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Verizon Confirms Plan To Switch Away From Unlimited Data Plans
loafula writes "Looks like Verizon is going the way of AT&T by not offering new unlimited data plans and switching to a tiered-only plan within six months. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said the new plans would be different from what AT&T offers, but didn't provide further details. 'We're not sure we agree yet with how they valued the data.' Everybody take a good look at your contracts; this will be a nice opportunity to jump ship without the hefty fee."
Only an idiot didn't see this development coming sooner or later.
Still, I'm kind of surprised it happened this soon.
...I have no problem with tiered pricing (I don't like it, but I accept that it was inevitable)...but what's with the huge gap, Verizon? I can get either 200 megs, or 2 GIGS????
What I would rather see:
200 megs
500 megs
1 gig
2 gigs
Living With a Nerd
Sprint said the reason it's currently letting users have unlimited 4G data is because it doesn't want consumers to have to change their behavior--yet--and it also wants to attract new customers leery of 3G caps.
And once everyone has made the switch - BLAMMO - they hose you once again. So, Rest of the World, what's it like not being bent over and fondled by your cell providers?
So they're making room for someone else to dominate the market of ubiquitous internet access. Good riddance. Telcos are businesses with which I only deal because I have to. No exceptions. I will not be sorry to see any of them become irrelevant.
since I got my HTC Desire unlocked from them, this may well be a good time to jump ship to a better plan from others. They have good coverage, but their plans suck. I only got mine with them because they were the only ones with a Desire on the day I wanted to get it...
metageek
While having Unlimited seems nice. For average usage we actually use a lot less then we think we will need.
On my phone I use about 200MB per month and I use my phone quite regularly. However I am on Wi-Fi for most of the time And if I am out of Wi-Fi Range Then is usually because I am driving and not really using my phone. So for people who use the phone for normal stuff it is actually probably a better deal, But people don't think it is because it is metered but they are probably saving money as a tradeoff of having the same bill every month
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Okay, where's the "Boo! Hiss!" button on Slashdot?
People keep clamoring for a Verizon iPhone, but Verizon is the last company you would want to see get its hands on something like that.
Verizon has good coverage, but their customer service is, by all accounts, absolutely atrocious. And now it has gotten to the point where a CSR can get in trouble for helping you save money:
link
Verizon has also shown time and time again that it will lock down phones to an extreme degree. If you think AT&T's reluctance to allow tethering is a problem, wait until Verizon gets to dictate terms.
The company nickels-and-dimes its customers to a degree that is shameful even by U.S. cell phone company standards. I have my fingers crossed for an alliance between Apple and T-Mobile. Verizon is just a terrible company.
This is actually a good thing. Selling a limited "resource" as unlimited is not a sustainable system. Just ask AT&T...
how about no blocks just $0.01 per MB or big blocks with rollover.
The original post has made it sound like this will be a get out of contract free card. I'm guessing that Verizon will take a path similar to AT&T and grandfather in customers with a current unlimited data plan. Even if Verizon (or AT&T) want to get people off unlimited data plans, they can do it when people upgrade phones. In order to get a new device, they could require that you change plans - and that isn't grounds for termination of the contract (plus, usually you're pretty close to the end of your contract when you can upgrade). After two years, they could forcibly move anyone who didn't get a new device to the non-unlimited data plans and they'd be out of contract already.
Carriers are usually pretty smart about not changing the terms on people currently under contract. Plus, the heaviest data users are probably going to be the ones who want to upgrade to new devices more often - and will be early adopters of 4G. Both of those are chances to get those customers onto non-unlimited data without invalidating the contract. If someone is on an unlimited plan and only using 1GB of data, the carrier is just getting additional money since they're paying for more than they're using. No reason to force those people to switch.
If the wi-fi on my Droid would work consistently, I wouldn't care about limited data plans. Since Verizon doesn't see fit to fix the problems (or from what I have seen, even acknowledge they exist) they should just leave their data plans alone.
iPhone on Verizon?
If, at the same time as they institute tiered data plans, Verizon also brings the price of tethering down, then I am in.
They have been using the argument that "tethering costs more because tethered users use more data" to justify charging US$60 for tethering vs. US$30 for smartphone use. If they go tiered, then logically that argument should be mooted, and they should bring the cost of tethering down.
Of course, this being Verizon, to make that actually happen would require the use of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-meson brain, an atomic vector plotter, and a cup of very hot tea - none of which I happen to have on me at this time.
www.eFax.com are spammers
I bought a pipe to the internet, I should be able to do what I want with it. If it's limited to 2 GB of data or whatever, then so be it, but that's different than saying "If you connect a phone it's $25, but if you connect a laptop, it's $15 more for the same exact data." It's price gouging people who use laptops just for the convenience of using a full size keyboard and monitor.
It's also the way the big providers are trying to cash in on demand at the same time limiting demand for their own broke ass networks. If you really want it, you have to pay thru the nose, and we'll price it high enough that we won't get overloaded since we don't upgrade our networks fast enough.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
We all knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time before a carrier did that and as soon as it happened anyone with most of their brain active could tell the rest of the carriers would follow suit within 2 years. Someone might offer unlimited data, but it won't be a carrier that the majority of the world will care about. Having said that there's little reason to jump ship. However, you might be able to finagle an early upgrade date for your "New Every Two".
I am beginning to wonder if this was the real reason for Google and Verizon saying that while net neutrality is fine and good for the wired internet, the wireless internet shouldn't be. You start to wonder after reading this.
I agree with jellomizer; most users won't hit their caps in a given period in the near term. We just switched from T-Mobile to VZ (I've gone from zero to 4 bars in parts of my building at work), but we seriously considered AT&T--which was off the table until they switched to cheaper but limited data. Price matters. My wife would be fine on 200 MB/mo, and with a little restraint I would be, too. I'd be comfortable with the 2 GB cap as much as 3-5 years out.
I think most consumers can rest assured that they won't outgrow these caps over the course of a 2-year contract, but this trend highlights the broader problem that spectrum is scarce and getting tighter. (I'm not an engineer, but my understanding is that AT&T can't possibly build enough towers under current constraints to fully service lower Manhattan on a Saturday night.) What happens when this year's 1 GHz Snapdragon processor seems like your old 486? Consumer demand for mobile bandwidth is going to keep growing exponentially.
If the mobile carriers don't increase caps at a corresponding (albeit halting) rate, they'll get some dissatisfied customers. The only solution is going to be more spectrum. I hope the unregulated TV white spaces ruling yesterday (yippee!!!) is just part of a continuing trend of freeing spectrum for IP-based (rather than dumb radio) uses, but at this rate, the mobile wireless industry is going to be hungry for more auctioned space soon.
I generally think telco lobbyists cry wolf at policymakers' doors all the time, but in this case, I think they're right.
This is going to start being a real issue that could amount to many dollars per month for many people. Will these new tiered plans warn you when you're about to get charged (which Verizon does when you attempt to tether, instead of using an implicit agreement)? Whether they do or not, 120MB is a lot of browsing that I don't get to do when I'm at the edge of my 5GB limit (the only higher tier available around here).
I remember seeing the commercials just a few months ago where Verizon was bragging about reducing the rate for their "unlimited everything" plan.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I'm wondering how this will affect Virgin Mobiles unlimited plan since they use Verizon? I just got one of their MiFi cards and I love it. The problem it's right now my main internet service since I'm moving around. I may find myself in an ipad like situation where you buy into a product based on an unlimited plan only to find shortly after you get it they drop the very plan that made you buy it. I have to wonder the logic if as they claim it's only a small number that exceed 2 gig and most use less than 200 meg. The point is if they throttle me I'll likely drop the service even though I probably don't exceed even a 2 gig cap. It's like unlimited cell. I may only exceed it a few times a year but I hate getting soaked so I'd rather pay for an unlimited plan so I don't have to worry. This golden age of on the go media is getting throttled to death.
I got cheap and switched to 200MB plan. As a result I now have two devices - iPhone and iPad - on their network for the price of one. Neither comes close to the limit - last month was 66MB - as I am nearly always in range of a free wireless network when using phone extensively. Had they only offered old unlimited $30/month plans for both, I would be paying them double the money for data without putting any extra strain on their network. Effectively they are encouraging people to reduce their dependence on cellular and look for alternative ways to access the data. The trouble is, once they have started thinking along these lines, they just might end up turning off cellular on the iPhone and getting a cheap prepaid phone for actual calls.
Seriously?
This is the 2nd most douchebaggy company in the world.
Fuck you, Verizon Wireless, and fuck everybody that works for you.
I don't really know the history here, and as it's Friday I'd rather go and get drunk than spend some time googling to check my facts on this..
At one point a Telco was stupid. They didn't spot 3G\HSDPA coming, they didn't spot Smartphones (with tethering and VOIP) and even while some techies in the company were probably jumping up and down screaming, they believed those trustworthy marketing folks and thought they could sell 'Unlimited' data for a fixed price and still turn a profit. In those early day of mobile data they probably could.
As a competitor was doing it, everyone else started selling unlimited data or they'd lose market share. At this point they should probably have checked with some regular ISPs who were starting to see just how much using the term 'Unlimited data' could kill their network.
Now, as mobile networks are creaking under the strain of everyone owning a smartphone, there's a frantic effort to change the definition of 'unlimited' to 'really very limited and we'd like some extra cash when you go over the limit'. Few will drop the term 'Unlimited' because they'll lose customers.
Personally I'm abusing my 'unlimited' data plan every chance I get. My provider has already set a (rather generous) limit in their 'fair use policy', but I suspect that'll be cut down soon..
Just my thoughts.
For those of us stuck using a Blackberry because of work, it hardly matters. I just looked and I've used less than 10MB this month with a week and a half left in the cycle. The reason? The only app on Blackberry worth having that uses a lot of data is Pandora.
Either their network is getting a lot of use from Android phones, or they don't want to have to grandfather in an iPhone accounts when they switch. I think this is more proof that the Verizon iPhone is coming sooner rather than later. Add in the fact that Verizon is trying to through people off by saying they hope to get the iPhone in their LTE network and it sounds like the early 2011 rumors are true.
No problems here. Prepaid, so can pay or not pay, use or not use.. makes no difference. Only recurring thing is 50 cent/month keep alive fee.
5 cent minute/10 cent meg/2 cent text.
If I was a heavy data user I'd do something else, but I use it mostly as a phone and use maybe $20 worth total a month.
"He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
Sprint has unlimited data plans with great prices. The CEO of Sprint prefers to offer unlimited data plans.
I've been on Verizon for over 10 years now, and use about 500mb/month on my smart phone. I've had great service (which I expect would turn to complete and utter crap when the cr[ia]pple phone hits Verizon) and customer support has always been helpful. But when a company starts to view it's customers as the enemy, and my contract expires, I'll go to Sprint or T Mobile without thinking twice. In fact, I'll urge friends and family to stay off Verizon or switch away from it because of unscrupulous tactics like this.
There is absolutely no reason that unlimited data service cannot last (we're ultimately limited by rate anyway). They're trying to switch it prematurely before high quality mobile streaming takes off. Seriously, $130/month for a cell phone is insane (what I already pay), and to think they want me to pay a thousand+ a month in a few years is retarded. I'll gladly go back to a dumb phone before that, or let cell phone service go the way of TV service (canceled).
Can I tier the amount of commercials I see on TV then?
Verizon should be paying *you*, not charging you to use an Android phone. Verizon makes $$ signing license deals with companies (i.e. Skype, Amazon, etc) to put "always running" applications the handsets. If you stop the applications, they will re-start automatically depending on user actions on the phone (i.e. incoming SMS, outgoing phone call, etc).
Get a USB WiMax modem for your laptop/netbook, and throw your obsolete 2G and 3G stuff in the trash.
been wanting to switch to verizon, but i've been waiting because their unlimited data plan was too expensive compared to my 200MB AT&T plan. hopefully tiered verizon can compete. new phone for me, ha cha cha cha cha
Go prepaid instead, pay as you go. boost, 50 bucks per month, unlimited talk minutes, texts, walkie talkie (to other guys on boost or sprint), plus FIVE gigs data. Or you can do minutes at ten cents per, and data at 35 cents a DAY. They have both Iden network and CDMA now (basically, if you can get a good sprint signal, it will work) There are now some other prepaid guys with similar deals. They have cheap phones to at least medium decent phones.
Two year locked in plans with ripoff rates=lame. And there are no "deals" on those phones they use for teasers with the two year "plans", you are still paying full retail price for them.
You want a much better deal, they exist..just stop looking at post paid. Pay the cash for the phone you want up front, then pay cheap to use it. Prepaid is where it is at now for the frugal minded.
I really don't get it. Companies continue to push the latest stuff like streaming video, voip, wireless gaming, time shifting but then try their best to make that damn near impossible. In my area even the cable companies are getting into it, my neighborhood is so over subscribed that my 4g clear mifi router is faster than my cable connection...thats just sad.
Flash a custom firmware and you can put a stop to that shit pretty darn quick.
Shut your cell phone off. Seriously - how long did you survive WITHOUT one?
The Truth is a Virus!!!
...and the number of people still willing to pay it. The population of consumers have proven that no matter the price charged, the sheep will pay it. There is no incentive for them to keep prices down, or make the plans easy to understand or convenient for the consumer. All y'all with your smart phones are helping to perpetuate the problem. Until people stop subscribing and drop their phones, in other words, speak with their wallets, the mobile users will continue to be raped for more and more money. The solution is simple: stop paying the prices. At your next change, cancel your mobile phone subscription, put the phone away.
Bearded Dragon
I am now in my 3rd year of saving $1100 per year and about 60 hours per year (or so it felt) not spent talking to customer service.
All i had to do was drop verizon and get a pay by min. phone.
Highly recommended...