Are you an AT&T customer that's been hanging on to your unlimited data plan for dear life since the carrier introduced tiered plans last year? If so, you may not be thrilled about the latest rumor coming to us from 9to5 Mac. According to the site, AT&T is planning to begin throttling the data speeds of the heaviest unlimited users on its network. The change will allegedly take place in the first week of October. The specifics of AT&T's throttling plan is still up in the air, although we can likely expect it to work just like T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile's throttling process: once a user hits a predetermined amount of data use, his or her speeds will be drastically reduced until the next billing cycle begins.

If this rumor holds true, it means that AT&T will be introducing data throttling shortly after the expected launch of the iPhone 5, which could put a bit of a damper on the excitement of those users hoping to snag the new Apple handset off-contract and continue to gobble down bytes at the all-you-can-eat High Speed Buffet. Certainly this isn't the most awesome news ever for those of you still clutching onto an AT&T unlimited data plan, but hey, at least you can take solace in the fact that even with throttled data, your unlimited plan is still the envy of those folks using one of AT&T's tiered data options.

Via 9to5 Mac