Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • Small Business

    ATandT ‘Systematically Overcharging’ iPhone, iPad Users: MSNBC

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    May 24, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The issue of whether AT&T is overcharging the roughly 20 million Americans with iPhones and iPads for their data use has been brought back into the spotlight by an MSNBC investigation.

      According to the MSNBC investigation, lawyer spent $80,000 and several months testing the data used by iPhones and iPads on both the AT&T and Verizon Wireless networks. The attorneys found that AT&T “systematically overstated data usage by 7 to 14 percent – sometimes as much as 300 percent.”

      “Did you find overcharges on every single transaction?” MSNBC’s Lisa Meyers asks a representative of the firm investigating the matter in footage of the report.

      “Yes, every single one,” he answers.

      “Did you ever find an instance where the discrepancy worked to the benefit of the customer?” Meyers responds.

      “Never,” the representative answers. “Always an overcharge, never an undercharge.”

      Meyers goes on to explain that an independent engineer asked to look into the matter bought a new iPhone, disabled everything that might trigger data usage and let it sit idle for 10 days.

      “When the bill came in, there were charges for 35 different transactions,” said Meyers.

      AT&T’s response is that applications may automatically update or refresh in the background, using data the consumer is not aware of. In instances where a bill shows data usage and charges – “phantom charges,” as they’ve been dubbed – during the night, when the owner was in all likelihood asleep, AT&T argues that its network is only then tallying data use from during the day.

      In a response sent to the Boy Genius Report, AT&T replied, in part:

      Accurate billing is clearly important and, unfortunately, there have been some incorrect claims about our data usage billing practices. We properly charge for all data that our customers send and receive, including data activity that runs in the background on smartphones and other powerful data devices. Data usage for emailing, downloading applications, browsing the web, downloading a video or streaming music is all applied to a customers’ data plan. So are real-time updates to applications, such as weather updates, sports scores, or stock tickers. Particularly for smartphones, tablets and other advanced mobile devices, applications are often constantly running in the background and engaged with our network.

      In January, AT&T was the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit that similarly accused it of “systematically overstating the amount of data used on each data transaction involving an iPhone or iPad,” and appears to be the basis for the MSNBC report.

      It was filed by Patrick Hendricks, who stated in his claim, according to a report from the Courthouse News Service, “This is like the rigged gas pump charging you when you never even pulled your car into the station.”

      An AT&T spokesperson, responding to the lawsuit at the time, said AT&T intended to “defend [itself] vigorously.”

      During the first quarter, AT&T added 2 million new wireless subscribers, sold 5.5 million smartphones and reported overall profit of $3.4 billion on revenues of $31.2 billion.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×