Operation: Chokehold

I have an iPhone. Which unfortunately means that I'm stuck with AT&T until the end of my contract, at which point I'll be seriously considering a number of Android phones, most likely. AT&T has a horrible tendency to just ignore the fact that smartphones, especially in the vein of the iPhone, the Palm Pre, and the Droid (i.e., smartphones that use a LOT of data), are the new wave of the future.

AT&T even demonizes iPhone users, because they "hog all the bandwidth" and don't let poor other users use the network. They have hinted multiple times at capping data usage, charging iPhone users even more than the required $30 a month data plan, and "giving incentives" for heavy data users to cut back on their usage

AT&T is being ridiculous, ignorant, lazy, and arrogant.

The iPhone debuted on July 27, 2007. Apple had announced the magical game-changer the beginning of that year, and had even worked with Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) for many months developing the phone. When released, it defined smartphones. It was the smartphone.

What you should take away from that brief history is the fact that AT&T knew it was coming.

They knew what huge requirements would be placed on their network, first the EDGE and now the 3G.

They knew that iPhone users would always be online, surfing the tiny web, downloading songs and apps, getting push updates for their mail and calenders, everything. They knew iPhone users were going to push their network.

And they promptly sat on their hands.

Two and half years later, the third-gen iPhone is out, the app store has tens of thousands of apps, and AT&T is still surprised at how much data iPhone users...um...use. They threaten, demean, and overall refuse to do anything about improving their network.

And with the advent of Android, Google's mobile OS, smartphones will EXPLODE the market. AT&T will be caught off guard (yet again) if they don't buckle down and improve their network.

So, Fake Steve Jobs has instituted a digital flash mob. His suggestion?

Operation: Chokehold.

Have as many iPhone users as possible use data-intensive apps on Friday, December 18, at 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central.

I'm so there. So iPhone users, turn off Wi-Fi, download some songs, and watch a buttload of YouTube videos.

I have a few recommendations to get you started. Suck it, AT&T.