Karma slows down unlimited speeds to deal with data hogs
This is why we can't have nice things.
Karma has quickly discovered the downsides of offering unlimited data. The company debuted a $50 a month "Neverstop" unlimited plan for its Go hotspot a few months ago, but since then it's discovered that some users are taking that concept to the extreme by using it as their home internet connection. As a result, they've been racking up hundreds of gigabytes in downloads and uploads. To counteract this, Karma is lowering the plan's speeds from 5 Mbps to between 1.5 Mbps and 2.5 Mbps, reports The Verge. The company hasn't yet settled on an optimal speed for its unlimited plan, but it's certainly going to be lower than 5 Mbps.
According to a survey sent out to customers, 59 percent of respondents said they used Karma Go as their home internet connection. But the company's CEO, Steven van Wel, notes that it was never intended for that scenario. Some users have also figured out how to break through the company's portal, letting them configure set-top boxes and game consoles with Karma Go. At this point, Karma is exploring different ways to stop users from messing with their portal, without kicking them off the service entirely.
