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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Mobile discrimination: Korea and AT&T

The mobile networks continue to aggressively pursue their subscribers who have the affrontery to use their data plans properly and therefore save money that they should be giving to the mobile networks. In the US, AT&T is playing the abusive boyfriend by going back on its promise not to cap data plans for heavy users, though it appears that 'heavy' is in this case 12 times the average or perhaps 4GB a month. That amount of data sounds like tethering your phone to your laptop - so customers are sleeping around on them. What is absolutely clear is that the network ids behaving in a totally non-transparent manner.
In South Korea, it's the Netherlands WhatsApp texting problem - in Korea, Kakao Talk (which sounds deliciousbut presumably does not offer free chocolate) offers free texts so the mobiles are determined to stamp on it. The regulator is expected to report in November 2011.
All this demonstrates that it's mobile net neutrality that is the really big problem - they are determined to stop you using the Internet freely on their 'unlimited' (sic) data plans. Now I would always advise you to leave an abusive boyfriend, but when all the other pimps are abusive too...