AT&T, FCC condemn iPhone users' revolt

Some iPhone users plan on hogging as much bandwidth as they can for an hour today in an attempt to clog AT&T's network.

The plot, dubbed "Operation Chokehold" by Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons, a.k.a Fake Steve Jobs, is in protest of AT&T's plans to charge high bandwidth users more for consuming too much data and slowing the network down.

When AT&T's wireless president and CEO Ralph de la Vega told shareholders of the plan, Lyons suggested the "flash mob" idea on his blog, partly as a joke. But it gained momentum from the media and angry iPhone users who resent the thought of giving up their unlimited data plans.

"Operation Chokehold" calls on iPhone owners to use bandwidth-heavy applications for an hour today, starting at noon Pacific Time--3 p.m. EasternTime. The point? To slow AT&T's network to a crawl to teach AT&T some strange lesson.

AT&T has called the scheme "irresponsible and pointless" and says there is "nothing amusing about advocating that customers attempt to deliberately degrade service on a network that provides critical communications services for more than 80 million customers."

The FCC doesn't find it amusing either, telling ABC News that it poses a public safety danger. An FCC spokesman urged customers to use "common sense and good judgement."

The plan has gotten so much attention that it could be hard to stop at this point. It seems to me that crippling the network will simply reinforce AT&T's decision to impose usage-based fees for bandwidth hogs.

Either way, even pacifist iPhone users should expect some erratic service today.

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