Fake Steve Jobs wants to put the squeeze on AT&T's network with Operation Chokehold

Filed under: News, Apple

Fake Steve Jobs, occasionally also known as journalist Dan Lyons, is fed up with AT&T's data network. The shoddy service AT&T has provided for iPhone users, especially in major cities, has become such an issue that AT&T itself recently released an iPhone app that allows users to report locations where the network has failed them. Lyons isn't going to take it anymore.

In character as Fake Steve, he announced Operation Chokehold, which is a call to iPhone users to overwhelm the AT&T network at noon PST this Friday, December 18th. Fake Steve's got plenty of readers, but it's hard to imagine this will have much of an effect, even if all of them simultaneously watch YouTube videos.

Although I doubt that you'll notice poor network performance - well, any poorer than what AT&T already delivers, anyway - some readers are up in arms about Operation Chokehold. Fake Steve has already received some threatening email, and AT&T is certainly not amused. Leander Kahney over at Cult of Mac got a comment from AT&T on the situation:

"We understand that fakesteve.net is primarily a satirical forum, but 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. We know that the vast majority of customers will see this action for what it is: an irresponsible and pointless scheme to draw attention to a blog."

FSJ has responded to concerns about Chokehold, posting an update that makes it clear it's not malicious: "I really don't want to cause any actual harm to my fellow AT&T users. Quite the opposite - I feel as if we're all caught in the same horrible prison, suffering alongside one another. All we really want to do is to show AT&T how angry people are about their lousy service. A nice spike of traffic would be a way to make that known."

So, what can an iPhone user do to suck up the maximum bandwidth? Make sure your Wi-Fi is off, and then give some of the following suggestions from Fake Steve's commenters a try. Finding a full-length movie on YouTube is a good bet, and so is streaming your own video with the new Ustream Broadcaster app. Some high-definition, bandwidth-sucking videos can also be found at Akamai's iPhone test site.

What say you, Download Squad readers? Will Fake Steve's "digital flashmob" have any effect on AT&T or its network? Do you plan to participate?

UPDATE: FSJ is having a grand time on his site today, featuring endorsements and condemnations from the usual suspects. He elaborated yesterday on his point, which was protest, suggesting people simply form flashmobs:
"Another idea and perhaps the best one: Let's form actual flash mobs outside AT&T stores and put duct tape over their mouths."
We're guessing it's a lot easier to fire up UStream and blather for a bit than get people out of their offices, but OK.

Fake Steve Jobs wants to put the squeeze on AT&T's network with Operation Chokehold originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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