• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 5, 2019

AT&T and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement “in principle” over allegations that the telecom duped millions of wireless customers by promising them unlimited data but throttling them after they hit a monthly cap.

Counsel for the telecom and FTC informed U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco on Friday about the tentative agreement, which still must be finalized by both sides. The deal is expected to involve a monetary payment and an injunction, according to court papers.

If finalized, the settlement will resolve a lawsuit filed by the FTC against AT&T in 2014. The agency alleged that between 2011 and 2014, AT&T slowed the wireless broadband connections of more than 3.5 million customers who exceeded monthly allotments of 3GB or 5GB, depending on their phones.

AT&T subsequently revised its throttling practices and now only slows down customers who exceed 22 GB in a month. The company also says it only throttles those users when the network is congested.

The Obama-era Federal Communications Commission also initiated proceedings against AT&T, proposing a $100-million fine over its alleged failure to transparency disclose broadband practices. The current Republican-controlled FCC dropped the matter two years ago.

A group of AT&T wireless consumers also brought a potential class-action lawsuit against the company over the slowdowns. AT&T has argued that the case should be dismissed because its agreements with customers require arbitration of all disputes.

Chen, who also presides over that matter, initially granted AT&T's request. But last year, Chen reconsidered in light of a recent decision by the California Supreme Court, which ruled against enforcing an arbitration agreement in a case where a consumer sought an injunction.

AT&T appealed Chen's ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is still considering the matter.