Green (Low Carbon) Data Center Blog

Does AT&T's unlimited data violate FCC/FTC's Truth in Advertising Act? Yes? No?

Dave Ohara — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 04:30:12 +0000

CNET has news about a person who won $850 in small claims court vs. ATT Wireless's unlimited data plan throttling his data use after 1.5-2GB.

Throttled iPhone user takes AT&T to court, wins $850

by Josh Lowensohn February 24, 2012 4:07 PM PST

A customer who filed a complaint against AT&T after having his wireless data speeds throttled has come out the victor.

One of the points made is ATT is looking to appeal

The victory could be short-lived for Spaccarelli, the AP said. AT&T spokesman Marty Richter told the outlet the company was "evaluating" the possibility of an appeal.

Some have said ATT has a case because no where in the contract does it say it cannot throttle the unlimited data plan.

But, maybe the FCC and FTC can come to the rescue of consumers. How? Remember those overhyped long distance plans, that had restrictions in contracts that were not mentioned in the ads? The FTC and FCC did something about that and created the "Truth in Advertising in Telecommunications and Electricity" dated Mar 2000.

Here are some parts that should get you and ATT thinking. Maybe the rest of the mobile carriers and even Comcast's Internet throttling over 250 GB should consider this as well.

The FTC's of truth-in-advertising law that has been developed through Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair or deceptive acts or practices," provides helpful guidance to long distance carriers.

...

A. General Concepts of Advertising Law

Today, I will describe how the concepts of advertising law apply to the advertising of telecommunications services and electricity. In general, Commission law requires that advertising be truthful, fair, and substantiated.

Each of these concepts is detailed in formal policy statements adopted by the Commission or addressed by statute. A deceptive act is one that contains a misrepresentation or omission that is likely to mislead and be detrimental to consumers who are acting reasonably under the circumstances.(2) An unfair act or practice is one which causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury, not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves, and not outweighed by countervailing benefits.(3) Although the Commission challenges conduct that is unfair, the majority of our actions in the advertising area target deceptive ads.

ATT claimed unlimited data plan.

In all advertising cases, the Commission must determine exactly what claims are made, and whether there is substantiation to support those claims. We look at both express and implied claims. Express claims are claims that unequivocally state the representations. For example, an ad which says: "long distance services to 100 countries" makes an express claim. Implied claims are anything else and range on a continuum from language that is virtually express to language that literally says one thing but strongly suggests something else. For example, an ad which says: " 7 cents a minute" may make an implied claim that there is no minimum charge for each call. In determining the claims that an ad conveys, the Commission examines "the entire mosaic, rather than each tile separately."(5)

Advertisers must make truthful claims and substantiate all objective claims. These rules of the road, of course, apply both to advertisers using traditional media and those who market their products and services on the Internet, telephone, e-mail or through any other media.

Was throttling omitted from ads and should have been disclosed in advertisement?

B. Deception by Omission

Ads can be deceptive because of what they do not say. Let me give you a few examples. If an ad omits material information, an ad can be deceptive even if everything else in the ad is truthful. This is called deception by omission. An ad will be deceptive if it fails to disclose qualifying information that, in light of the representations made, would be necessary to prevent consumers from being misled. We determine whether material information has been omitted by examining a typical buyer's expectation and understanding of the advertiser's claims.

In the Dial Around context, if an ad represents that all calls are 10 cents a minute, but fails to disclose that all calls are subject to a 50 cent minimum charge, the ad would likely be deceptive. A reasonable consumer would likely conclude that a one minute call would be 10 cents, not 50 cents. The same would be true if an ad made specific per minute price claims but failed to disclose that there was a mandatory monthly fee.

C. Material Limitations on Service should be disclosed

Advertisers for Dial-Around and other long distance services must take special care to make certain that material limitations on services are disclosed in the ads. Given the importance of price information, any significant conditions or limitations on the availability of the advertised rates should also be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. I will talk more in a moment about what makes a disclosure clear and conspicuous. But, clear and conspicuous disclosures are important in advertising law generally, and they have special meaning in the Dial-Around context because ads are the primary source of price information for consumers.

Let me give you some examples of situations where disclosures should be used to avoid deception. If an ad features the phrase "10 cents a minute" and that rate is available only during certain times of the day, the failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the restriction would be deceptive. Likewise, if there are significant geographic restrictions, that fact should also be disclosed. Additionally, terms such as "Basic Rate" should be used only if the meaning of that term is clear to consumers.

An ad cannot refer to a toll-free number or a website to make disclosures that should be made in an ad. While advertisers are encouraged to use customer service numbers and websites to offer consumers more information, these sources cannot cure misleading claims in the ad itself.

When you signed up for ATT's unlimited data plan did you feel like you knew 1.5 - 2GB was the cut off?

In simple terms, disclosures should be presented so that consumers actually see them and understand them. That means disclosures should be clear, prominent, and in close proximity to the claim being modified. There should be no distracting visual or audio elements surrounding the disclosures. Also, legalistic disclosures or those buried in fine print will not be effective. The FTC has a lot of experience with disclosures in a variety of contexts. We enforce certain statutes and regulations that are very specific as to how and when disclosures should be made.

You would think that some of the same people who worked on this FCC/FTC truth in advertising act are still around and they are watching ATT. Remember those old Bell System commercials?

This Sprint ad from 2002 has disclosures.

Thinking about Mobile and Cloud, my phones - AT&T iPhone 4S, AT&T Galaxy Note, Verizon Galaxy Nexus

Dave Ohara — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:49:56 +0000

I spent much of my career working at HP on computers, Apple on computers and OS, and Windows on OS with Windows XP the last OS. Now I spend more time thinking about data centers, cloud, and mobile.

How much am I working on Mobile? I have three phones - AT&T iPhone 4S, Verizon Galaxy Nexus, AT&T Galaxy Note

As much as the PC is powerful, it is interesting what you develop when you make a mobile device your primary device with cloud infrastructure.

The above smartphones have dual core ARM processors, 32 GB of storage, 5-8 megapixel back, and 2-3megapixel front cameras. Each of the above have some advantages over the other. This is not about arguing what is best for an individual, but what works best for a usage scenario.

It is amazing how the kids want to play on these devices, and never ask to use my laptop.

Group-think most likely big contributor of Stevens Pass avalanche disaster

Dave Ohara — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:33:11 +0000

This year my family switched to Crystal Mountain Ski resort, but for the last 4 years we skied at Stevens Pass where the Avalanche disaster took three people's lives.

Avalanche killed experienced backcountry skiers

Three skiers killed in a Washington state avalanche on Sunday were highly experienced at backcountry skiing, according to media reports, and one was the head judge of the Freeskiing World Tour, a competitive circuit for extreme skiers in the United States, Canada and South America.

The three, ski tour judge Jim Jack, Chris Rudolph and John Brenan, were among a group of a dozen or so skiers who were attempting to ski down a slope near the Stevens Pass ski area in the Cascade Mountains, about an 80-mile drive from Seattle. Among the group were staffers of both ESPN and Powder magazine, who identified the victims and gave accounts of the incident.

We checked with some of our Stevens Pass friends it was a somber day on the mountain as many knew someone in the group.

One of the points made in the CNN article

Doug Schnitzspahn, editor-in-chief of Elevation Outdoors magazine, told CNN that a kind of group-think takes over in these situations, with skiers wanting to be there with their peers.

"You think, 'All these people are either professional skiers or they knew what they're doing, they are out here,'" he said. "You're trained to make certain decisions, but it's not always humanly possible. If I had been there, I would have skied that line with those guys. That's what shakes me up."

Think about this, the editor-in-chief of Elevation Outdoors would be with these people skiing. Is this a decision or a group-think mindset?

Identifying group-think-

Group members stereotype non-members and label them as enemies or outsiders not worth negotiating with or worrying about

People hesitate to air any discomfort, doubts or uncertainties they feel about the group decisions or policies, so that consensus seems unanimous

Reluctant to shatter complacency group members do not bring information or evidence that does not conform to the groups expectations and stereotypes to the groups attention

The group discusses only a few alternatives and reaches a decision quickly concentrating only on good points

The group feels invulnerable leading to excessive optimism and risk taking

The group ignores or rationalises warnings or signs that it is operating under false assumptions, making poor decisions or developing poor strategy

There is strong pressure on group members to conform to group norms

Many disasters are caused by group-think. Consider this when you build your data center teams. How many data center disasters have group-think as a major cause?

My wife and I never ski back-country, because it is not worth the risk. I don't think we have super human strength, and no technology is going to save you if something really bad happens. Skiing fresh powder in low traffic areas may be a thrill, but other than your ego being satisfied, does it do any really good?

When we ski with our kids we are always telling them they need to ski with a buddy and be safe. and, they are skiing faster than mom and dad now.

Accepting the Middle Age Mind, 40 - 65 is not that bad

Dave Ohara — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:53:55 +0000

I've had a bit of a break skiing with the kids, staying at a cabin, and had plenty of time to read with no internet access. One of the next books I am reading next is about the middle-age mind.

The NYTimes has a review. Here are a few excerpts.

Good news.

Q.
Doesn’t that make sense, since our young adult lives are often marked by bad decisions?

A.

I think most of us think that while we make bad decisions in our 20s, we also have the idea that we were the sharpest we ever were when we were in college or graduate school. People think if I tried to go to engineering school or medical school now, I couldn’t do it. Because of these memory problems that happen in middle age, we tend to think of our brains as, on the whole, worse than in our 20s. But on the whole, they’re better.

Q.

So what’s happening in middle age that leads to these improvements?

A.

What we have by middle age is all sorts of connections and pathways that have been built up in our brain that help us. They know from studies that humans and animals do better if they have a little information about a situation before they encounter it. By middle age we’ve seen a lot. We’ve been there, done that. Our brains are primed to navigate the world better because they’ve been navigating the world better for longer.

There also are some other physical changes that they can see. We used to think we lost 30 percent of our brain cells as we age. But that’s not true. We keep them. That’s probably the most encouraging finding about the physical nature of our brain cells.

And guess what a lot of those ideas about middle age brains are myths.

Q.
What was the most surprising thing you learned about the middle-aged brain?

A.

The hope I saw from real scientists was surprising. A lot of the myths we think of in terms of middle age, myths that I grew up with, turn out to be based on almost nothing. Things like the midlife crisis or the empty nest syndrome. We’re brought up to think we’ll enter middle age and it will be kind of gloomy. But as scientists look at real people, they find out the contrary. One study of men found that well-being peaked at age 65. Over and over they find that middle age, instead of being a time of depression and decline, is actually a time of being more optimistic overall.

Maybe the media trying to sell the products to make you young were ones who convinced us middle age was bad.

I don't know about you, but I enjoy being 51 better than being 21, or 31. 41 wasn't too bad. Oh yeh, that's when I started middle age.

Apple's Next Green Data Center lands in Prineville, Oregon

Dave Ohara — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:32:04 +0000

Facebook made its decision to go to Prineville, OR for a variety of reasons, but made the mistake of choosing electricity from a coal plant as the power source. And, became a target for Greenpeace. One of the last thing a data center operator wants to be is a target for a bunch of Greenpeace activist.

Apple has confirmed it has chosen Prineville, OR as the location its next data center. Oregon's KTVZ has the news.

Apple Confirms Prineville Data Center Plans

One Day Later, Ore. House Approves Tax Break Fix

By Ted Taylor and Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM
POSTED: 4:10 pm PST February 21, 2012

A A AText Size
Print Email
UPDATED: 2:26 pm PST February 22, 2012

Apple

Apple, the computer and tech giant, is building a large, energy-efficient data center at Maiden, N.C. -- and has now confirmed plans to build a facility in Prineville

PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- Tech giant Apple Inc. confirmed Tuesday to NewsChannel 21 that it plans to build a data center at a 160-acre parcel in Prineville it just bought from Crook County for $5.6 million, a stone’s throw from the huge facility built by Facebook.

A statutory warranty deed for the property off Baldwin Court was filed last week with the Crook County clerk’s office, a public document finally breaking the official silence over a long-term courtship with a company formerly known only as “Project Maverick.”

After a leak in December, the officials must have been reminded of their NDA, and how opening their mouths can jeopardize the deal.

No one in Prineville or elsewhere had been able to speak on the record about the deal previously, due to non-disclosure agreements the company has had officials sign. But the Feb. 15 filing is the first public document to identify Apple Inc. as the “Project Maverick” buyer, complete with the “1 Infinite Loop” address in Cupertino, Calif.

The cat started escaping from the bag in December, when The Oregonian quoted “two people with direct knowledge” who said Apple was nearing a decision on the project.

The local judge was even NDA restricted, but now that there is a public disclosure he can say a few things.

Crook County Judge Mike McCabe said Tuesday he was still bound by the non-disclosure agreement, though the filing left him a bit freer to talk.

"We just don't know what their plans are," McCabe said, adding that he's "confident it will be good for Prineville and Crook County."

"These folks have been wonderful to work with," he said. "We will look forward to a long-term relationship with them."
Asked about whether Apple might plan to "out-green" Facebook, which got some flack from Greenpeace for buying coal-generated power for its Prineville data center, McCabe said that actually, "Facebook kind of helped recruit (Apple), saying, 'You've got to come up and look at this community.'"

Taking a bit of break, unplugging from the Internet for 4 days

Dave Ohara — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:00:11 +0000

It's time for the kids winter break, and as part of the break I am going to be disconnected from a 30Mbps internet connection. And, I'll only be able to get on the Internet during brief times connecting to my phone.

so, it will be hard to surf the web, and post.

But, i think my kids will like that Dad isn't on the computer as much.

Dell opens its Quincy Data Center, How big is it? 42MW of diesel generators deployed with an additional 42 permitted

Dave Ohara — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:48:38 +0000

The folks at DatacenterDynamics and DataCenterKnowledge have posts on the opening of Dell's new Quincy Data Center.

Dell opens Quincy data center

Says heat exchangers will make cloud delivery even more cost efficient at its newest data center

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/02/15/dell-opens-quincy-data-center/

The official Dell press release is here.

Dell Opens New Western Technology Center in Quincy, WashingtonDate : 2/13/2012

Plano, Texas

Extends Dell’s delivery capability and enables regionally delivered, high-value solutions, services and cloud-based delivery options around the world

Dell Services today opened a new technology center in Quincy, Wash., that will provide customers in North America access to cloud technologies and IT outsourcing services. The opening is part of Dell’s ongoing commitment to develop new cloud-based services, solutions and delivery options.

But, I want to know how big the data center is in terms of Power. The diesel generator capacity is rated at 42 MW = 14 x 3MW Caterpillar Model C175-16. You can make your own assumptions on the IT load that would be supported by this generator capacity.

How big is the site? Here is a google maps snapshot.

It isn't that hard to find this information. Especially when a data center is near an elementary school and there is a lot of concern about the health risks from the diesel generator operations.

It was much more interesting to read the public documents than the official press release, but I guess I am too much of a data center geek. :-)

In a few months, it will be interesting to see some if the satellite photos are updated.

The 42 MW of diesel generators are for Phase 1. An additional 42 MW is approved for Phase II and III.

Public disclosure of diesel permits is here.

Thinking about Data Center Systems, do you design them to Learn?

Dave Ohara — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:39:53 +0000

NPR has a post on elderly choosing to work after retirement.

What Retirement? Seniors Are Getting Back To Work

by YUKI NOGUCHI

At 75, many people imagine they'll be retired and spending their time playing cards or on a golf course. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of working seniors is actually on the rise. In fact, it's more than doubled since 1990.

One part that jumps out is.

Life is to Learn

...

"For me, I don't consider the age because you can learn something," he says. "Always, life is to learn."

Old people are like old machines, he says. They may work a little slower, but they're still very useful.

This is a different way to think about your data center systems.

Are you designing them to support your learning in the data center?

SNL makes the real world funny, pokes fun at Verizon 4G LTE advertising

Dave Ohara — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:02:13 +0000

SNL makes a fun of Verizon's 4G LTE commercials.

You are all tech savvy, and will get a good laugh.

Is AT&T's throttling of the top 5% unlimited data users throwing loyal users under the bus?

Dave Ohara — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:17:00 +0000

AT&T's throttling of the top 5% unlimited data users is getting lots of press.

AT&T customers surprised by "unlimited data" limit
‎

CBS News - 1 hour ago

AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans that can be subject to throttling, representing just under half of its smartphone users.

CTV.ca

AT&T throttling unlimited data users starting at 2 GB per month ...
‎

Apple Insider - 3 days ago

By Mikey Campbell The story of an AT&T customer having his bandwidth throttled after transferring only 2 GB of a so-called unlimited data plan has created a ...
Highly Cited: ATTs moral obligation: If you throttle it, help us count it‎ Houston Chronicle (blog)
AT&T explains 2GB throttling of unlimited data plans‎ SlashGear
AT&T reportedly throttling “unlimited” users at 2GB‎ Geek
Dslreports - O'Grady's Power Page
all 19 news articles »

SlashGear

AT&T Says Throttling Policy Isn't as Bad as You Think
‎

New York Times (blog) - 4 days ago

Mr. Cozen, who said he has an unlimited data plan, believed it was unfair to be throttled. He pointed out that the unlimited data plan costs $30, and AT&T ...
AT&T Says Throttling of Unlimited Data Users Done on Case-by-Case ...‎ Mac Rumors
AT&T tries to justify 2GB data throttling threshold for unlimited ...‎ androidandme.com
AT&T Throttle @ Bottle Not 2GB Data‎ Wireless and Mobile News
GigaOm - Examiner.com
all 6 news articles »

New York Times (blog)

'Unlimited' data has limits at AT&T
‎

USA TODAY - 6 days ago

Paul Sakuma, AP AT&T smartphone customers with unlimited data plans can experience ... The tricky thing with AT&T's not-so-new policy of throttling down ...
Highly Cited: AT&T Starts Throttling Unlimited Data Users after 2GB of Monthly Usage‎ Mac Rumors
In-Depth: Unlimited Data Plan Isn't as Unlimited as You Think‎ DailyFinance
AT&T Starts Throttling Grandfathered Unlimited Customers after 2 GB‎ Gotta Be Mobile
Examiner.com - BetaNews
all 43 news articles »

USA TODAY

Starting as low as 1.5 GB of data usage users can be grouped into this problem user base for AT&T. It seems like AT&T is throwing some of its customers under the bus.

To throw (someone) under the bus is an idiomatic phrase meaning to sacrifice another person (often a friend or ally), who is usually not deserving of such treatment, out of malice or for personal gain.

Should we cheer AT&T's efforts to limit the use of mobile devices? That's one way to go Green. But, not a popular one.

Or do we hear the sounds of a class action suit?

Enough said. I'm pretty sure there is a class action lawsuit sitting on the table here...

Green (Low Carbon) Data Center Blog

Does AT&T's unlimited data violate FCC/FTC's Truth in Advertising Act? Yes? No?

Throttled iPhone user takes AT&T to court, wins $850

Thinking about Mobile and Cloud, my phones - AT&T iPhone 4S, AT&T Galaxy Note, Verizon Galaxy Nexus

Group-think most likely big contributor of Stevens Pass avalanche disaster

Avalanche killed experienced backcountry skiers

Accepting the Middle Age Mind, 40 - 65 is not that bad

Apple's Next Green Data Center lands in Prineville, Oregon

Apple Confirms Prineville Data Center Plans

One Day Later, Ore. House Approves Tax Break Fix

Taking a bit of break, unplugging from the Internet for 4 days

Dell opens its Quincy Data Center, How big is it? 42MW of diesel generators deployed with an additional 42 permitted

Dell opens Quincy data center

Dell Opens New Western Technology Center in Quincy, WashingtonDate : 2/13/2012

Thinking about Data Center Systems, do you design them to Learn?

What Retirement? Seniors Are Getting Back To Work

SNL makes the real world funny, pokes fun at Verizon 4G LTE advertising

Is AT&T's throttling of the top 5% unlimited data users throwing loyal users under the bus?

AT&T customers surprised by "unlimited data" limit

AT&T throttling unlimited data users starting at 2 GB per month ...

AT&T Says Throttling Policy Isn't as Bad as You Think

'Unlimited' data has limits at AT&T