The Federal Communications Commission says it plans to fine AT&T Mobility $100 million for allegedly misleading customers about its unlimited data plans.
The FCC says AT&T "severely slowed down the data speeds for customers with unlimited data plans and that the company failed to adequately notify its customers that they could receive speeds slower than the normal network speeds AT&T advertised."
In a statement, AT&T said, "We will vigorously dispute the FCC's assertions. The FCC identified this practice as a legitimate and reasonable way to manage network resources for the benefit of all customers and has known for years that all major carriers use it."
Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, applauded the action. “Unlimited should mean unlimited, no excuses or loopholes," says Delara Derakhshani, policy counsel for Consumers Union. "Not only does it seem clear that AT&T wasn’t providing the services that consumers expected and were paying for, but they also weren’t upfront with their customers about the extent to which their speeds were being slowed down." See full statement here.
For more on this move by the FCC, read "AT&T Faces $100M Fine Over “Unlimited” Data Plans," by Consumerist, our sister site.
—Consumer Reports
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