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Verizon Purges Unlimited Data Customers, Targets Those Using 200GB (arstechnica.com)
If you're a Verizon customer on an unlimited data plan who uses more than 200GB a month, you will soon need to switch to a limited plan or be disconnected, according to Verizon. "Because our network is a shared resource and we need to ensure all customers have a great mobile experience with Verizon, we are notifying a small group of customers on unlimited plans who use more than 200GB a month that they must move to a Verizon Plan by February 16, 2017," Verizon spokesperson Kelly Crummey told Ars Technica today. Ars reports: Since Verizon stopped offering unlimited data to new smartphone customers in 2011, this change affects only longtime customers who were allowed to hang on to the old plans. Verizon could simply force all customers who aren't under contract to switch to new plans, but instead it has periodically made moves that reduce the numbers of unlimited data subscribers. This policy will apply to people who average more than 200GB "over several months," Verizon said. Customers who do not move to limited plans "will be disconnected," Verizon confirmed. On limited plans, customers get reduced speeds after they exceed monthly data limits unless they purchase extra 4G LTE data. Verizon previously purged its unlimited data rolls in August 2016. In that case, Verizon set a limit of 500GB a month, the company told Ars today. This is more specific information than we previously reported. Shortly before the August 2016 move, Verizon told us that it was targeting customers who were "using data amounts well in excess of our largest plan size (100GB)," but Verizon did not specify that it was only targeting customers using at least 500GB. With the threshold being dropped from 500GB to 200GB, the latest move will affect customers who weren't using enough data to be caught up in the last round.
So "unlimited data" customers who use more than a 200GB cap are forced into a limited plan? That's a rather odd definition of "unlimited" from Verizon.
I have altered the deal
pray I don't alter it any further
With the threshold being dropped from 500GB to 200GB, the latest move will affect customers who weren't using enough data to be caught up in the last round.
Funny way to say more customers will be affected by lowering the threshold.
So.. Are we moving beyond simple throttling and are throwing unprofitable but paying customers over the side because they use too much of their "unlimited" data transfer limits? You idiots, just institute progressive throttles on your "problem" paying customers until they start switching, but DON'T announce it to the world. Either that, or start raising rates for these customers.... Oh wait, you locked them into long term contracts? Live with it, pay them to leave or what have you, but it's YOUR mistake to deal with not your customer's...
Why am I not surprised this is Verizon? Hmm?
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
First they came for 200 GB users, I was not a 200 GB User, so I did nothing.
Then they came for 100 GB users, and I was not a 100 GB User, so I did nothing
Then they came for 50 GB Users, and I was not a 50 GB users, so I did nothing.
Then they came for me, and millions like me, and we all cried like babies.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I know several people who have gone through any number of calisthenics to maintain their "unlimited" data plans on Verizon's network. This generally involves sticking with an updated phone or paying retail to buy a phone outright. Verizon really does have the largest network with the best overall coverage within the United States and there are plenty of places that there really isn't a better option.
For example, Verizon LTE service is often a better and more attractive internet option than marginally-available DSL or laggy, data-capped satellite internet for rural homeowners.
Granted, I'm not using 200GB/month through my phone either, but I certainly do recognize that this is a real problem for a lot of people, especially who aren't necessarily close to any other sort of fat data pipe.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
If a company signs a contract...they shouldn't be held to that contract?
They've presented zero evidence that the network is suffering reliability...their commercials seem to indicate it's rock solid. The 'best' even.
This isn't costing them a viable economic business....they are still raking in profits hand over fist.
This is nothing but a pure money grab by violating their own terms.
Nobody would argue with throttling on specific towers WHEN congestion arises. It's funny how that isn't their solution...it's ban the heavy users even when there are plenty of times the heavy use doesn't impact anyone.
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
I would assume that the contracts are for a specific duration. I would also assume that the right to vary the contract is written into the contract.
Yeah, now that you mention it, this water seems a little hotter than it was a few minutes ago. So, who cares? It's always been fine before, a little hotter isn't going to hurt anyone!
If a company signs a contract...they shouldn't be held to that contract?
Any unlimited contract has long expired and gone to a month to month plan, which the only reason Verizon didn't force everyone to change was in order to keep them as a customer.
Really? I don't ever remember a cell phone contract specifying an 'end' date. They sorta want you to keep paying them forever.
As far as assumptions, they are irrelevant. If a company signs a contract, they should have to honor it.
Specifically if they said 'unlimited' date.
I will of course be willing to trade unlimited cell contracts for the revocation of ISP's apparently 'unlimited' life franchise agreements. It's a 2 way street...
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
Do you have a contact for the month or forever? Just like they can increase the price, they can end their current plan. You are not forced to continue to pay if you don't like the new terms.
Contracts have expiration dates.
uh, So it's still in effect. Verizon is now changing the deal. Are they going to lower the prices charged to these people since they are giving them less than originally offered?
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
Not in the US so I haven't seen your contracts. But my Telstra contracts all have an end date written in them. They are all 2 years from the date of the contract which then goes to month by month terminatable by either party on 1 months notice. So it does keep rolling for ever, but the locked down period is 2 years.
I agree that a company should have to abide by the terms of their contract. But as I said I would be amazed if they haven't reserved the right to vary the contract. Every contract I have has that escape clause.
LOL, somewhere buried in the fine print no one reads it probably says you agree to the terms of this contract, which we can change anytime we want, but in legal mumbo-jumbo.
Or... Perhaps keep the same one but convert to a limited plan and be prepared to pay for overage charges...
Or . . . even better idea . . . stop doing stupid shit like watching movies and TV shows 13 hours a day on your fucking phone.
Not to be an apologist for a telecom company, in this case Verizon, but holy crap 500 GB is a lot of 4G/LTE data used in a month, even 200 GB on a single cell device is a lot of data. I personally can't imagine using that much data or spending that much time on a smart device. What uses would other /. residents find for that amount of data, unless it was your only access point, e.g. you had no wireless at home or were on the road as a full time mobile user ?
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Among US Cell carriers, Sprint and some of its associated MVNOs are still offering fully unlimited data plans. It's definitely possible to get Unlimited LTE service in the USA, just not from Verizon, ATT or Tmobile.
Of course, then you're going to be on Sprint's weirdo CDMA network, but if you're in a a reasonably urban area, it's probably fine.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
Even without a duration, pretty much any contract of this style (where one party has like 99.9% of the negotiating power) contains language to the effect that the company can unilaterally change the contract at any time and just like the original contract "negotiation," your only options are to bail completely or bend over with very close to zero middle ground.
Most of the time they'll require themselves to at least give advance notice (typically 30 days.) Of course, depending on the company and how sneaky they're trying to be with any particular contract change, "advanced notice" could be anywhere from an email or text message direct to your registered email address/phone# all the way down to a one-liner in a "notices" page buried somewhere on their website that you're responsible for monitoring if you care enough.
It's not that, it's people setting up hot spots and letting everyone else with limited plans connect to it. You can run it up very quickly.
There have been so many other articles on here showing that there is more than enough 4G/LTE bandwith and we are no where near approaching capacity in most urban areas. This has nothing to do with being a good netizen and more to do with money.
Verizon use to offer 1 or 2 year contracts, so that's what anyone who had Unlimited would have had. After that it's month to month and can be terminated by either side at any time. At this point, even folks who got a 2 year contract just before they stopped offering Unlimited have been off contract for 4 years. Verizon continuing to renew it every month is just to keep their customers. Now they've decided it's no longer in their interest to continue to offer that to some customers, so they're terminating it for users who go beyond a certain threshold.
Marketing:
We have an amazingly fast network capable of moving TBs of data a second!!! Download a movie in super-ultra-HD while boarding your plane in seconds!!! Buy now!!!
Contracts:
We will charge you 1 kidney per movie you download, and shame you in the public square. It is horrible to everyone else if you actually use the network.
Me:
F U. Worrying about getting reamed for data sucks the fun out of it all. Buys a pay-as-you-go phone and doesn't try to do anything "cool".
How are people even doing this? Are they running their entire house through hotspot tethering or something? I rarely use that much on my hardline cable modem, the idea of using it over cellular boggles the mind!
Maybe people in rural areas who can't get better Internet are taking advantage of this...but then rural areas don't have high contention for cellular access, so Verizon really shouldn't be dicks to them.
Most contracts used to have a defined 1-2 year period, which rolled over to a month-to-month contract at the end of the 1-2 year period. When in the month-to-month time, either side can cancel. I think it is more common for all new wireless service contracts to be month-to-month now.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Verizon did not sign a contract to provide an unlimited data plan forever. The two year time limit is long up, either side can choose to end the plan at any time with no penalty.
Unless we double your monthly bill of course.... then the network can handle it fine.... until... you know... next time it can't......
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
Yes you are under contract, which is a month to month contract you can cancel your plan anytime, Verizon can cancel you plan at the end of each month to month contract. You should read your contract.
No such thing as Unlimited. It's always been limited.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
I also hear that Verizon is doing away with contracts all together. This is how they will worm out of the grandfathered unlimited plans. They will say it only applies to contract customers once the contracts are gone so is the unlimited data. Problem solved.
If Verizon wants to screw customers more, then keep that in mind when they have to reinstate unlimited data (and in a way that is accessible to the masses) to get access to 5G.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Sounds like you never knew of the restrictiveness of the Compuserve era.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
If a company signs a contract...they shouldn't be held to that contract?
Yup, just like if you sign a contract to work for an employer for a year for $50k, you should be held to that contract: $50k a year forever, and you can never leave.
Right?
I'm guessing like many others, the GP is actually on a longer contract that they've managed to keep going by getting new phones before their contract expired. If this is the case, the change in contract would allow them to keep their phone without having to buy themselves out of it.
They had to lobotomize the frogs to get them to stay in the water, humans aren't as smart.
I forget which, but another cellular provider's commercials claim that all the networks are within %1 of each other. Don't believe it? I don't either.
"Really? I don't ever remember a cell phone contract specifying an 'end' date. They sorta want you to keep paying them forever."
Verizon did 2 year contracts when you got a new subsidized phone. After that contract term, it went to a month-to-month basis and either party could cancel on a month's notice. You seem to think that there was an inequitable relationship where the customer could end the contract when they wanted, but the provider couldn't. Your belief is incorrect.
"As far as assumptions, they are irrelevant. If a company signs a contract, they should have to honor it. "
Which VZW has done. Once the contract has ended, neither party has any further obligation, and can end it or agree to a new one. Even during the contract term, Verizon's contract allowed them to change things with the condition that the customer could leave without paying an early termination fee - so they could walk away with phone which hadn't been fully amortized.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Everyone other Verizon customer is paying so these folks can be heavy users. Doesn't bother me that bandwidth hogs get throttled or have to pay...
Verizon disables the hot-spot feature for users on unlimited plans. Activating it starts separate metering for it under a capped plan. Was the case for my iPhone 4, still the case for my iPhone 7 Plus (recent upgrade, retained plan).
Of course, Verizon isn't offering credit for people who underuse their plans.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
If they intended it to be 100 GB/month, why did they sell it as unlimited?
this post contain no useful information, no need to mod it down
How does this work? NAT-detection? Or is the phone notifying Verizon that it's running a hotspot?
Actually they do now. You get data carryover with their new plans.
The context changed and this changed the meaning of what they were selling. At the time of EVDO it was almost impossible to use 1GB/mo. You had phones with very limited internet features using a terrible data network. The use case was infrequent internet for short bursts. From there there were use cases like Blackberry which had all sorts of compression features to limit data usage....
Today's phones have rich applications which can consume almost unlimited data and the network is quite good.
First off Verizon's model is to take long term fixed costs and break them out as per byte costs. If you aren't willing to incur the full costs for the fixed cost model, for example 20 year contracts and being charged for heavy static usage you don't get to complain about the fact they aren't charging you based on other aspects of the fixed cost model like most bytes incur almost 0 cost to Verizon. You don't get to mix models to your advantage.
Nobody would argue with throttling on specific towers WHEN congestion arises. It's funny how that isn't their solution
Because they didn't design their system to support that. The towers don't know about your rate plan when they serve you signal. That's computed after the fact.
That's just one of the things Sprint has to do to get/keep some customers, because their network is Inferior to any of the others'. You can bet your arse that if Sprint improved their network to the level of T-Mobile, ATT, or Verizon, their Unlimited offerings would disappear in short order.
bah. Me and my wife are out of home all day working, and we reach easily 200GB-300GB per month without doing much besides streaming our favourite series, and the occasional movie - and no 4K videos involved. The data needs have been growing steadily over time, get over it.
I'm not certain will see another surge like we just went through but if we do then yes most likely the context will have changed and today's plans will contain clauses that in the new context don't make sense.
That's simply not true. The relationship between a heavy user and the max bandwidth was lower. Landline connections to the towers and available spectrum were relative to today less constrained. Heavy users of data (excluding extremes) were still not going to tax the towers as much as moderate users of voice. The vast majority of people had no desire to consume much bandwidth. Under those circumstances one can be quite cavalier about offering "unlimited". I can offer free unlimited drinking water at a restaurant, I can't offer unlimited farming water.
Wow what a shocker. You mean unlimited doesn't mean unlimited? who would have thunk it?
We'll be down to a bit under 10GB/mo allowed in 3 years if they follow this 60%/mo decrease pattern.
If a person signs a contract...they shouldn't be held to that contract?
So what if the person does not want to be in a contract anymore for whatever reason, should they not be allowed to cancel said contract? Same for the company.
Basically what they do is end the contract and offer you a new contract that you then can decide to take or not.
In Europe when you sign a contract, the first period will be 1 year. After that it becomes a month to month contract that you can cancel, unless you decide to sign a new one year contract for whatever reason.
The cancel will be done by the customer most of the time, but it can also be done by the company. Most of the times this will involved informing the customer about the change. This can be ANY change in contract. Then let the customer ample time to cancel without question or cost.
I have seen changes where service was extended. e.g. doubling the data and call minutes on a service. They still needed to inform the cutomer that there was a significant change in the contract and that they where allowed to cancel without any question or cost if they so desired.
Obviously you would have to be an idiot to cancel, but still. Change in contract allows you to cancel. Same for the customer who wants to cancel.
And it being a pure money grab. Sure it is, just like it was a moneygrab for the customers who took the service. Besides the one who took it because he liked the name, people took it because it was the best financial decision for them.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Unlimited in their dictionary means = you can use it any way you want as long as it does not violate our rules
I just wish that the data I don't use per month could be credited back. It seems pretty fucked up that I can use 3/5 gigs this month and get no credit back, then have to pay an overage next month if I use 7/5 gigs.
They sold this plan until 2011, at that time 3G connection had been available for 8 years, and 4G was already being discussed. They are a professional service provider, they had the ideal amount of information to predict future technology and market development. Still they decided to sell unlimited plans.
this post contain no useful information, no need to mod it down
Per month? What do they do if you use 200GB per day? Send an employee around to throttle you ['re connection] ?
Requiem for the American Dream
If they intended it to be 100 GB/month, why did they sell it as unlimited?
Roping in customers and competing with sales words that other companies were using.
Long-term fallout is that they have customers leaving and their bandwidth availability decreasing because of increased utilization. Wait, the other companies are the same!
I imaging the model like breathing - Verizon can suck up a bunch of customers but eventually will have to accommodate for the saturation; customers get pissed and leave to go to another company. Other companies then breathe them in with sales tactics and short-term goals (1 year minimum term is the goal). Then, Verizon does something to please the pissed and the other companies do something to piss their customers off. Customers leave those companies and switch to Verizon. Repeat process.
I see this as nothing but (pardon the pun but it fits perfectly) giving themselves breathing room to suck up the next wave of customers with something "Newest/first/best/fastest/blahblahblah". It'll only last a year before those customers see they're getting screwed or the other companies have made a really awesome place for those customers to transition over to. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Repeat and avoid doing that ONE BAD THING that will ruin you forever (I'm thinking of Sprint/Nextel right now. Such bad smokers they can't afford to put up more towers/obtain space, so they breathe very lightly and get worse every year with more and more customers leaving). ;)
"5G" is the next big thing that everyone is going to sell like hotcakes only to start the breathing process in motion again.
The phone will often use a separate APN for hotspot traffic, allowing the provider to better segregate and manage the hotspot traffic including QoS.
Wait, by lowering the threshold they'll snare more people? Wow, thanks for pointing that out Captain Obvious!
Ken
The "unlimited" plans were not unlimited in duration. They were just letting people ride along with old plans for reasons of customer satisfaction. Clearly they have changed their view, but that doesn't mean anyone is getting screwed - they held up their end of the bargain and some.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Curious, which cellphone carriers are looking for users that consume 7-10 Gig of data per day?
Ken
In the USA... unlimited limits you.
If you are consuming 7-10 Gig/day, every day of every month watching your "favorite series, and the occasional movie" on your cell phones you are most definitely NOT an average cellphone user. Myself, I've never streamed a feature-length movie on my cellphone, and I suspect that is true for many/most cellphone users with data plans.
Ken
Nexus 6P Verizon user. Never asked me for permission. Tethered plenty, though I've never abused it.
Nobody else offers unlimited plans, though. And, honestly, 200 GB is... quite a bit. I don't know how somebody could go through that in a month. When AT&T forcibly converted me, kicking and screaming, from my unlimited plan to a metered plan, I went for 10 GB a month, thinking for sure that I'd blow right through it and end up paying ridiculous overage fees. After a few months, I scaled it back to 5 GB a month because I was never even close to hitting my limit, even though I'm on my phone all the time.
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
Are you arguing that if a company offers an "unlimited" plan that it should be available forever without any changes? Would it be ok if they allowed people to stay on the unlimited but only if they connect via 3G or whatever service was available when they signed up?
And to the person that said it was time to find a new service, I'm sure Verizon would love those people using 200-500GB/month to go elsewhere.
Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
Did you mean to reply to the parent? I'm arguing the exact opposite, that Verizon already fulfilled their side of the contract. The high usage people should congratulate themselves for finding a bargain while it lasted.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
It wouldn't be difficult to use that much data with HD streaming on a 90+ minute commute each way on public transit. Maybe that's not an average use case, but I wouldn't call it excessive.
Knowledge Brings Fear
So the phone is 'in on the act', huh? Do all phones do this?
And how do you enforce, that my phone uses this apn?
Would be amusing in the wrongest of ways if they used Verizon Math to set quotas.
For example:
100 Gigabytes -> 0.100 Gigabits
It's not like they've done that before.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Libertarian snark really does no favors here.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
They can't change the contract at literally anytime but next month they can refuse to offer you this month's contract terms.
If they want, they can cancel your agreement mid-cycle and decide to just not bill you for that month, and your only recourse is to switch carriers....