AT&T To Trial Usage Caps

[Boogahz]

yeah, I've heard both as well. I don't hoard as much as I used to, so I don't expect any problems with the usage limits...but I do plan on a tv upgrade soon which will suck down more HD content/bandwidth.

[Stonie]

A friend of mine just moved into a house 100 yards away from me. He tried to order AT&T DSL and they told him he could only get U-verse. After seeing on their website that U-verse wasn't available at my address and him telling me this, I called them.

Turns out I can get U-verse (internet only) 6Mbps at my house now. TV, phone, and higher d/l speeds to come soon. The real kicker is I have AT&T 3Mbps DSL right now for $37.95/mo, and just signed up for AT&T U-verse 6Mbps at $19.95/mo, free modem and no sign-up/install cost. And that's not a contract limited promotional price.

Internet companies baffle me...

[Zaelath]

Your 3Mbit DSL is not subject to contention between you and the ISP, I dunno what U-verse is but I'm going to assume it's cable which *is* subject to contention. Most of the time cable is a good deal, unless you have Fairweather living on your block.

[Aslanna]

U-Verse is not cable. It's DSL just not ADSL (which was the standard AT&T DSL in my area). It's VDSL.

Very-high-bitrate DSL (VDSL or VHDSL)[1] is a DSL technology providing faster data transmission over a single flat untwisted or twisted pair of copper wires (up to 52 Mbit/s downstream and 16 Mbit/s upstream), and on coaxial cable (up to 85 Mbit/s down- and upstream); utilizing the frequency band from 25 kHz to 12 MHz. These fast speeds mean that VDSL is capable of supporting high bandwidth applications such as HDTV, as well as telephone services (voice over IP) and general Internet access, over a single connection. VDSL is deployed over existing wiring used for POTS and lower-speed DSL connections. This standard was approved by ITU in November 2001.

Second-generation systems (VDSL2; ITU-T G.993.2 approved in February 2006) utilize frequencies of up to 30 MHz to provide data rates exceeding 100 Mbit/s simultaneously in both the upstream and downstream directions. The maximum available bit rate is achieved at a range of about 300 meters; performance degrades as the loop attenuation increases.

[Fairweather Pure]

Most of the time cable is a good deal, unless you have Fairweather living on your block.

The average AT&T customer uses less than 4GB per month, and thanks to the cap of 250 GB per month, no one would ever notice or care if I was pushing max DL at any given time, even if it was 24/7!

[Boogahz]

I just checked the uverse usage monitor site again, and this is what it says now:

The U-verse data measurement report is currently under construction. When completed, you will be notified if your usage exceeds the allowance. Until that time, U-verse customers should not be concerned about their usage patterns for billing purposes.

To learn more about how to manage your usage, please visit http://www.att.com/internet-usage

So, I guess they aren't going to enforce caps for Uverse accounts until this is done. Maybe having their television streams included is fudging the numbers?

Note: Your usage is not yet available for display. You should not be concerned about your usage for billing purposes. AT&T will keep you informed about your data usage via email.

To learn more about how to manage your usage, please visit http://www.att.com/internet-usage.

Wonder if this means they're closer to completing the tracking tool for Uverse customers.