AT&T to Drop Data Overage Charges

AT&T is dropping overage charges for mobile data plans. Instead of charging extra fees, it will slow down the connections of users who exceed their monthly data allowance. The move is accompanied by a general price rise, though it will only affect new customers or those existing customers who choose to change plans.

The change makes AT&T the last of the three biggest carriers to drop mandatory fees for customers who go over their monthly data cap, an issue that became even more important as truly unlimited data plans were phased out across the industry.

T-Mobile dropped overage charges in 2014. Customers who hit their data allowance aren't charged but get a slower connection for the rest of the month unless they buy a data "top up."

Verizon Charges Fees Either Way

Meanwhile Verizon introduced an optional "Safety Mode" that lets customers have a reduced speed rather than pay overages. Unlike with its rivals, choosing this option carries a $5 a month fee, which could even work out worse value than overage fees depending on how much data a customer uses above the limit.

With all three carriers, the reduced speed after hitting a data limit is a mere 128 kilobits per second, roughly equivalent to 2G mobile speeds. This is just about fast enough to cope with emails and basic web browsing, albeit with painful waits, but makes audio or video streaming virtually unworkable. (Source: theverge.com)

Tablets a Big Data-Buster

Last year, a survey found 25 percent of AT&T customers and 20 percent of Verizon customers had paid an overage fee at least once in the previous six months. The problem appeared to be particularly driven by tablet users who consumed more data than expected thanks to watching full-screen, high-definition video. (Source: cnn.com)

Whether it's overage charges or slow speeds, some critics argue that the options stem from the underlying issue that monthly data caps simply aren't high enough to cope with demands for wireless data, particularly for those on high-speed 4G plans.

What's Your Opinion?

Have you ever gone over a monthly mobile data limit? Would you prefer to pay an overage charge or have your connection speed heavily reduced? Should carriers offer truly unlimited data packages again, or is that too open to abuse?