Why is AT&T Capping Data Usage for DSL & U-Verse Customers?

Free WiFi is AT&T's Biggest Fear! 
Why is AT&T Capping Data Usage on DSL & U-Verse?  AT&T's wants to stop their existing DSL and U-Verse broadband subscribers from opening up their home, office and retail WiFi access points and allowing anonymous users to access broadband for free.  AT&T claims that their top 2% of its 17.8M customers use most of the bandwidth and use this as their excuse for capping data usage.  Other cable companies Comcast and Charter Communications have already rolled out their own limited broadband plans.  I think this about protected a 3G / 4G business that is getting cannibalized by Free WiFi and is total BS for the following reasons . . .

AT&T's biggest fear is that the current grassroots movement of free WiFi hotspots crushes their hopes about getting customers to subscribe to 4G LTE.  AT&T is terrified that their customers will not subscribe to their shoddy 3G and 4G LTE network data services for $60-$100 per month.  Free ad supported WiFi is coming to the US the near future and this is the first step AT&T is making slow down the inevitable. 

Most smart customers are already minimizing their data plans and using free WiFi for data connectivity whenever possible.  Many customers are using WiFi to fill in dead zones and making phone calls on WiFi when AT&T cannot provide voice coverage in areas.  AT&T is simply a dumb pipe and will never be a content rights holder and therefore will eventually have to compete with customers searching for free WiFi access points.  Can 4G LTE compete with Free WiFi?  

The simultaneous timing of this announcement is not surprising as it was overshadowed by their massive announcement that they were acquiring T-Mobile.  AT&T's PR people had hoped the story would get buried in the major news announcement but its important news to DeadZones.com.   It doesn't surprise me that AT&T is started to get scared about the huge grassroots movement of businesses and broadband subscribers opening up their access points for free use.  WiFi hotspots are growing 25X faster than 3G or 4G cell phone towers.  Why because it is free and doesn't require expensive data plans

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