The 5%
I got a text message from AT&T recently that I’d hit the top 5% of data users. Now, AT&T’s throttling only affects those who’ve still got an unlimited data plan, but even so I figured I must have been consuming a significant amount of data, well above the 2GB DataPro plan that AT&T offers. Here’s what my account says:
The big jump in July?1 That’s when I signed up for Spotify. I drive a lot, living in LA, so I’m guessing I use Spotify for something like 10-20 hours a month over 3G. I have no idea if that’s a lot compared to other users, but I suspect it’s about average. Even with that, I barely hit the 2GB DataPro limit before getting pinged with a message to cool things down.
Spotify and other services like it that offer mobile streaming are gaining a lot of traction, and are only going to get bigger. I asked AT&T if the 5% cap was a moving target, but all Jackie Vettorino, an AT&T spokesperson, said was that they couldn’t speculate beyond what they’ve already said.2
I have a feeling the 5% is not a moving target and that AT&T has identified it as anyone using over 2GB of data. But if you’re interested in using Spotify, or services like it, the DataPlus plan, at 200MB a month, is not an option, especially with their usurious policy of only giving you another 200MB for another $15 instead of automatically bumping you up to the DataPro plan. And the 2GB that DataPro provides may not be enough either.
