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AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

Summary: AT&T has stated on Facebook that the two 4G-capable handsets it sells, the Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G, will get software updates in April finally enabling speeds that are expected on HSUPA phones.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

AT&T Atrix 4G owners have been claiming that upload speeds have been throttled to a measly 300 kbps since the phone has been shipping. AT&T initially claimed it was looking into the problem, then later backpedaled and stated that it was testing the 4G network to make sure it was working properly when it was turned on. Funny the ads didn't mention it wasn't enabled yet. Representatives from the carrier have now stated that the two 4G-capable handsets it sells, the Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G, will get software updates in April enabling the faster speeds that are expected on HSUPA phones.

The company hasn't issued an official statement yet, but the above admission appeared today on its Facebook page. The statement that the upcoming Samsung Infuse 4G will ship with HSUPA enabled implies that it is intentionally not enabled in the two phones being sold by AT&T, as owners have been stating.

While it's good that owners of the affected phones will finally get the feature they are paying for, AT&T should be required to explain its actions to both the public and regulatory agencies. It's not right to sell a service as active that is in fact not turned on yet, and then deny it's not enabled in the only phones that support it. That doesn't pass the smell test in my book.

Topics: Hardware, Mobility, Telcos, AT&T

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13 comments
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  • just one more reason

    To not let AT&T get any bigger.....
    tgschmidt
    Reply Vote

    • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

      @tgschmidt

      I totally agree!!
      Masari.Jones
      Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    You see ATT is pure EVIL, please fight against becoming a monopoly.

    Imagine what they will do to you when they become the number one carries!!!!!!
    adrian879s
    Reply Vote

    • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

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      stefrayb
      Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    Interestingly, if you read the fine print in the AT&T 4G television ads, they mention that the 4G speeds will be available "in the future." Of course, they also admit that they are not using LTE, which makes me laugh, since they had previously said LTE is their plan for 4G.

    I have to say that Verizon appears to be the only company really progressing a real 4G solution, although the T-Mobile HSPA+ could be considered at least 3.75G. WiMax, while faster than 3G, is still getting smoked by Verizon LTE and is probably not upgradable to even the speeds T-Mobile is rolling out (42 Mbps).

    For the record, I have neither AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile equipment. I do have a WiMax access point in my house for my broadband connection.
    jglopic
    Reply Vote

    • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

      @jglopic real people do not really care about text book definitions of 4G vs 3G, they care about the performance.
      balsover
      Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    Do any of the flavors of '4G' in the US tackle the latency issues of mobile broadband? Throughput is nice, but for many mobile-optimized services, it's not the bandwidth that's the issue, but the high latency, making real-time gaming, voice and video chat a sub-par experience.
    Gritztastic
    Reply Vote

    • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

      @Gritztastic

      On my HTC Thunderbolt on VZW's 4G LTE network I get ping times of 50-100ms, which is not bad for a mobile platform. My older HTC Incredible would get pings of about 120-200ms.
      vmod32
      Reply Vote

      • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

        @vmod32 LTE is supposed to offer lower latency.
        paul613
        Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    Shouldn't they be getting at least a prorated refund for the slower service they were promised but didn't get?
    phatkat
    Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    Seems a decption lawsuit would be in the forming grounds of a class action sized suit.
    Fletchguy
    Reply Vote

    • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

      @Fletchguy
      You wouldn't want to hurt poor little ATT, would you? I say we should abolish taxes on all corporations, and anyone making over $500,000 per year.... after all, they are the engines of growth, not us poor slobs who work.
      bigsteve666
      Reply Vote

  • RE: AT&T admits its 4G phones are throttled, will fix in April

    more false advertising from AT&T. Sure, let 'em make their network even bigger, let 'em have something even closer to a monopoly.
    mggardner
    Reply Vote
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