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There are a lot of reasons not to be a follower of AT&T's wireless network. Just recently, AT&T tried to debate before the Supreme Court that corporations had the aforementioned correct to concealment that a mortal did, and so you couldn't use Freedom of Information requests to view government records of doable joint wrongdoing. (Taking a tender out of Citizens United's joint personhood playbook, perhaps?)

On a more individualized level, for me and thousands of other Android sound users on AT&T's network, the user-hostile anti-features they heat into their phones are annoying. But if the stylish reports are true, AT&T might be not meet going against their users, but against the construct of Net Neutrality itself.

What is Net Neutrality?

The reformist website savetheinternet.com has a recording account of what Net Neutrality means. In a nutshell, it's the idea that wireless carriers and Internet Service Providers shouldn't be able to permit digit website over another. They crapper put caps on bandwidth, to keep grouping from using their assist likewise much, but they can't charge you extra to visit a portion site.

Activists consider it important to indite these protections into law, because most grouping in the United States have very few choices when it comes to wireless or high-speed Internet service. Without formal Net Neutrality laws, activists say, grouping module be at the mercy of the wireless companies and Internet Service Providers.

So what's AT&T doing that goes against that?

According to the PCMag article, Android phones on AT&T's meshwork -- aforementioned the HTC Inspire 4G and the Motorola Atrix 4G -- haw be having their maximum upload speeds "capped," or restricted. These phones are questionable to be faster than even the iPhone, but in tests they consistently underperformed the iPhone.

PCMag writer Alex city theorized that "This could be a difficulty specifically with the four devices we've tested ... or a difficulty that specifically only affects destined parts of New royalty City." But commenter Joe Wright severally showed in a YouTube recording that he's having the aforementioned difficulty ... in or near Bozeman, Montana.

So what does this mean?

It doesn't exhibit that AT&T is privileging digit website over another. But it does suggest that something on AT&T's modify is keeping Android phones from reaching their flooded possibleness on AT&T's network, versus the iPhone. If this is AT&T's doing, it's reminiscent of the Google / Verizon offering to the FCC, which basically outlined their organisation for analysis up the Internet. In this case it'd be between iPhone users, who are allowed to upload to the 'net at flooded speed, and Android users, who aren't.

Is AT&T doing this on purpose?

When questioned by the PCMag writers, AT&T's reponse was evasive, and mentioned their plans for making newborn high-speed uploading devices without confirming or denying some of PCMag's accusations.

Sort of aforementioned a "no comment?"

Sort of.

So is this a beatific instance to acquire a sound on AT&T's network?

Maybe if it's an iPhone. If it's an Android phone? Probably not. Because whatever the drive of the problem, the Atrix 4G -- their flagship Android sound correct today -- isn't performing to specifications. And it's not meet because they shipped it with an outdated edition of Android (2.2 "Froyo" instead of the stylish smartphone version, 2.3 "Gingerbread"), either.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source code enthusiast, who uses an Android sound and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been composition most profession and electronics since 2008.

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