What's the Problem, AT&T?

Fri, 09 Oct 09 00:11:44 -0700

A recent Gizmodo entry reports suggestions from the AT&T Wireless CEO to put data caps on smartphone data usage:

PCWorld caught Ralph de la Vega making a few, um, intimations at CTIA yesterday. First, a setup, in which he describes an actual problem:

He cited AT&T research showing that just 3 percent of AT&T's smartphone customers use 40 percent of all smartphone data

So, iPhone users! They use data! Then he adds some connective tissue, to draw a possible—and disagreeable—solution to the problem into view:

Without the proper management of these networks, De la Vega said, regular data users will be "crowded out" by the small number of users who use massive amounts of data.

My apologies if I fail to see the problem here.

It's not like they transfer the same amount of data as iPhones. If 97% of smartphones only need 60% of all smartphone data, then there is no reason they will be "crowded out".
Vega also makes the claim that 3% of smartphone customers use 40% of the smartphone data, not the capacity. If these customers use 40% of the data, but the data used is only 60% of the total capacity, the non-iPhone smartphones have plenty of capacity to use up.

Furthermore, his plan lacks solvency. There is no way that he can even out the bandwidth usage. Putting bandwidth caps won't stop iPhone users from transferring significantly more data than non-iPhone smartphone users (see point number 1 above). So at this point, not only is he not going to solve the "problem" at hand, he is creating another one: the inevitable backlash that will occur should this plan be put into motion.

Flow of Logic

What's the Problem, AT&T?