I got an email about my data usage.

[AQAA]

Europe is not very economically smart, but they do have it right with their unregulated open market Telecom. There are multiple cable and internet choices, no one is allowed to monopolize, Wich creates competition for best speeds and prices, I read somewhere that they pay $60 a month for 60mg internet and cable and phone, over regulation causes us to pay 3 times that amount

If anyone here was paying a monthly phone bill leading up to 1984 there should be no doubt why the above post is very true.

AT&T or Bell were as brutal then as it is today. I can still remember paying well over $100 per month for the landline.

Excuses upon excuses why the bill is so high, no interest in improving networks and a general enjoyment in accusing the consumer of over and misuse of the service.

Just remember it only gets worse if no one questions their actions and continue to overpay for a much lower quality service than is enjoyed by the rest of the developed world.

The AT&T takeover of T-Mobile is another example of US Government total lack of interest in protecting the consumer and clear statement of the corruption at hand.

Just look up the resent departure of former FCC Commissioner Baker and her quick employment as a lobbyist for Comcast, that should put no doubt in anyones mind as to the overall scope of the corruption.

 

[lou61166]

If anyone here was paying a monthly phone bill leading up to 1984 there should be no doubt why the above post is very true.

AT&T or Bell were as brutal then as it is today. I can still remember paying well over $100 per month for the landline.

Excuses upon excuses why the bill is so high, no interest in improving networks and a general enjoyment in accusing the consumer of over and misuse of the service.

Just remember it only gets worse if no one questions their actions and continue to overpay for a much lower quality service than is enjoyed by the rest of the developed world.

The AT&T takeover of T-Mobile is another example of US Government total lack of interest in protecting the consumer and clear statement of the corruption at hand.

Just look up the resent departure of former FCC Commissioner Baker and her quick employment as a lobbyist for Comcast, that should put no doubt in anyones mind as to the overall scope of the corruption.

We create ar Government through the voting process,we have to live with the consequences,you are not going to change anything about the system,if you feel that violating terms and trying to steal is the answer so be it,but the law and government are tough to beat.if this country upsets you that much move,and be done with it,i am pleased with what i have,and am not going to do anything to jeopardize it by trying to thump the system.remember in the end no one is forcing you to use a smartphone,you can leave anytime.

 

[elmerf]

Europe is not very economically smart, but they do have it right with their unregulated open market Telecom. There are multiple cable and internet choices, no one is allowed to monopolize, Wich creates competition for best speeds and prices, I read somewhere that they pay $60 a month for 60mg internet and cable and phone, over regulation causes us to pay 3 times that amount

Sorry for the sidetrack and following rant, but I can't let that statement pass unchallenged

As a European living in the US I've got to say that I don't understand how you come to that conclusion. In my understanding it's the European governments' regulation of the markets that led to international standards like GSM being adopted everywhere and in keeping a level playing field where individual companies are not allowed to monopolize the system. That's the government acting on behalf of the people to keep unrestrained market forces in check.

In the USA it was the government that forced the break up of Bell (the open market leader at the time) and allowed some competition back into the marketplace.

In the last decade or so it's the lack of regulations, and the corrupt lack of enforcement of regulations by the government that has let the baby Bells reform into a duopoly that is strangling the open marketplace.

That's how an unrestrained market works ... the strong drive out the weak and small and then do whatever they like because the customers have no choice left.

Companies are there to make money, that's their purpose. Without regulation companies find that the best way to generate money is to have a marketplace with few competitors.

Over regulation isn't the problem, it's the lack of regulation, and the government's unwillingness to put any rules on the 'free' marketplace that's the problem.

I'm sure that a lot of you will disagree, but we might want to take that argument into a different thread before we totally hijack this one.

 

[Eollie]

I really don't think they would see the username black jesus and actually launch an investigation. Lol

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Tapatalk

I think its very rare that VM sends out emails like this. So the likelyness they would be able to figure it out is pretty high.

I am pretty sure Lou has already emailed vm with a link to this thread.
I don't think they care.
Over at the VM Facebook page tethering is regularly discussed with instructions on how to do it and VM does not delete the posts they only chime in to say it is against the TOS and do not threaten to cancel accounts over it.
I think it is like rooting they don't like it but knew it would happen using an open source operating system.

Just because they dont chime it doesnt mean they dont investigate it and probably take action. Most carriers dont say much to people that tether occasionally and barely use the soft cap put on. Its when you start noticing data usage like you have that they get upset.

Again you really need to think ahead. They sent you a email for a reason. A red flag popped up, somebody noticed your using a ton of data. You responded and its "worked" out. Now you come here and post and people are calling you on the bone-head decision to post about it. I promise you Sprint/Vm monitor these boards and just because you dont see or hear about action taken doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

BJ there are some wise people here that are only trying to get you to realize your bone-head decision to post this thread. Yes your a anon poster on AC, but what happens when AC gets served demanding your IP so you can be traced? No longer anon. Use your head when posting especially regarding this type of stuff.

 

[LeslieAnn]

Europe is not very economically smart, but they do have it right with their unregulated open market Telecom. There are multiple cable and internet choices, no one is allowed to monopolize, Wich creates competition for best speeds and prices, I read somewhere that they pay $60 a month for 60mg internet and cable and phone, over regulation causes us to pay 3 times that amount

Sorry, but this is simply NOT true.
Do some actual research, free markets tend to create mega conglomerates and nothing else. Those same corporations then spend billions convincing people like you that regulations are bad.

Yes, it does restrain corporations, that is the point.
We have slow internet because a lack of regulations and enforcement has allowed companies to prey on us through duopolies. There is no incentive to make it better when there is no competition.

Free marketers love to say a free market will sort itself out, when the reality is that the largest will spit up and chew out the small guys. The T-mobile AT&T merger is one example, Bank of America buying Countrywide and Citicorp is another. Lack of regs allowed BofA to use bailout loans to buy Citigroup, in fact the government encouraged them to buy them. BofA was "too big to fail" before buying both, now what are they? Free markets don't sort themselves, they help themselves... To whatever the heck they want.

A free market does spur growth when the market is still new and growing, this is true,
However, once a market matures, you need SOME regulation or the mega corps will monopolize it and then you are again stuck with no incentive to improve things. Take a look at Microsoft for the modern day Bell.

And don't even get me started on Fracking.
Completely unregulated and going to be the death of us all, but hey, cheap natural gas woohoo!
Oh, you're dead from contaminated drinking water? Sorry, here is a coupon for fifty dollars off your next bill.



Still want more, watch "Who killed the electric car?" or "Taken for a ride".
Take a look at air quality in California.

 

[koopakid08]

If you would all take a look at this article from engadget. It explains everything.

 

[Retorrent]

Yesterday I got an email from Virgin asking about my data usage and they asked if I was using wifi hotspot or tethering my phone.
I replied with I have no idea what that is but I listen to Pandora about 9-10 hours a day and sometimes sleep with Pandora running with my headphones on.
Their reply was oh ok but did not explain what wifi hotspot was or tethering, So I emailed them back and asked what it was and got no response.
So the moral to the story is if you are questioned about data usage play dumb. I used 17 gigs last month.

You may not know anyone who has been shut off but I personally know two people who got the boot from VM becasue of excessive data use and yes 17G is what is considered excessive. And both have told me that they received the same email. So thinking that you "fooled" them is a bad train of thought, I would curb some of you data because I'm pretty dam sure they are keeping an eye on your use.

"Virgin Mobile service is solely for personal use. Unlimited does not mean unreasonable use"

That was taken straight from their page so they can and will give you the boot if your not careful.

 

[Irate Iguana]

Sorry, but this is simply NOT true.
Do some actual research, free markets tend to create mega conglomerates and nothing else. Those same corporations then spend billions convincing people like you that regulations are bad.

Yes, it does restrain corporations, that is the point.
We have slow internet because a lack of regulations and enforcement has allowed companies to prey on us through duopolies. There is no incentive to make it better when there is no competition.

Free marketers love to say a free market will sort itself out, when the reality is that the largest will spit up and chew out the small guys. The T-mobile AT&T merger is one example, Bank of America buying Countrywide and Citicorp is another. Lack of regs allowed BofA to use bailout loans to buy Citigroup, in fact the government encouraged them to buy them. BofA was "too big to fail" before buying both, now what are they? Free markets don't sort themselves, they help themselves... To whatever the heck they want.

A free market does spur growth when the market is still new and growing, this is true,
However, once a market matures, you need SOME regulation or the mega corps will monopolize it and then you are again stuck with no incentive to improve things. Take a look at Microsoft for the modern day Bell.

And don't even get me started on Fracking.
Completely unregulated and going to be the death of us all, but hey, cheap natural gas woohoo!
Oh, you're dead from contaminated drinking water? Sorry, here is a coupon for fifty dollars off your next bill.



Still want more, watch "Who killed the electric car?" or "Taken for a ride".
Take a look at air quality in California.

Sorry for the sidetrack and following rant, but I can't let that statement pass unchallenged

As a European living in the US I've got to say that I don't understand how you come to that conclusion. In my understanding it's the European governments' regulation of the markets that led to international standards like GSM being adopted everywhere and in keeping a level playing field where individual companies are not allowed to monopolize the system. That's the government acting on behalf of the people to keep unrestrained market forces in check.

In the USA it was the government that forced the break up of Bell (the open market leader at the time) and allowed some competition back into the marketplace.

In the last decade or so it's the lack of regulations, and the corrupt lack of enforcement of regulations by the government that has let the baby Bells reform into a duopoly that is strangling the open marketplace.

That's how an unrestrained market works ... the strong drive out the weak and small and then do whatever they like because the customers have no choice left.

Companies are there to make money, that's their purpose. Without regulation companies find that the best way to generate money is to have a marketplace with few competitors.

Over regulation isn't the problem, it's the lack of regulation, and the government's unwillingness to put any rules on the 'free' marketplace that's the problem.

I'm sure that a lot of you will disagree, but we might want to take that argument into a different thread before we totally hijack this one.

Wonderfully stated you two .Oh wow I love this community more and more every day...
Oh and another great one to watch is Capitalism: A Love Story

Anywho more on topic... Seventeen Gigabytes in one month? God damn! How do you manage to do that, even with tethering? Now this has me wondering, how much data do I use on my home PC a month :O.

 

[LeslieAnn]

Anywho more on topic... Seventeen Gigabytes in one month? God damn! How do you manage to do that, even with tethering? Now this has me wondering, how much data do I use on my home PC a month :O.

I have been known to pull in 450 gigs for months at a time, but my norm is probably closer to 200.
However, that isn't counting my server, which is on a different account but does about 150 per month.

Keep in mind I run a couple of busy websites and I do pc repair so I'm always downloading various updates for customers and tools for working on them. Not to mention betas, backups, remote control and more.

 

[zedorda]

And don't even get me started on Fracking.
Completely unregulated and going to be the death of us all, but hey, cheap natural gas woohoo!
Oh, you're dead from contaminated drinking water? Sorry, here is a coupon for fifty dollars off your next bill.



Still want more, watch "Who killed the electric car?" or "Taken for a ride".
Take a look at air quality in California.

But I love BBQ from my kitchen sink

 

[Eollie]

Stop the fighting and/or poor attitudes - this is the last warning to all involved.

Sent from my Nexus S

Im curious.

There have been threads where the arguments went on for multiple pages. They ended up just dying off. What made this one so special?

I have no problem backing down when asked to, I do have a problem with arbitrary moderation. Ive never seen you post in this sub-forum and most of the time when mods that arent familiar with sub-forum community they misinterupt things.

So what Im asking is.

1) Why this thread?
2) When was the first warning?
3) Did you even read the OP and his responses to people?
4) Have you been back to read through this thread to see how people arent trying to fight, but point out a bone-head decision and that really wasnt the smartest thing to do?

 

[watskyhotsky]

Im curious.

There have been threads where the arguments went on for multiple pages. They ended up just dying off. What made this one so special?

I have no problem backing down when asked to, I do have a problem with arbitrary moderation. Ive never seen you post in this sub-forum and most of the time when mods that arent familiar with sub-forum community they misinterupt things.

So what Im asking is.

1) Why this thread?
2) When was the first warning?
3) Did you even read the OP and his responses to people?
4) Have you been back to read through this thread to see how people arent trying to fight, but point out a bone-head decision and that really wasnt the smartest thing to do?

your inciting more trouble, just drop it. this entire thread clearly has no point, the OP was obviously trying to find a way to brag about how he got out of having to tell virgin mobile he tethered and used all that data.

 

[Black Jesus]

Actually you have all been trolled.
I rarely tether and when I do it is when my home internet goes down, I never even got an email from VM.
6 pages of awesome nerd rage.
I really want to thank lou61166 he is the one who made all this possible.
On any forum all you have to do is mention tethering and he shows up like a super hero And goes on rants about how it is illegal and how you are breaking the law.
I have got several days worth of entertainment from this, Thank you to all who helped.

 

[AQAA]

Actually you have all been trolled.
I rarely tether and when I do it is when my home internet goes down, I never even got an email from VM.
6 pages of awesome nerd rage.
I really want to thank lou61166 he is the one who made all this possible.
On any forum all you have to do is mention tethering and he shows up like a super hero And goes on rants about how it is illegal and how you are breaking the law.
I have got several days worth of entertainment from this, Thank you to all who helped.

LOL!!

Looks like we all had a good BJ discussion.
Anytime you feel like it, come back with more!