Fake Steve Jobs Suggests an AT&T Flash Mob

AT&T has told its users they use too much data – they are actively looking for ways of limiting their usage. One idea being thrown around is usage-based pricing. Forget for a minute that years back, carriers worldwide were trying to get users to adopt 3G networks and now that we are, their equipment is buckling.

Not surprisingly, many people are telling AT&T to suck it up and be happy that their customers find the products they sell on their network so indispensable that they use them constantly.

One of the people upset with AT&T is Fake Steve Jobs, the blogger whose name speaks for itself and Fake Steve has been on a rant telling his real readers that they should all use their most bandwidth hungry apps at 3:00 PM EST on Friday, December 18^th 2009 in protest. He calls it Operation Chokehold.

Subject: Operation Chokehold

On Friday, December 18, at noon Pacific time, we will attempt to overwhelm the AT&T data network and bring it to its knees. The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network and sick of their abusive comments. The idea is we’ll create a digital flash mob. We’re calling it in Operation Chokehold. Join us and speak truth to power!

I find the situation fascinating as this blog along with a number of others is publicly plotting to take down a phone network which is also used not only by consumers and business customers but by our government, military and other important agencies. What would happen if AT&T were to go down during an important government meeting – imagine for a moment if our leaders had to go a weekend without passing a wasteful billion-dollar plus spending bill…

Like you, I just don’t feel right if I come in on a Monday and a politician hasn’t found a way to spend my tax dollars on a pork-laden bill over the weekend.

Hopefully the wireless network will not go down as millions do depend on AT&T service but I am sure the company will see some spikes and will hopefully get the message. What AT&T should learn from this experience is that customer relations is very important and from my perspective, customers are not happy with AT&T service as it is. Throwing dynamite on the roaring fire of customer dissatisfaction just proves they think their customers are with them because they like the service and/or they don’t realize how big an issue broadband pricing is for many.

From the polls I have seen and informal surveys I have done, most of the customers who have iPhones are waiting for the moment they can jump ship to Verizon.

By making public statements which call their customers out – even a few percent of them, the carrier shows arrogance not commensurate with their market position. Again, AT&T is lucky it is where it is because Verizon passed on the iPhone. Yes, they showed tremendous foresight in their decision to carry this device which meant putting up with the unprecedented demands of the real Steve Jobs but I sense the company just threw some serious explosives on a bad situation and if that iPhone exclusivity contract does expire, I hope their plan B is better than suing Verizon to hope they stop advertising.