
Net neutrality advocates have concerns about T-Mobile's new unlimited data plan - nickcobb
http://www.dailydot.com/debug/t-mobile-one-unlimited-data-net-neutrality-eff/
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walterbell
The proposed plan limits tethering to 2G speeds. It would cost $15 to restore
LTE tethering. Current plans include LTE tethering. This would be a huge
increase in price, e.g. users on the current $65/6GB plan would see their
monthly fee increase to $70 + $25 (turn off BingeOn) + $15 (turn on tethering)
= $110, a 60% price increase.

The new plans take effect on Sept 6 (?). If you want an existing contract-free
plan and don't need device upgrades in the future, it may be possible to get
on the cheaper plans now and retain grandfathered status, if you are careful
not to make any changes, _ever_. More:
[http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/08/18/t-mobile-one-
plan-c...](http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/08/18/t-mobile-one-plan-
complete-nonsense/)

 _" Tethering is a lifesaver for a minority of users, and forcing them to go
out-of-pocket for respectable data speeds is insulting and unnecessary ...
Nobody wants to watch 480p video on a Super AMOLED or Retina screen, and 2G
tethering is laughable; I’d rather the company have simply added a 2GB cap on
LTE tethering ... this is like an airline giving you unlimited loyalty points
as a subscription, but restricting you to flights of 500 miles or less unless
you paid another premium. T-Mobile didn’t reinvent data plans, it simply re-
thought how to up-charge its customers."_

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otoburb
Charging for a tethering feature is a business practice with precedence and
history in the wireless industry, so it's unlikely the EFF or other advocacy
groups will be able to do much to nullify a charge to enable LTE tethering.

Wireless carriers are starting to take pages from fixed/cable provider
playbooks. Charging based on different access speeds of access (SD vs. HD
video, or 2G vs. LTE tethering) is a time-honoured tradition with a long and
profitable history. With more converged providers (i.e. wireless and wireline
as a single corporate entity) and more effective cross-communication between
departments, it was only a matter of time before spectrum became "fast enough"
to start applying wireline strategies.

I'm wondering about the BingeOn charge. The spirit of net neutrality is that
content must not be discriminated against, _unless_ the customer agrees (i.e.
opt-in). T-Mobile has clearly shown they have an appetite testing gray legal
waters, which turned out to be a decisive short-term competitive edge.
Clearly, they're willing to go further in testing the definitions and intent
of "opt-in".

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ricardobeat
What's up with the reverse blaming headline? "T-Mobile's new unlimited data
plan raises concerns about net neutrality"

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pepijndevos
Ads on this page bring my i7 to its knees on Firefox.

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jonathanyc
With uBlock Origin, it loads OK on Firefox on my phone. Ads...

