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Comments on news posted 2012-06-12 10:05:27: Verizon today finally unveiled the company's first even shared data or family plan, which allows users in one household to pull from a pool of minutes -- much like users have been able to do with voice minutes for years. ..

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nweaver
join:2010-01-13
Napa, CA

nweaver

Member

Less of a killer price jump than I expected...

My current plan: Me with smartphone, GF with dumbphone:

Two lines, 1000 minutes, 500 texts shared between them: $85

Data for my iPhone, 4 GB with tethering: $50

The new one would be $70 for the two phones, for more calling that we don't use and more texting that we don't use, but another $70 for the data, its a HUGE jump in the cost-of-data over the existing pricing but it actually isn't that big of a net jump in cost...

If she ever wanted an iPhone, it would be cheaper, actually, since 2GB data for her and just 2GB for me is $60 a month on the current pricing, plus $30 for hotspot, but $70 on the new pricing including hotspot on both phones.
Muyrec
join:2009-09-28
Miami, FL

Muyrec

Member

lol

lol looks like i won't be upgrading my thunderbolt anytime soon. Keeping my unlimited data plan as long as possible.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Overages are HIGHER

$15 per GB instead of $10. Nice going backwards Verizon.
jims2321
join:2000-04-05
Suwanee, GA
·Charter

jims2321

Member

New Verizon Plan senseless for me

For me and my single smartphone, it will cost me around $35/m to upgrade my phone and lose my unlimited data plan. Granted I only use around 500mb of data per month, but even Verizon's cheapest plan with 2GB of data is $100/m before taxes.

So basic math:

24 * $35 + subsidized price (199) vs $649 (full price Iphone) + current plan.

Or keep my Droid Charge and current plan.

Honestly does anybody think that Apple is going to allow Verizon to impact their Iphone sales? I betcha Apple either cuts their prices or puts the squeeze on Verizon to retract their position on full price to keep the unlimited data plan.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

Re: New Verizon Plan senseless for me

If you are a single user, go to pageplus $55 (no taxes if you are keen and less if you get the cards) for 2GB all in, and you can BYOD. To date it's only 3G, so you need a 3G phone (like an iphone). Theoretically they don't allow iphone, but there are ways around that. So you can easily save $60-$70 and still be on the same network with no contract or locked to a phone. Also buying used droids is cheap...

Drum beat: It's the same Verizon network.

I have a droid charge lying around after I got my iphone, and I am waiting for 4G phones to come to pageplus. If they don't then I use someone else.

BTW - People don't usually know this because they always get a new sub phone, but nobody said you had to buy a brand new phone to keep unlimited, it just has to be a phone w/ a clean ESN. So when the iphone XXX (or whatever they call it) comes out iphone 4 and 4s will be cheapo. Or get a last generation droid for $150.

FWIW if you are well under 2G and can control video, prepaid is the way to go.

I was sad to see my unlimited go away, but w/ wifi management I can keep 1GB.

aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
Asus RT-AX89

aaronwt to jims2321

Premium Member

to jims2321
said by jims2321:

For me and my single smartphone, it will cost me around $35/m to upgrade my phone and lose my unlimited data plan. Granted I only use around 500mb of data per month, but even Verizon's cheapest plan with 2GB of data is $100/m before taxes.

So basic math:

24 * $35 + subsidized price (199) vs $649 (full price Iphone) + current plan.

Or keep my Droid Charge and current plan.

Honestly does anybody think that Apple is going to allow Verizon to impact their Iphone sales? I betcha Apple either cuts their prices or puts the squeeze on Verizon to retract their position on full price to keep the unlimited data plan.

For a single smartphone there is a different set of prices. It's when you have the shared plan with multiplephones that you use these prices. For a single smartphone it's still $30 for 2GB of data. Which is what I currently pay for unlimited.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Everyone on the Smartphone train

The bottom line of this switch is that they want everyone on smartphones, and fast.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Verizon will LOSE money

Just by here and the Verizon website messagebaords I see A LOT of people that are dumping Verizon as soon as their contracts are up. I'm pretty sure that's not what Verizon intended.

We don't use half the 700 minutes we have now so how is unlimited minutes a benefit? I'll need confirmation but I've read that you can use employee discounts for this either. That right there is deal breaker.
tdar
join:2004-04-05
Alpharetta, GA

tdar

Member

Re: Verizon will LOSE money

said by 88615298:

Just by here and the Verizon website messagebaords I see A LOT of people that are dumping Verizon as soon as their contracts are up. I'm pretty sure that's not what Verizon intended.

We don't use half the 700 minutes we have now so how is unlimited minutes a benefit? I'll need confirmation but I've read that you can use employee discounts for this either. That right there is deal breaker.

What they intended is that by the time everyone's contracts are up, all the other carriers will raze their prices as well. Got to love an oligopoly!
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

Just by here and the Verizon website messagebaords I see A LOT of people that are dumping Verizon as soon as their contracts are up.

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm amazed that people didn't think shared plans were coming with effective price increases.
said by 88615298:

We don't use half the 700 minutes we have now so how is unlimited minutes a benefit?

VZW knows that and that's why plans will be unlimited now. It's more of a marketing gimmick than anything. Not much different than when landlines went from metered long distance to "unlimited".
slimtim
join:2002-12-12
Cleveland, TN

slimtim

Member

Re: Verizon will LOSE money

They got to find a way to keep the ARPU high....
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Verizon will LOSE money

Yes. The "MB" is the old "minute". This evolution (and it is evolution Karl) has been coming since smartphones started flying off the shelves a few years ago and has been discussed ad nauseam. I don't understand how people are surprised.

DrModem
Trust Your Doctor
Premium Member
join:2006-10-19
USA

DrModem

Premium Member

Dumb

I have an iPhone which I currently pay 40/5/30 on for 2 gb of data and minimum everything else. That's $75/mo. I also have an iPad(not 3G)

So If I got a 3g ipad and switched to this plan I'd go to 40/60/10, or $110/mo, just for the privilege of sharing that same 2gb pool with an iPad?

Unlimited voice and SMS are not draws for me. Almost everyone I text also has an iPhone, meaning I send very little actual SMS because of the iMessage function. I have never gotten close to the 250 message amount of my plan. I hardly ever use the phone function... I may use 10 out of the 450 minutes I have a month.

I have news for you Verizon... Mywi may cost $19.99 and require jail breaking, but it's a heck of alot better than this ripoff.

$50 for one gb... LOL.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Universal Truth

I've been saying this for a long time... nearly as long as I had been saying that the 250GB Comcast usage cap had nothing to do with addressing congestion, but was an artificially created measure to prevent services such as Netflix/iTunes from competing.

"A carrier does not do anything to actually save a customer money."

I don't care if it's device subsidies, voice minutes, data, or SMS... A carrier will never do anything to save a customer money.

Count on it. That the truth now and it will always be this way.

cyronader
@comcast.net

cyronader

Anon

Pay more for less it seems

My family has three smart phones and one dumb phone. So going by this new family share plan that would mean 40X3 + 30 = 150 + 50 = 200+ tax and other fake fees.
But on my current plan (I am on AT&T) I pay 54 dollars for 1100 mins (grandfather deal), 30 dollars for the 3 additional lines, 30 dollars for for family texting, 25 dollars for 2 gig data on line 1, and 15 dollars each for 200mb on lines 2 and 3. Line 4 has nothing (dumb phone)
Add it all together and I pay $169 and with tax and fees its about 174 a month.

If I go with this new plan then that means I would be paying more for less. I think this type of data plan only works for families of 5 or more. But all to together this data plan sucks....

NOCMan
MadMacHatter
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Colorado Springs, CO

NOCMan

Premium Member

Remember When Prices Were Going Down?

Prices were lowering all over, with companies like Alltel & MetroPCS leading the way to lower prices, they were the first with unlimited plans, and other unlimited features, which caused Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile to all lower their prices and generally match those features.

Then the mergers started happening, and now we all see our costs going up.

The Limit
Premium Member
join:2007-09-25
Denver, CO

The Limit

Premium Member

Insane

No way am I paying that kind of money for data. Count me out, once I lose my unlimited plan I'm looking elsewhere. I can't justify that amount for data. I love data, but there's a line that I won't cross. I can live without data on my phone if the price has to go up THIS high. I mean, I wish they would just sell unlimited voice and text, and then allow us to use our iPhones but without data. I can live with wifi, and I'm sure I can get by without maps. It's really the only reason I have data.
listonr12
join:2005-10-05
Terre Haute, IN

listonr12

Member

Home Phone Connect

I'm curious as to how this will work with those who have a home phone connect as an added line and sharing plan minutes. Seems stupid to have to pay $30 for it when it would be $20 for unlimited calling right now.

MorbidFun
@pacbell.net

MorbidFun

Anon

No real value

After a side by side comparison with my current plan and by adding a Jetpack, my rate with the new plans would be $5 cheaper. If I do not go with the 4G Jetpack, I am better off with my current four phone plan.
No value here for us.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude

Premium Member

I want to get data plan for both phones and computer devices

Assuming I am understanding these plans and packages correctly, I will need a phone data plan AND a computer data plan (another $50)? I can't use the current phone data plan, in Apple iPhone 4S with its Verizon's 3G, to use as a wirelesss hotspot to the computer devices through their wireless connections?" It's dang expensive already!

I'd like to use it as a backup in case my home's Time Warner Cable's Internet connection goes down or I need to go out that has no open/free wifi for quick Internet usages.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

1 recommendation

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: I want to get data plan for both phones and computer devices

said by antdude:

Assuming I am understanding these plans and packages correctly, I will need a phone data plan AND a computer data plan (another $50)? I can't use the current phone data plan, in Apple iPhone 4S with its Verizon's 3G, to use as a wirelesss hotspot to the computer devices through their wireless connections?" It's dang expensive already!

No you are misunderstanding it. Under these new plans you can use your phone as a hot spot without paying the $20 fee.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude

Premium Member

Re: I want to get data plan for both phones and computer devices

said by 88615298:

said by antdude:

Assuming I am understanding these plans and packages correctly, I will need a phone data plan AND a computer data plan (another $50)? I can't use the current phone data plan, in Apple iPhone 4S with its Verizon's 3G, to use as a wirelesss hotspot to the computer devices through their wireless connections?" It's dang expensive already!

No you are misunderstanding it. Under these new plans you can use your phone as a hot spot without paying the $20 fee.

When do these new plans start? Today? So I do/will not have to change anything for plans (currently 2 GB phone data plan) and can make iPhone 4S to become a hotspot and use a computer's wireless device to connect to start?
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

1 recommendation

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: I want to get data plan for both phones and computer devices

said by antdude:

said by 88615298:

said by antdude:

Assuming I am understanding these plans and packages correctly, I will need a phone data plan AND a computer data plan (another $50)? I can't use the current phone data plan, in Apple iPhone 4S with its Verizon's 3G, to use as a wirelesss hotspot to the computer devices through their wireless connections?" It's dang expensive already!

No you are misunderstanding it. Under these new plans you can use your phone as a hot spot without paying the $20 fee.

When do these new plans start?

June 28th. And you'll have to change over to these plans from your current plan.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude

Premium Member

Re: I want to get data plan for both phones and computer devices

said by 88615298:

June 28th. And you'll have to change over to these plans from your current plan.

Thanks.
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Will these plans be the only option?

I'm trying to understand if these plans will be the only option. I know that you can't keep unlimited data, but what about people on Family Share plans with the newer capped data plans? Are those going away too?
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Will these plans be the only option?

said by ISurfTooMuch:

I'm trying to understand if these plans will be the only option. I know that you can't keep unlimited data, but what about people on Family Share plans with the newer capped data plans? Are those going away too?

No you can stay on your current plan but I figure sometime in the future you won't have an option.
bcltoys
join:2008-07-21

bcltoys

Member

You can keep unlimited.

You can keep unlimited, you just have to buy phone's at full retail price.

datguy11
@verizon.net

datguy11

Anon

I pay $270 a month now

I have 5 phones on a family plan.

2 smartphones (iPhones)
2 samsung rouges (regular phone)
1 LG env touch (regular phone)

1400 shared minutes, unlimited texting for all phones AND unlimited data for all

the "regular" phones are not technically smart phones, but I can browse and check emails, etc

So under the "new plan" I would pay

$80 for the 2 smarts
$90 for the 3 not so smarts

$170 right there

Not sure how much data I use, maybe its in the 6 to 8 MB range

So what am I really saving?

Dont forget my $270 includes insurance on the smart phones, taxes and fee's and a 22% discount on the family plan (not the data)

So is it worth it to switch?

HardOHearing

Anon

I don't recall being asked what I wanted

and it certainly wouldn't have been 50% higher fees to go from unlimited to 2Gig

Jmartz0
join:2000-07-20
Tenafly, NJ

Jmartz0

Member

I am eligible to upgrade...

My upgrade is available ON JUNE 30. Go figure, I will be asking for an early upgrade. Basically it will be presented to them like this:

Please give me early upgrade at discounted price to lock me into a new contract.

If they refuse, I keep my current phone and terminate my service in October and they don't get any more money from me.

It should be easy for them, make me happy and keep me for another 2 years guaranteed... piss me off and they stop getting my money in October after my current contract expires.

I bet they could be sued for this too, seems like bait and switch since I'm supposed to be grandfathered onto that "new every two" thing... kinda screwing me over big time since that's not even offered anymore and if I use it, they rake me over the coals with a price increase for less service.

Maybe Mike Bloomberg should look into companies screwing customers over and stop trying to tell me I can't have a huge jamba juice for lunch.

south1178
Premium Member
join:2001-12-17
Cleveland, OH

south1178

Premium Member

Re: I am eligible to upgrade...

June 30th is your 2 year end date? If so you can upgrade 2 months before your 2 years with an "Early" upgrade. I think they may charge you $20 bucks for it though.

Jmartz0
join:2000-07-20
Tenafly, NJ

Jmartz0

Member

Re: I am eligible to upgrade...

October 30th is my end date. June 30th they let me upgrade. If I upgrade June 30th I loose my unlimited data. I need to get them to let me do it on the 27th. If they don't I go to prepaid phone on 10/31 when contract is up. They can make me happy and them happy by letting me upgrade before this change happens or they loose me for good come October. Should be easy choice for them.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

10 gigs

what a joke!

south1178
Premium Member
join:2001-12-17
Cleveland, OH

south1178

Premium Member

Re: 10 gigs

I agree. I think it's time I drop my "smartphone" and just go back to a normal featureless one.

GreggE
Let me think..
Premium Member
join:2003-06-01
Mid Tenn

GreggE

Premium Member

Not as bad when I did the math

I have 3 iPhones on my plan with only my line being unlimited data and we share 700 minutes. The other two are on the $30/2GB plan. The Verizon calculator recommends the 6GB plan but I think that will fall short. If I go up to the 8GB plan its $210 a month and I think I can live within that. My bill now is $187 (before taxes) after a 15% corporate discount. Providing the discount will still apply, it will be $178 a month on the new plan.

Now I'll have unlimited minutes (which we use way less than 700 anyway) and with the hotspot being a free perk, I can get on the internet with either a laptop or tablet as well.

I'm sure I've done some math wrong somewhere and I will still end up paying more but from my calculation I'm coming out ahead.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

Re: Not as bad when I did the math

said by GreggE:

I have 3 iPhones on my plan with only my line being unlimited data and we share 700 minutes. The other two are on the $30/2GB plan. The Verizon calculator recommends the 6GB plan but I think that will fall short. If I go up to the 8GB plan its $210 a month and I think I can live within that. My bill now is $187 (before taxes) after a 15% corporate discount. Providing the discount will still apply, it will be $178 a month on the new plan.

Now I'll have unlimited minutes (which we use way less than 700 anyway) and with the hotspot being a free perk, I can get on the internet with either a laptop or tablet as well.

I'm sure I've done some math wrong somewhere and I will still end up paying more but from my calculation I'm coming out ahead.

Your current bill sounds high.

$70 - 700 minute plan
$90 - 3 phones with data - $30 * 3
$10 - the 3rd phone line access - first two were included
$30 - text messaging
-------------------------
$200

Am I missing something? We are on the 1400 minute plan, and we have 4 lines, all smartphones, also with the text messaging. After taxes, my bill is always about $230. And there is no corporate discount for me.
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