Sick of ATT service? Operation Chokehold on Friday :)

[GodlessAstronomer]

Another GA, my life sucks donkey dick so I'll be an ass, thread. If you lived here, you'd be stuck with the same choices as us. Sure, not signing a contract would be an option, but then you'd never have a phone you fucking moron. You can't "stick it" to the phone company as an individual.

LOL, the choices here are much, much, MUCH fucking worse. The difference is that I don't believe I absolutely must own a smart phone. I would love a smart phone, but I refuse to pay for the shitty service in this country, so I don't own one. How is this difficult to understand?

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Godless Astronomer, tell me what telecos operate in New Zeland?

What smartphone do you have?

What's your contract/service plan like?

Show us all what carrier in the US to use that doesn't rape it's customers on prices or contracts.

Two main telcos, Telecom and Vodafone. One is GSM, one is CDMA (although that may have changed now, I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse here). Plans are absurdly expensive for a tiny amount of data. I don't own a smart phone because I don't support companies that try to rape me. I don't have a contract because I'm not stupid. I use a cheap prepaid cell phone. I'd love to have something better, but not if it means taking the shaft from Vodafone or Telecom.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

If the rates are similar if not more in NZ compared to the US, and he bashes AT&T specifically, doesn't that seem unjust?

Holy shit, this is ridiculous. I'm not bashing AT&T you dolt! I'm saying that if you don't like a product or service, stop buying it! Wow.

 

[iversonyin]

For those who are complaining about AT&T network, did you guys not have 30 days to return your phone and have everything deducted back to your account and switch a better carrier (Verizon in the case of NYC, I use Sprint and I'm fine with it)?

It just stupid to committ to 2 years of horrible service without thoroughly testing what you get into.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

He wasn't the one that started with the NZ vs US shit in this thread. He's not even really the one bashing AT&T, its the other people, and he's bashing them for continuing to use their service. Considering the whole thread is about AT&T's service, who else would there be to bash? So what if AT&T is a US company, the thread is specifically about them. I have no clue where you're pulling this anti-US stuff from in this thread.

Thank you! Exactly.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

He also makes the comment that "anyone who signs a 2 year contract to use a phone is a Category 5 Moron..." when most NZ'ers are also subject to the same treatment by their respective telecoms, similar to those in the US. Is that not hypocritical?

It's not hypocritical because my comments were not directed at Americans. In fact in this very thread I shared an anecdote about how my very parents are falling into the same stupid trap of paying for shitty service. YOU are the one is finding anti-US rhetoric where it doesn't exist. You're reading into my posts what you want to see, despite my intentions.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I can't get ATT in my home. I have to walk up the street every time I want to make a call. Sucks. I guess Southern Oregon is not even an ATT network. You are always going through someone elses. But when I drive around I often get crappy service too (does it right now in California). I'm in California now and my calls get dropped often in my dads house or get all garbled up. It's best just to walk outside.

Still a billion times better than sprint was. My God sprint was horrid horrid horrid.

I have Verizon wireless 3g though for my internet. That's what I use in the home or wen I travel on my laptop. And dear lord that is some seriously spotty service. I swear they must be throttling the hell out of it. It's very frustrating to use. Sure sometimes it's smooth but constantly it's dropping out and locking up stiff. Frustrates the hell out of me.

Can't get a break with any of these services I swear.

A lot of indoors vs outdoors problems may be due to the 850mhz frequency. 850 has great penetration indoors whereas 1900 lacks that. My Tmobile friend and I were sitting side by side and he got 1-2 bars whereas I got full bars. I've seen this before when T-Mobile and Cingular shared towers back in the days. AT&T had some extra 850 towers put up, and so when I was outdoors, t-Mobile and AT&T got a full blast 5 bars. Once indoors, the T-mobile service struggled. Yes and I tested on the same phone. The 850mhz frequency makes a huge difference.

This might be a huge issue with 3G too. 850mhz 3G is still being rolled out.

 

[TallBill]

LOL, the choices here are much, much, MUCH fucking worse. The difference is that I don't believe I absolutely must own a smart phone. I would love a smart phone, but I refuse to pay for the shitty service in this country, so I don't own one. How is this difficult to understand?

So you've never bought a product and didn't have 100% satisfaction? Weird.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

So you've never bought a product and didn't have 100% satisfaction? Weird.

Of course I have. I just don't continue to buy the product for years afterwards. Let's not forget that the iPhone has been out for several years now. Anyone who buys on now either is renewing a 2 year contract after 2 years of shitty service or is willfully ignoring the many, many reports of shitty service from other users. Virtually no one is jumping onto the AT&T network without realizing how bad it is.

 

[Svnla]

Its your choice to only use a smartphone. A cell phone is a luxury. A smart phone even more so. If it is a need then the benefits should at minimum be equal to the cost and you wouldn't be bitching about price, or would have switched to a more reliable service.

So many wrongs in your post, let me point them out.

Yes, it is MY choice to use cell/smartphone as the only mean of communication. It IS a necessity and NOT a luxury in the 21st century. Tell me how do you get a mobile mean of communicate 24 hours a day/7 days a week for $30/month? A pager? So I can run around and look for a payphone while my clients are in need? You have a better chance of locate a unicorn than a payphone in these days. Ever heard of time is money in business world?

Where did I bitch about the price of mobile fee in this thread? Please point it out. Yup, you can't.

$30/month from SERO is a darn good deal. I already checked with ATT and Verizon and none of them even come close with the price/features.

I am with Sprint for the last 2 years due to SERO. I don't have any complains. Mobile/Cell/Smartphone is just a tool for me and my business. Not so I can be "cool, the in crowd".

 

[Svnla]

30/month for me too. total cost 34.00 / month for a smartphone and unlimited data / text. wonder why no one cares to join sprint.

btw I work at a a place where 95 percent of cellphones are iphones and I noticed that calls drop so much.

Same here, $30/month plus taxes/junk fees ~$34 is not bad at all for all the features in the program.

I will stay on the SERO wagon until the wheels are falling off.

 

[Train]

GA, your also missing the point that AT&T bundles phone service with DSL, land line, and even digital TV service for a lot of people. "Just switch networks" isn't easy.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally Posted by Rubycon View Post
iphones are for faggits! EVeryone knows this!
That definitely doesn't sound like Rubycon.

Sounds more like theflyingpig...

 

[EMPshockwave82]

The majority of people in this thread are still avoiding the fact that this will be considered a DDOS type of attack. You know the FBI could consider everyone who acts on this to be a hacker. Also, AT&T could refuse to offer you service and take your early termination fee as their prize.


Terms of use from wireless.att.com:

While most common uses for Intranet browsing, email and intranet access are permitted by your data plan, there are certain uses that cause extreme network capacity issues and interference with the network and are therefore prohibited. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the following:
(snip)
(v) any activity that adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use either AT&T's wireless services or other parties' Internet-based resources, including "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user;
(snip)
Accordingly, AT&T reserves the right to (i) deny, disconnect, modify and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited or whose usage adversely impacts its wireless network or service levels or hinders access to its wireless network, including without limitation, after a significant period of inactivity or after sessions of excessive usage and (ii) otherwise protect its wireless network from harm, compromised capacity or degradation in performance, which may impact legitimate data flows.

 

[alevasseur14]

The majority of people in this thread are still avoiding the fact that this will be considered a DDOS type of attack. You know the FBI could consider everyone who acts on this to be a hacker. Also, AT&T could refuse to offer you service and take your early termination fee as their prize.


Terms of use from wireless.att.com:

Sure, it could be considered a DDOS but I have a hard time believing that AT&T will be able to figure out who is legitimately using a service like Pandora for an hour and who is part of Operation Chokehold. I know I've hooked my iPhone up to my home stereo hundreds of times and just let it shuffle through my Pandora stations while studying in the living room.

 

[krylon]

Sure, it could be considered a DDOS but I have a hard time believing that AT&T will be able to figure out who is legitimately using a service like Pandora for an hour and who is part of Operation Chokehold. I know I've hooked my iPhone up to my home stereo hundreds of times and just let it shuffle through my Pandora stations while studying in the living room.

How about the people who start a data app at noon pacific, run it for one hour and then stop?
That doesn't seem too difficult to figure out, and nobody including AT&T cares what you do with your stereo when you study.

 

[gorcorps]

What the fuck is the point? The worst that would happen is ATT gets slow for an hour. This hurts all of the folk on ATT and does nothing against ATT themselves. What a stupid fucking idea.

 

[alevasseur14]

How about the people who start a data app at noon pacific, run it for one hour and then stop?
That doesn't seem too difficult to figure out, and nobody including AT&T cares what you do with your stereo when you study.

I was pointing out an example of legitimate usage, you ass. I suppose nobody in the history of cellular data has ever gone on lunch break at 12 noon for pretty much exactly an hour, eh? You're right. Completely unpossible! Geeze.

Nobody, including myself, cares how clear cut this is to you. Lighten up.

 

[darkswordsman17]

So many wrongs in your post, let me point them out.

Yes, it is MY choice to use cell/smartphone as the only mean of communication. It IS a necessity and NOT a luxury in the 21st century. Tell me how do you get a mobile mean of communicate 24 hours a day/7 days a week for $30/month? A pager? So I can run around and look for a payphone while my clients are in need? You have a better chance of locate a unicorn than a payphone in these days. Ever heard of time is money in business world?

Where did I bitch about the price of mobile fee in this thread? Please point it out. Yup, you can't.

$30/month from SERO is a darn good deal. I already checked with ATT and Verizon and none of them even come close with the price/features.

I am with Sprint for the last 2 years due to SERO. I don't have any complains. Mobile/Cell/Smartphone is just a tool for me and my business. Not so I can be "cool, the in crowd".

So many misunderstandings on your part, let me point them out to you.

You need to understand the difference in how you can be used, as in not specifically you. Second, understand what I posted. Clearly you would fall under what I said, in that if it is a need, then your benefit far outweighs the cost of the service, and that if it was poor service you would have found better service elsewhere. I was speaking about the people bitching about their service but saying they couldn't quit because it cost too much or that it cost too much in the first place.

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://www.cultofmac.com/att-responds-to-fake-steves-operation-chokehold/23509

Let's talk a bit about what ATT has been up to lately:

1.) Attempted to sue Verizon's ads off TV & the net

2.) Ranked as the WORST carrier by Consumer Reports

3.) Put out those misleading ads to confuse your grandma about EDGE VS 3G service

4.) Claimed the iPhone was responsible because of bad engineering (funny how no where else in the world do iPhones cause dropped calls and how other phones have problems with dropped calls)

Yeah, ATT's a real class act...

 

[Svnla]

So many misunderstandings on your part, let me point them out to you.

You need to understand the difference in how you can be used, as in not specifically you. Second, understand what I posted. Clearly you would fall under what I said, in that if it is a need, then your benefit far outweighs the cost of the service, and that if it was poor service you would have found better service elsewhere. I was speaking about the people bitching about their service but saying they couldn't quit because it cost too much or that it cost too much in the first place.

No, no, no, there is no misunderstanding on my part.

1. First of all, you quoted MY post in this thread, it meant you addressed your post to me, so I replied in kind.

2. Second, so now it is suddenly about me?? And you know about my phone and its benefits better than me? Amazing!!!

3. Third, if you talked about others that bitching about their service, then why didn't you quote them? :\ I still don't get the reason because I did not say anything about ATT service because I didn't use them for the last 2 years.

Learn how to post, dude. I know you are going to use some lame come back lines/excuses so spare me and go quote some lamers like yourself. :thumbsdown:Comprende?

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

http://www.cultofmac.com/att-responds-to-fake-steves-operation-chokehold/23509

Let's talk a bit about what ATT has been up to lately:

1.) Attempted to sue Verizon's ads off TV & the net

2.) Ranked as the WORST carrier by Consumer Reports

3.) Put out those misleading ads to confuse your grandma about EDGE VS 3G service

4.) Claimed the iPhone was responsible because of bad engineering (funny how no where else in the world do iPhones cause dropped calls and how other phones have problems with dropped calls)

Yeah, ATT's a real class act...

And yet people still use them. The allure of the Jesus Phone is just too much I suppose.

 

[bobdole369]

How would anybody know if AT&T was DOS'd?

 

[dbk]

fuck you i have ATT!!

p.s. I have no complaints

 

[gorcorps]

http://www.cultofmac.com/att-responds-to-fake-steves-operation-chokehold/23509

Let's talk a bit about what ATT has been up to lately:

1.) Attempted to sue Verizon's ads off TV & the net

2.) Ranked as the WORST carrier by Consumer Reports

3.) Put out those misleading ads to confuse your grandma about EDGE VS 3G service

4.) Claimed the iPhone was responsible because of bad engineering (funny how no where else in the world do iPhones cause dropped calls and how other phones have problems with dropped calls)

Yeah, ATT's a real class act...

Just to play devil's advocate on #3, the ATT ads NEVER even alluded to talking about 3G coverage. It was verizon's ads that mention it specifically. Both ads are right, but for different info... and grandma sure as shit doesn't need any 3G.

That said, I've been on ATT for years and it's been getting worse throughout the years. It used to be great but all of the other networks upgraded and advanced while ATT did nothing but secure the best phones.