AT&T to put brakes on heaviest data users

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Telecommunications giant AT&T said it would put the brakes on data transfers for U.S. customers who generate the heaviest use of their wireless spectrum.

Like Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, AT&T is trying to regulate the amount of data consumers can transfer, as more and more customers are using mobile devices and the amount of data from movie streaming, games and photographs is expanding, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Internet equipment maker Cisco said 63 percent of traffic on the Internet is computer-generated, but that is expected to decline to 46 percent by 2015, as the use of mobile devices proliferates.

AT&T said 5 percent of its customers who transfer the most data on unlimited data plans would have their speeds throttled.

AT&T stopped offering unlimited data plans in June last year, but some subscribers have continued with contracts signed before the AT&T made the shift.

The shift to regulating usage limits customer options, but also generates complaints from companies, like Netflix, that rely on Internet sales.