received a mail regarding data usage. He had gone over 2GB on a unlimited plan. He was told his connection would be slowed down if he didn’t purchase a plan with specific data.
On AT&T other people have had their data speeds reduced because they went over a specific boundary.
I believe AT&T will learn very quickly this is not the way to go. When you sell a unlimited data plan it should be unlimited. Verizon will slow data speeds on towers during high traffic periods. And you know people will get that; we can understand!
If I spend too long on the phone, I don’t want the operator to come on and tell me it’s time to hang up. Phone calls and data travel along the same cables. If traffic gets heavy you may have trouble. But you shouldn’t expect to get an angry mail from the company.
We live in a mobile world, I write my blogs on my phone. In this world it’s just not cool to treat customers badly who use your service too much. And AT&T need to learn this if they want to keep their customers.
End of rant!
Carrier IQ, who are you watching?
Early on this in the Carrier IQ disclosure, being an iphone person I checked to see if I was being spied upon during my text & phone sessions. Apple says the only phone still using the software is the iphone 4 and it never recorded key strokes or personal messages link.
So this intrusion seems mostly with the Android market, being open in the software means control is given to the phone networks! When asked about Carrier IQ AT&T says it provides disclosure in the fine print, sprint says it’s not collecting the data any more.
Carrier IQ says it was just collecting network info, and the rest of it was a bug in the software. Sprint says that although it’s not collecting data from carrier IQ any more, about 26 million phones have the software installed. That’s some bug in the system??
So here is my read of this situation! I understand to use a network I must give information to the network for it to function. I understand the phone company will know where I am calling so I can be billed, along with my texting. The phone company doesn’t need to listen in on my calls or see the substance of my texting because it’s not necessary for billing purposes.
Network towers can chat to each other to say how they are and let the company know how the network is functioning. Also employees all around the country using company phones during work can have software on them to help diagnose the network status. I am not a privacy freak, if I was I wouldn’t be posting a blog! I am concerned when the disclosure is by accident and the reply is in fine print!
In future Network software disclosure, there should be an outline of the agreement in bullet points so the average person knows whats going on, then if you want to go to the section and read it in legal language you have the option. Also educate the public in the data that truly needs to be collected to run a network. We are in the mobile future, can people be shown what that means and not discover it on YouTube please!
Wireless Phone Reception, Yes or No!
I have an iPhone 4 with AT&T, and for the most part my signal is ok! There are parts of LA that have lousy signal strength, I suffer from the drop call thing; but as I mostly text it’s not an issue! There are parts of LA, usually in the canyons that have no signal at all. The reasons I have been told it they (AT&T) wanted to put a tower up but it was refused by the resident’s who didn’t want the view spoiled. I can understand this but don’t understand why no alternative was sought.
I can call my sister in Ireland on her mobile, and I know the signal will move from wireless to wired and back to wireless for this to happen. I can call her on skype to her home phone, or mobile phone, again there will be a transfer of signal from wireless to wired!
If I am not completely crazy, AT&T does have a wired network for home phone communications. Why is it so hard to provide transmission through the wired network to the more remote area’s. Then have the equipment locally to provide a wireless signal for the mobile phones.
To provide the coverage you can use a repeater, this can provide signal strength without having to build a tower. I am sure that the same utility poles that bring the wired phone signal can be the base for providing the wireless signal. Cheaper than building a tower, and much more inconspicuous.
So if this can be done, AT&T are you listening?
