Search:  

 
 
   News
newer
story category Verizon Changes TOS to Define ‘Unlimited’
Getting busted does wonders to motivate change
(old news - 10:18AM Sunday Nov 04 2007)
tags: business · consumers · Verizon Wireless Broadband
Verizon Wireless was finally caught recently for falsely advertising “unlimited” broadband service when the company really meant “limited to 5GB / month”. A statement was issued announcing that the company was committed to clear marketing and would be changing its advertisements to reflect the facts. It appears that they’ve changed not only their advertisements but also their Terms of Service agreement.
“If usage exceeds 5 GB per line during any billing period, we reserve the right to reduce throughput speeds of any application that would otherwise exceed such speed to a maximum of approximately 200 Kbps. These speeds are subject to change, in our reasonable discretion, in order to address network issues.”
This is the second time in the last month that Verizon has changed its TOS. The first time was to reflect their acceptable use policy which they feared (in the wake of AT&T’s same issue) could be misconstrued to indicate that they would terminate service to those people speaking negatively about the company. The TOS do maintain the right to deny service “to anyone we believe is using Data Plans or Features in any manner that adversely impacts our network or service levels”.

Related:
  1. Verizon Wireless Again Tops In Customer Satisfaction
  2. Verizon Wireless Kills Pay As You Go Data Plans
  3. Verizon Tops Consumer Reports Wireless Satisfaction Ratings
  4. Sprint Settles ETF Lawsuit For $17.5 Million
  5. Verizon Flip-Flops, Supports DTV Delay
  6. Verizon To Discontinue 30 Day No-ETF Window?
  7. Verizon Lowers 3G Overage Prices
  8. Verizon Unveils Global Broadband 3G Modem
Forums » Verizon Changes TOS to Define ‘Unlimited’
view: topics flat text 
Post a:

LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast

5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

I only use 5 GB or less per month on two cable connected PCs and I use the internet all the time. So a 5 GB cap for a wireless connection is more than enough.

It is good to see that they are admitting they have one and justifying having one. Maybe people will finally realize that bandwidth costs money and has to be paid for. Unlimited isn't financially sustainable.
Joe12345678

join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

They should also let buy more at Max speed as well not force you to 200 Kbps

LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

said by Joe12345678 See Profile :

They should also let buy more at Max speed as well not force you to 200 Kbps
And they can then use the additional income to add more capacity to the cell towers backhaul.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

I think they would need more spectrum allocated (big $$). Adding backhaul is per site. Adding spectrum is per MTA/BTA.
--
Canada = Hollywood North

SprintVerizoncom

@sprintlink.net
Go with Sprint unlimited EVDO, they should also be letting you buy just the size of pipe you want when WiMAX is released

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI

said by LiamJunket See Profile :

I only use 5 GB or less per month on two cable connected PCs and I use the internet all the time. So a 5 GB cap for a wireless connection is more than enough.

Maybe people will finally realize that bandwidth costs money and has to be paid for. Unlimited isn't financially sustainable.
That's incorrect. Not if the bandwidth is already there. They are like Comcast.. They want to control EVERY corner the customer wants to go. What you want to download and run on your phone and where you get it. There are others, such as Sprint, who can/has/does sustain unlimited bandwidth for it's users and have since vision came out onto market. If you think (and VZW) their network can't handle the bandwidth, then it's no wonder it takes so many people to keep it up and running. Proof is in the pudding I like to say. You gauge the network and it's use by percent of blocking (no bandwidth to handle the call(s)). Gotta wonder if VZW has a larger blockage per cell then any other carrier so they feel the need to hold people back.. What I see through the smoke screen is they know their network can't handle the load. Unlike AT&T, Sprint and others. JMO..

rit56

join:2000-12-01
New York, NY

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

HCT is an employee of Verizon or a similar providor. Check out his posts. 5 GB is bullsh** and you are right about they wanting to control everything.

LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

said by rit56 See Profile :

HCT is an employee of Verizon or a similar providor. Check out his posts. 5 GB is bullsh** and you are right about they wanting to control everything.
No I am not. You post these nonsense claims because you don't have the ability to debate the issues. I feel sorry for you.

r81984
Thread is
Premium
join:2001-11-14
St John'S, NL
·Cox HSI
·Insight Communicat..
·AT&T Midwest

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

HCT,
The reason they make these claims is because you are either a grandma that uses the internet for email or you work for Verizon.

Which one is it?

You have to be stupid to think they can redefine unlimited to 5GB a month.
5GB a day would be sort of OK, but 5GB a month is insane and makes the service pointless.
--
»www.ryanoneill.us

LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

said by r81984 See Profile :

HCT,
The reason they make these claims is because you are either a grandma that uses the internet for email or you work for Verizon.

Which one is it?
Neither. I don't live in the either/or black/white world you apparently live in.
said by r81984 See Profile :

You have to be stupid to think they can redefine unlimited to 5GB a month.
5GB a day would be sort of OK, but 5GB a month is insane and makes the service pointless.
It isn't pointless for the vast majority of users. 5 GB/month will usually satisfy 95% of the users.
--
Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page

r81984
Thread is
Premium
join:2001-11-14
St John'S, NL
·Cox HSI
·Insight Communicat..
·AT&T Midwest

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

said by LiamJunket See Profile :

It isn't pointless for the vast majority of users. 5 GB/month will usually satisfy 95% of the users.
Well thats your opinion.
In my opinion, it will piss off 95% of the users.
--
»www.ryanoneill.us

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI


1 edit

Re: 5 GB not a bad cap for wireless

Common fellas, HCT can have his/her opinion. I've been accused of working for Sprint, comcast, and other providers people love to hate, MANY times (because I'm always for the underdog I guess..) but I keep posting anyway.. If HCT works or contracts for any telecom, he can favor whoever he wants. That's what makes these forums so colorful.
tcapun

join:2007-11-09
Arcadia, CA
"5 GB/month will usually satisfy 95% of the users."

Logic FIRST. If 95% use less than 5GB, why cap the other 5%?
Most likely that percentage is fictional, HCT.

pump and dump

@verizon.net

I am disabled and started using our local library audio book download service. 1 book = 1 gig or more, with my wife and I both using the download service we are now screwed.

Look at all the flash and other commercial trash they are loading up on commercial sites.....squeeze that penny you bastards.
nasadude

join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

1 edit
oops. didn't realize we were talking wireless - never mind.

Pyrion
Liquid Metal Nanomorph

join:2001-12-01
Poway, CA
clubs:
Or they can just switch to Sprint and actually get "unlimited."

Mactron
Happy 4th
Premium
join:2001-12-16
CM94sv

Busted !

Busted !

"If usage exceeds 5 GB per line during any billing period,... "

At least there's a stated Cap now. Unlike a certain Cable Co.
Plus they throttle, not disconnect. At first at least.
--
If only the Verizon CSRs worked this well.
openbox9

join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA

Re: Busted !

There's been a stated cap for a while now. Also 'unlimited' hasn't been used for a while now either.

MuDvAyNe
Premium
join:2002-03-02
Brooklyn, NY
·Vonage

Re: Busted !

said by openbox9 See Profile :

There's been a stated cap for a while now. Also 'unlimited' hasn't been used for a while now either.
I just signed up with Verizon about a month ago and they still called it the Unlimited Data Plan.

Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:
·VoicePulse

adversely impacts our network or service levels

It seems to me this becomes an issue of network capacity rather than abuse.

Example: I have a 6000/768 DSL line. I offer to sell 6000/768 wifi service to 3 of my neighbors, based on the theory that none of them will be using it at the same time. Then they all get on at one time, and end up fighting for the same limited bandwidth. Each of them has now "adversely impacted my network or service levels", just by using the bandwidth they were promised. In reality, I shouldn't have offered to sell 3x my maximum bandwidth capacity, making it my fault.

The same is true of internet service. Don't oversell your bandwidth, and you won't have to worry about anyone "adversely impacts our network or service levels"
--
Intel Quad Core QX6700 @3500Mhz/Asus P5N32-E SLI/4x 1024Mb Corsair/WD 74Gb Raptor/PNY 7800GTs SLI/Antec 550 True Control/Custom water cooler

jchambers28

join:2007-05-12
Alma, AR

Re: adversely impacts our network or service levels

why don't they offer a true unlimited package

GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
·Verizon FIOS

said by Camelot One See Profile :

The same is true of internet service. Don't oversell your bandwidth, and you won't have to worry about anyone "adversely impacts our network or service levels"
The only way you get 10-30mb for under $75/mo is overselling bandwidth. If you want dedicated, get a T1 (1.5mb) for a few hundred dollars a month. Otherwise, it's shared, oversold bandwidth.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter

Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:
·VoicePulse

Re: adversely impacts our network or service levels

said by GeekNJ See Profile :

said by Camelot One See Profile :

The same is true of internet service. Don't oversell your bandwidth, and you won't have to worry about anyone "adversely impacts our network or service levels"
The only way you get 10-30mb for under $75/mo is overselling bandwidth. If you want dedicated, get a T1 (1.5mb) for a few hundred dollars a month. Otherwise, it's shared, oversold bandwidth.
I agree. But advertise it as such.
--
Intel Quad Core QX6700 @3500Mhz/Asus P5N32-E SLI/4x 1024Mb Corsair/WD 74Gb Raptor/PNY 7800GTs SLI/Antec 550 True Control/Custom water cooler
AquaBlaze
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA

Re: adversely impacts our network or service levels

said by Camelot One See Profile :

I agree. But advertise it as such.
I think that's there under the ISP's "best effort" clauses. They'll sell you a rated line, but if the node's saturated, you then get the ISP's "best effort" at the maintained speed.

Basically, if you want a line that'll be avaliable 24/7 at the speed you've purchased, you need a business line. Otherwise, you're subject to the TOS they hand out for residential/consumer lines.
Done_Posting
Shoot to kill
Premium
join:2003-08-22
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable

Somewhat off topic, but...

Even T1's can be oversold... and I'd go so far as to say that more often than you think, they actually are. This holds especially true for PRI's in my experience. One of the big differences between broadband and SLA'ed circuits is that they're oversold at vastly different ratios though; I know a "certain company" that does T1's at a 1:2 ratio (one unit of WAN resources per two customers), vs. a broadband connection that is oversold at a ratio of 1:25 or more. Everyone oversells -- it's the foundation of the telecommunication industry. It is what it is.

I think a key thing to remember when discussing overselling is that it doesn't necessarily mean that the circuit itself is oversold. Take DSL for example. Even though you are on a dedicated P2P loop, once the circuit terminates at an RT or CO, that facility's backhaul or WAN connection could easily be saturated with traffic if it's serving a dense area and all the users decide to stream video at the same time.

At present, there just isn't any economically feasible way to ensure true 1:1 ratios, whether the bottleneck is in the plant (like cable), or the headend (like telco). Things may be much different once the world is covered with fiber or new breakthroughs are made in radio communications though...

- Tate

--
Happiness is an OC-48 in your basement...
jc100

join:2002-04-10
·RoadRunner Cable

Sprint EVDO

Great service. As much as sprint is a pain in the ass when it comes to billing / overbilling, their EVDO service is the ONLY reason I have stayed. It has terrific coverage and is pretty reliable. Not to mention, its unlimited, though I dont do much on it. Still, I like to know I won't be shut off for "exceeding" some arbitrary cap. For this service, Sprint gets an A+. For Customer service and knowledge ability, that's a different issue.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ
clubs:

Go ahead and make sport.

Verizon is TPC, Verizon knows what you need, Verizon 20/20 @ $65 .

aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Go ahead and make sport.

said by batterup See Profile :

Verizon is TPC, Verizon knows what you need, Verizon 20/20 @ $65 .
I like my 30/5 service for $55 better.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ
clubs:
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Go ahead and make sport.

said by aaronwt See Profile :

said by batterup See Profile :

Verizon is TPC, Verizon knows what you need, Verizon 20/20 @ $65 .
I like my 30/5 service for $55 better.
You never saw 30 and you are not sharing the porn equally.

This costs me $50 a month.

aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
·Verizon Online DSL


3 edits

Re: Go ahead and make sport.



I usually get 4.5 or 4.6 mbs upload but tonight it is much lower. I consistently get close to 30mbs down though.



duked

join:2000-08-12
Brunswick, ME

any lawyers??

Ok I have a question. Verizon has changed there terms of service, the term i signed up for , my question is
can i break my contract with out penalty? since they
in a sense all ready did.

See 7 replies to this post
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

speed

So now Verizon Wireless will rolling throttle your EVDO rather than terminate you as a customer? I heard they stopped sending the letters, so I guess they bought a Sandvine for their EVDO network to deal with bandwidth users/abusers and now will just lower your speed rather than terminate you.

insomniac84

join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

The government needs to fix this

The companies who have been lying, even if they correct it now, should be heavily fined and punished for it. At the very least from now on they need to be forced to advertise any cap before a cap should be legally enforceable. And of course any decrease in cap size should also permit a user to break their contract.

MoeDumb
I already have a Messiah.
Premium
join:2002-09-23


1 edit

Re: The government needs to fix this

said by insomniac84 See Profile :

The companies who have been lying, even if they correct it now, should be heavily fined and punished for it.
The cost of which they'll happily pass on to you, the customer
--
"tick...tick...tick..."
»www.jtf.org/
Forums » Verizon Changes TOS to Define ‘Unlimited’


Saturday, 04-Jul 06:03:00 Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Hosting by www.nac.net - DSL,Hosting & Co-lo | feedback | contact
over 9.5 years online! © 1999-2009 dslreports.com.