I've been on a (now grandfathered) 'unlimited' data plan with AT&T since 2008 (iPhone 3G > 4S > 5S). Can confirm the throttling, lately after 3GB of data usage in a billing period
A friend of mine was staying with AT&T because they had the grandfathered in 'unlimited' plan but when they figured out it really was a 2GB plan and a throttle that let them change carriers without feeling like they were "losing" something.
This is exactly where I'm at now. Been evaluating leaving our unlimited data plan because it seems it's effectively a 3gig plan that doesn't allow tethering. For the same cost I think I can get 6G shared with my wife and tether if I need to.
I had unlimited up until my 5S when we went to a family data plan because it made financial sense. I can't help but feel they were throttling my internet PRIOR to the 3GB mark as well but this may be due to more phones coming online that lowered speeds across the board. I am VERY pissed with AT&T right now as my house (which used to get 3-4 bars no problem) now only gets 1 bar and regularly cuts in and out. Also mobile data is crapshoot even if I am in an area that you would expect good speeds from. I've gone full circle from all local -> all cloud -> all local because I can't trust my connection to work. Finding out that AT&T was injecting a tracking ID into my web requests is just the icing on the cake today..... I hate AT&T.
Ditto (since 2007). I used to be able to stream Spotify at maximum quality. I got a 2g utilization/throttle notice. Now it skips and staggers and I've had to downshift in order to have uninterrupted playback.
Me too. About 5gb but same experience. It slows so much that I switch to 4G just to get things done.