T-Mobile caves on 1GB data limit for G1

T-Mobile has apparently rethought its 1GB soft limit on the data usage for its G1 phone, shown here.

(Credit: CNET)

T-Mobile has given its data usage cap proposed for the G1 Android phone a second thought.

The company distributed a statement Wednesday saying that it has removed the 1GB "soft cap" that it planned to impose on the data usage of G1 owners starting next month when the device is released. The carrier had planned to throttle the data connection speed to a paltry 50Kbps for those who exceeded 1GB of data usage in a month, which isn't that far-fetched for the early-adopter crowd.

Here's the full statement:

"Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network. At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service to all of our customers.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers."

That sounds to me like T-Mobile hasn't given up on the idea of a soft cap altogether, but has decided that 1GB is perhaps a little too stingy. Which it is.

[gerrrg]

Excellent. Now I don't have to look over my shoulder.

[Jonathan]

Sold! Thanks T Mobile. Frack the iHype.

[bknowledge]

A 1GB limited on a totally new product like this is absolutely ridicules and would only damage T-Mobile & Google and kill the phone before it even has any real chance. New owners would have blow though that limit in the first two days of trying the phone out. Just sending emails; im's; seeing how well it stream videos from news sites or even Hulu. Plus the added functions of Google maps with street view and compass. That app alone would kill a quarter of the limit.
So after using the phone for 2-3 days all the blogs & forums are filled with people complaining that the phone's 3G is slow & T-mobile's network is a joke, it's over priced & under developed. They're already the last ones to the 3G party and their first phone bombs. Android takes a hit and Sprint says we need to re-think a few things i.e. lock the phone down more. Just image the I'm Windows Mobile & I'm Android ads.
So T-mobile don't shoot yourself in the foot because individual usage is going to drop off for most users after the first month anyway & I do have high hopes for this phone because I dislike Apple so much.

[GraysonBuzz]

I think you are overestimating the amount of data that will be consumed. Yes, some of the early adopters who do nothing but live on the phone will exceed 1GB in a week or two (not two or three days). However, I have an iPhone and I am a pretty heavy user - not the heaviest not the lightest - an I have never even gotten close to 1G in a month. I don't think it will be much of a problem. I do think it is best that T-Mo handle it on a case-by-case basis for customer relations perspective.

I am intrigued by Android and that says something as it is the only phone that has held any real interest for me since I got the greatest phone ever invented, the iPhone. I have no intention of switching, but I do plan to stop by a T-Mo store and check out the phone.

[Galenn20K]

Alright T-Mobile, Great Job in reThinking this Cap.

Now I can "Reasonably" Enjoy my G1 3G Service!!!

Much Appreciated, thank you!

- D

[Bobs415]

Unexplainable delays with Blackberry OS update, overly tight restrictions on G1 , slow to adopt updated service modes: sounds curious to me. I don't mean to over-simplify what may be a complex problem with T-Mobile, but what are its customers - present and future - left to conclude? We are entitled to know how they would respond, what is going on, and what is the plan? T-Mobile did not make themselves #1, its customers did. I cannot believe they'd be so naive not to know how fast that could change.

[Delfairen]

Yay now I just want to see what the new limit will be but I think they've sold me on it now.

[deed211]

If T-mobile decides to add the soft cap to there terms and rules then they should at lest make it 5 GB,Althought it still seems to "stingy" for me. it's like saying unlimited restricted plan. what?

[Magicland]

Now if only I could get the phone for the advertised $179. T-Mobile says I can have one, but it'll cost me $299 AND a 2 year contract extension on a contract that's almost up.

[jindagreatlee]

It is 179 even tho on tmobile's site it is advertised as 299. I spoke with 4 representatives and they said it was a mistake. They are going to have to type something in your account to notify them you are getting the phone for 179 even tho you just purchased it for 299. I already ordered mine. So better get on the ball!

[dstefani1970]

i'm having the same problem when trying to order the phone. the comes up at 299 even though i'm eligible for a new phone. time to visit the t-mobile store

[dirty55409]

glad they caved, hopefully their baby 3g network won't "cave" like they did. Lots of use will be on that 3g frequency around the country. Nothing would be worse than flopping on the start. Get your gameface on t-mobile we're bandwidth hungry. lol I respect Cnet's way of delivering the news, relatively unbiasedly, but man some sites even Gizmodo loves trashing this phone already! Give it a chance what the heck I've never heard so much complaining about open-source. Yes a lot of apps will come out that are crap, well guess what? You can 1.) wait for the apps to get praise or flamed, or 2.) download see that it sucks and then delete it form your OS. Not that difficult people! And the active sync, yes it's an issue but can and will be developed (or is already in development surely) and who cares if Google themselves are not developing server data services? like outlook support? is third party so bad? Why not let more guys in on the playing field than have one giant company ala apple decide what we can and can't have on our phones? jeepers. k I'm done love technology :)

[johnqh]

Next battle - standard earphone port

[punkzanyj]

that's not going to change, HTC, the hardware developer, uses USB mini on all their devices. It doesn't bother me because adapters are cheap and standard headphones don't typically have microphones, so you end up using headphones that are great for a mp3 player, but inadequate for a phone. Plus it makes the design so much more simple and sleek to not have all these ports everywhere.

[cliffroc]

I changed my mind about purchasing G1 and keep my BlackBerry by Sprint with unlimited data access. Also, T-Mobile has a reputation of poor coverage as I had bad experience with Sidekick by T-Mobile in the past. I am still happy with Sprint.

[punkzanyj]

Coverage issues aren't just a providers problem. No cell phone works at my grandparents because their house is old and has building materials and insulation that kills signals.
As for T-Mobile, they had crap coverage back in 2000 when they were named Voicestream, but I haven't had any coverage issues that were their fault since they changed their name.

[gdwo]

The 1 GB cap was a deal killer. Stupid. Now, what will it *really* be? I have an out-of-contract 5-phone ATT plan, and I'm waiting to see if the phone (& the plan options) will live up to the hype. The iPhone dev community is not happy with restrictive app store policies, restrictive NDA etc. This could be a game changer. Don't screw it up.

[bigmc6000]

As some devs pointed out on MR - the devs might not be happy with Apple but they know a sure fire revenue stream when they see one so they are going to continue to play by Apple's rules because, well, it's all about the money. You think devs are happy with MS??? Of course they aren't but guess what - the money is there so they keep on making more stuff...

[punkzanyj]

yeah, and already one of the Apple App that was rejected by Apple, is developing the same program for Android.

The restrictiveness of the Apple Market will simply entice people to develop for Android. Apple is the eHarmony of phone software.

[AppleSuxLeo]

I`m in ! Thanks Tmobile. Gphone will become everything Apple`s app store won`t let the iPhony be. So much for the closed Jobs phone.

[vic.healey]

I am glad T-Mobile is dropping the data usage limit. Now I can tether my wife's seldom used T-Mobile phone and run P2P downloads all day long onto my laptop while I am out.

T-Mobile just turned on 3G here. ;>)

[metomjr]

You're the type of user that causes companies to put caps in place in the first place!

[punkzanyj]

you're the reason why the G1 doesn't have tether support. Rather than spend the extra money on a laptop card, and the appropriate service, you're cheating, and ruining it for the rest of us.

[Galenn20K]

There are Two Other HTC Devices and a Windows Mobile phone coming out for
T-MObile in the Next 6 Months in addition to Two New model Blackberry phones,
aside from the KickStart also soon and All are supposed to Support the 3G
Network so they're JUst getting Started Now, FINAlly!!!

- D
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

[B3beg1rl]

Is there any pictures online of the two other HTC devices and a Window's mobile phone coming out? They are all coming out the same time --in 6 months?

[trey2trey]

no if they can be less stingy with the 1gb memory card that comes with the phone. give me 4gb memory card then i will be satisfied

[dugala]

Anyone know if this smart phone will this phone run JAVA apps from day 1?

[Wetsuit101]

almost $200 to buy and 2 year contract...possible data cap....yup that sounds better than my iPhone. I'll be browsing circles around you G1 buyers.

[make_or_break]

Geez...that insecure that you're already looking over your shoulder and thumping your chest as if you need to for moral support over your iPhone purchase. And how many years does a typical iPhone 3G/ATT contract run? And what's the iPhone typically set you back, even in its cheapest flavor? And what's that once cool but now bloated app that you MUST use for managing that spiffy iPhone of yours?

At the VERY least G1ers don't have to deal with ATT, and that alone makes it worth it. Everything else is gravy.

[punkzanyj]

The iphone costs more, has a memory cap, the data plan costs more, and plus you have to deal with evil ATT. While you're browsing circles, you might want to browse for a savings account, you'll need it to buy your next iphone when the battery you can't replace wears out.

[hotchkikr]

After all 3G has been around and I am sure t-mobile knew that people used more then 1GiB... That was a weird move of them...

[greg-nv]

The 3 biggest issues are (1) the limited 3G coverage compared to its competitors, (2) the prohibition on the phone use for tethering, and (3) no real cost advantage over the Iphone. I am have been a T-Mobile user for 5-6 years and I like the voice service and the cost savings I get compared to other carriers. I thought about switching to ATT for the iphone for the portable net access, but I decided to wait for T-mobile to compete.

Unfortunately, they seem to have come up short, the phone is only $20 cheaper than the iphone, the 3G network is very limited geographically as compared to AT&T (or sprint & verizon for that matter), and the data+text+voice plans seem to have no price advantage over AT&T (note the G-1 requires a qualified voice plan but the site doesn't identify which voice plans are qualified plans so T-mobile monthly costs could be higher unless new cheaper qualifying voice plans are offered).

[punkzanyj]

tethering isn't fair to the people who buy laptop cards and pay a higher data plan. Tethering is cheating, and T-Mo has every right to restrict it on new phones. People who tether are the whole reason there needs to be a cap at all.