[G2 and Desire Z General] gr33k:
Confirmed 5GB cap present, and this IS for "grandfathered" service

Quote:

"There has not always been a 5gb cap, it has been 10gb and this has been discussed like a year ago, these new changes will only effect you if you change your plan otherwise it is a breach of contract so use your full 10gb and move on"

Let me confirm by stating the 5GB is in effect :mad: and they claim there never was a 10GB cap..

/* Begin Rant...

After calling T-Mobile several times and *****ing at them until I even got a chance to speak to a real manger that claims the 5GB has always been there (still might be lieing to me...) and there isn't anything to grandfather...I'm genuinely pissed off at T-Mobile for the FIRST time in SIX FREAKING YEARS!

I've had the highest available data package since I got a T-Mobile Dash (still the best phone I've ever had after some custom roms..), then got a G1 and now the G2. I've always had the $34.99 unlimited data plan and THIS B.S. DOES affect me.

What happens? Get a Netflix account (they giving free 1 month so I figuted I'd check it out), and tether your PS3 to it ;p I did about 15GB last month....12GB in just a few days of watching some movies. I live in LA and get MAX (according to the speed in the wifi tether the original and latest APK) almost 5mbps.

The day after I passed the 5GB to 7GB - went to bed, woke up, started some more Netflix in the morning (yeah it's addictive) and BAM get a text message stating:

"Due to your bandwidth usage, your connection speed will be slower for the remained of your billing cycle"

I deleted the text so that's not word for word but that's pretty much sums it up almost exactly. I noticed nothing higher than 3mbps (still HSPA+/3g not JUST EDGE which is what I heard/feared). Then it seemed like the throttling kicked in the 2nd day (I was about 7 days to the end of my billing cycle)...lots of sub 1mbps streaming 200-500kbps then spiked to 1.8mbps and back down...like a roller coaster.

New billing cycle started - I called them to make sure they aren't capping me still (yeah I'm persistent and upset - feeling betrayed/ripped-off after almost 7 years) - speeds back up.

Typical bandwidth tests using Speedtest/BenchBee/etc were 1.5mbps during "throttling period" vs. up to 3.5mbps - speed tests vary of course depending on the location of the server, size of file, and of course signal strength and the area you are in....but ya'll get the point?

I heard (though not 100% sure) that Verizon has unlimited data (without a supposed cap) for either $30 or $40 bux? If there is a data cap I'm sure it's higher than 5GB.

Why tether yada yada to all you whiners - To make it absolutely clear - the G2 (and newer android/smart phones) coming out can now finally make almost FULL use of the web content and internet in general! - Why would you release a phone that presents you with all kinds of awesome streaming media, other high bandwidth use (SIP calls & other video calling - VPN's and file transfers of large size, ETC) and charge $34.99 for "unlimited" internet and put a 5GB CAP gimping it.

"Oh you still get internet, it's just slower" - Yes...compared to these "4G" speeds they are considerably "slower" and limit how efficiently, or at all, some of my abilities to utilize all the available applications of my $500 phone, and $34.99/mo internet plan. HSPA+ can do up to 18-20mbps (theoretically), and we get nowhere near these speeds yet. Future network upgrades will increase the overall bandwidth and speed, but still - WHY limit it now when it's already slower than it should be (Ask a friend with a Sprint android phone w 4G like the Samsung Epic or HTC Evo and you'll SEE what 4G (WiMax) is more like at 10mbps+).

Anyways - so since they claim there is NOT a 10GB cap previously - they are not breaching their contract...at least so said this 'manager'. Granted, yes they can be wrong - but I've spoke with multiple reps - some smart, some clueless, and nobody has ONCE confirmed the 10GB cap, but many have confirmed the 5GB and throttle will be like "EDGE Speeds".

*/ End of Rant

For the people who will point at me and say I'm crazy for thinking a carrier would provide such a service - I heard Netflix is working on an app for the Android - and yes while streaming media to a smartphone's resolution is not as much data as a a PS3, it is still going to use up a considerable amount of bandwidth when you're CAP sits at a measly 5GB - any streaming app, if used a lot, can max out that kinda bandwidth fairly quickly (assuming 100MB-400MB per netflix movie/show). It all depends how much you use it I suppose. If you're an IT professional, techie geek, gamer, movie watcher, and sometimes just a plain addict...like me - maybe I'm not the average user - but I am NOT,sir, downloading torrents and using up 100's of GB a month...a 50GB CAP (Hell even the mythical 10GB cap) would be more reasonable than this joke! ALSO they DO NOT provide a plan so you can pay more or something for more bandwidth...LAME :mad: