iPhone user successfully sues AT&T over 3G throttling
by Mikey Campbell
In a California court ruling on Friday, an AT&T customer who saw a reduction in his iPhone's download speed due to high usage was awarded $850 on claims that the telecom's throttling measures are unfair to consumers.
Pro-tem Judge Russell Nadel handed down the decision in favor of Matt Spaccarelli in Ventura Superior Court in Simi Vally, bringing an end to the small claims case that was filed in January which asserted that AT&T unfairly reduces unlimited data plan users' bandwidth speeds, reports the Associated Press.
The ruling could affect the roughly 17 million subscribers, or a little under half of AT&T's smartphone customer base, who pay for a so-called unlimited data plan that was first introduced alongside the original iPhone.
The nation's second-largest mobile carrier ended its all-you-can-eat plan in 2010, however the company allowed existing users to keep their unlimited service on the condition that the privilege would end if they ever opted to go with a tiered contract. In other words, an unlimited subscriber cannot return to the endless data plan if ever they choose one of AT&T's tiered options.
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http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/02/24/iphone_user_successfully_sues_att_over_3g_throttling.html