AT&T Raises Unlimited Data Cap Limit From 5GB To A Whopping 22GB

AT&T has announced it is raising the data cap limit for its grandfathered unlimited data customers. The news comes after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined the network carrier $100 million for misleading customers with the promise of unlimited data.

According to the FCC, the company mislabeled its plans as being unlimited and did not inform customers of the maximum speeds they would be getting. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against AT&T and is seeking a refund for affected customers running into millions of dollars.

In a press release, AT&T says unlimited data subscribers will be able to enjoy full speeds on their 4G/LTE network until they hit the new 22GB usage mark. But unlike before, reaching this mark will not necessarily mean their speeds will be throttled thereafter.

Previously, every unlimited data customer would have speeds throttled after 5GB of usage. No special conditions were mentioned. But with the new change, speeds will only be throttled during times and in locations where network congestion is present. In other places, users could enjoy full speed data access without restrictions.

Thank you, AT&T!

If you remember, AT&T was the first network carrier to team up with Apple when the first iPhone was announced. At the time, in 2007, the company announced an unlimited data plan ($30 per month) for all who bought a new iPhone and signed up for a two-year contract.

But the mobile network landscape has changed considerably over the last few years. AT&T dropped unlimited data plans in 2010 but allowed grandfathered customers to keep their plans without raising prices as long as they renewed their contracts every two years.

Then, other network carriers joined in providing service for iPhone customers, and as it stands now, all major providers in the United States offer service. Unlimited data plans are far and few between these days though.

Many believe AT&T has managed to keep a lot of customers from switching to other networks because of the grandfathered unlimited data plans. So this announcement is great for all those people. But the raise in data cap could well be in response to an impending decision on the ongoing FTC lawsuit, with AT&T trying to blunt the force it's about to come under.

Whether this move will affect any of that remains to be seen.

Source: AT&T