News you can use:
note my post above.
called ATT this morning and explained i am out of contract, with ATT for years, considering a new contract phone, but cannot consider ATT with the EDGE throttling issue (which, in case you hadn't thought of this, will last you the entire rest of the month once you cross 2GB and are among the top 5% of bandwidth users). i said it's a dealbreaker, and i just want the information about how and when this happens, and any associated policies.
level 1 csr listened, appreciated my directness and politeness, and xfer'd me.
level 2 csr (for account closures i believe) listened and explained how it happens. which is exactly as victims in this thread described. then she offered a solution, because i said the real concern was losing ALL high speed, even on 3G.
her solution for me, already implemented:
1) $10 off my unlimited texting (normally $20). ok, that's good since my bill is already below $90, so now i'm below $80 (450 plan on iP 3GS).
2) when signing a new contract discontinue 'unlimited' data (for $30/mo) and buy tiered data which is 2GB/mo for $25 + $10 per GB over 2GB.
so, once i get the contract i will save a total of $15/mo on my plan if i stay under 2GB/mo usage (which i will...
don't really use much data, but of course that could change with a 4G phone). but, the fact remains that i may not sign again with ATT. until the Sony shows up, there's nothing in their contract phone lineup that has my attention.
this solution may be available to you if you spend 15-20 mins on the phone with them. go to their wireless site and get number for account cancellation... it will start you off on the right foot.
cliffs:
i'm off contact and i just got $10/mo off merely my mentioning the throttling problem. drop 'unlimited' data for tiered, and save $5/mo up to 2GB, no throttling after.