AT&T customers face extra charges for heavy data usage

AT&T has warned that it may charge mobile phone customers who use their handsets to download large volumes of data.

AT&T's warning will resonate with UK networks, some of whom, like Orange, have instigated 'fair use' data plans to try and limit smartphone owners downloading vast amounts of media content onto their handsets.

The US network said that 3% of its smartphone customers accounted for 40% of data traffic, which was mostly due to video and audio downloads. As the most active consumers of media, iPhone users were responsible for most of the surge in data traffic, which has vexed AT&T.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T mobility and consumer markets, said that this had contributed towards the company's network 'performing at levels below our standards' in New York and San Francisco.

'The first thing we need to do is educate customers about what represents a megabyte of data. We're improving systems to give them real-time information about their data usage,' said de la Vega. 'Longer term, there's got to be some sort of pricing scheme that addresses the [heavy] users.'

He said a similar approach with broadband customers had worked as they modified their bandwidth consumption patterns.

'What's driving usage are things like video or audio that plays around the clock. We have to get to those customers and get them to recognize they have to change their patterns, or there are things we will do to change those patterns,' he warned.