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Verizon Confirms Wireless Data Pricing Shakeup
Scheduled For Later This Week
Late last month leaks suggested that Verizon would be ditching unlimited data pricing July 7. As of that date, all 3G or 4G smartphone owners will have just three data options available to them: $30 for 2GB of data, $50 for 5GB of data, and $80 for 10GB of data. Unlimited data plan users will be able to have their plans grandfathered, for a while. While Verizon initially would only confirm changes were coming, this week they've confirmed all of the pricing specifics of these leaks. They've also confirmed that unlimited data plans will be grandfathered, and have noted a few changes to their mobile hotspot pricing -- namely that mobile hotspot access will no longer be free:
quote:
Currently, the LTE mobile hotspot feature is free and unlimited. Raney said that for customers who have been using the LTE mobile hotspot service on their phones, starting July 7, they will be charged $30 per month for unlimited LTE mobile hotspot use. For new customers, the mobile hotspot service will cost $20 for an extra 2 GB of data to be used for mobile hotspot service or any other data service.
According to Droid Life, an automatic update will be pushed to the Thunderbolt, Charge, and Revolution on the 6th or 7th to cut off free hotspot capabilities.
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pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Folks we have a new profit center

Looks like more can be made on data than voice.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Folks we have a new profit center

It's an additional/increased revenue stream, not a profit center. Anyway, many have suggested for a while now that data tier pricing will replace/augment the declining revenue in voice minutes.

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

NOCMan

Premium Member

Re: Folks we have a new profit center

That may be true, but voice minutes quit dropping in price the second AT&T had it's mega merger and Verizon gobbled up Alltel. Now the only companies that try to drive down pricing like MetroPCS are just too small to force the other 80% ownership to move on pricing.

EliteData
EliteData
Premium Member
join:2003-07-06
Philippines

1 recommendation

EliteData

Premium Member

soon

you will be charged just for your phone to associate with the radio tower in standby mode.
en103
join:2011-05-02

en103

Member

Re: soon

Watchout for corprorate applications that are driven to be chatty and drive up the use of data (and revenue).
SMS was like this - effectively charging (gouging) a ton of money for what is effectively almost free.
Carriers will 'switch' from what is SMS to a data based equivalent that uses data to be able to charge you even more. MS Live Communicator is a VERY chatty tool, keeping status updates, etc in near real time.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Unless they come out with a family data plan

that is significantly cheaper then when my contract is up I'll go back to a regular phone. The only reason I even got my smartphone was because I got their $15 for 150 MB monthly plan. I don't even really like paying that. I could use their $10 75 MB plan they have for feature phones and not go over. Sorry I'm not paying $360 a year just for the right to have a smartphone.
dynodb
Premium Member
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

1 recommendation

dynodb

Premium Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

How did you manage to get a Verizon smartphone without the smartphone data plan and still be under contract? They've required it for smartphones for over 2.5 years now.

I thought the same thing before getting my first smartphone (Motorola Droid). My previous phone had the ability to surf the internet, but I almost never did.

After getting the Droid, I came to find that staying under 75M would be extremely difficult, and even 150M would mean that I'd have to seriously limit what I did with the phone.

Between app downloads, updates and background data, they use a significant amount of data even without accessing the Internet. Short of using a smartphone just for playing games and listening to mp3's, limiting yourself to 75M would almost defeat the purpose of having a smartphone in the first place.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by dynodb:

How did you manage to get a Verizon smartphone without the smartphone data plan and still be under contract? They've required it for smartphones for over 2.5 years now.

because from Oct-Jan of last year Verizon had a deal where you get get a smartphone and get plan for $15 a month for 150 MB. I'm grandfathered in until my contract runs out which will be Nov 2012 or I upgrade which I can do in July 2012.

Between app downloads, updates and background data, they use a significant amount of data even without accessing the Internet. Short of using a smartphone just for playing games and listening to mp3's, limiting yourself to 75M would almost defeat the purpose of having a smartphone in the first place.

Um..... you see there is this thing called Wi-Fi. Unfortuneately you can't get a phone with wi-fi without it being called smartphone and thus incurring the $30 charge even if you have ZERO intentions of using Verizon's data.

Zero5
join:2009-07-01
Collegeville, PA

Zero5

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

You can get a feature phone with Wi-Fi..I'm using one right now. Verizon is the only major carrier that has two Wi-Fi feature phones since they used to be smartphones - the KIN ONEm and TWOm. No data plan required and with a data block no worrying about accidental data charges. It doesn't really have any "apps" but with IE mobile it's decent for web browsing. Now if only Microsoft would merge it with WP7...
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by Zero5:

You can get a feature phone with Wi-Fi..I'm using one right now. Verizon is the only major carrier that has two Wi-Fi feature phones since they used to be smartphones - the KIN ONEm and TWOm. No data plan required and with a data block no worrying about accidental data charges. It doesn't really have any "apps" but with IE mobile it's decent for web browsing. Now if only Microsoft would merge it with WP7...

Yeah my son has a kin TWOm. I don't like it. Buttons are way too small. They had plenty of room to make the buttons bigger. Hate the interface. Also wi-fi only goes up to wireless G and the screen is only 400X240. I doubt it does flash on the internet. And since I can't get one at a discounted price until July 2012 I doubt they'll be selling them then even if I wanted one. The Kin ONEm is funky looking and impractical.
dynodb
Premium Member
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

dynodb to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

Um..... you see there is this thing called Wi-Fi. Unfortuneately you can't get a phone with wi-fi without it being called smartphone and thus incurring the $30 charge even if you have ZERO intentions of using Verizon's data.

Ah- I suppose if you'd only use data in wi-fi range, then yeah- Verizon probably wouldn't be the best carrier for you. The data plan requirement goes back to Nov 2008, so at least you've had time to consider your options.

Like most, a 2GB cap is unlikely to affect me, and I wouldn't want to be limited to 75M or 150M.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by dynodb:

said by 88615298:

Um..... you see there is this thing called Wi-Fi. Unfortuneately you can't get a phone with wi-fi without it being called smartphone and thus incurring the $30 charge even if you have ZERO intentions of using Verizon's data.

Ah- I suppose if you'd only use data in wi-fi range, then yeah- Verizon probably wouldn't be the best carrier for you. The data plan requirement goes back to Nov 2008, so at least you've had time to consider your options.

Like most, a 2GB cap is unlikely to affect me, and I wouldn't want to be limited to 75M or 150M.

Doesn't matter when the plan goes back too. When at&t got rid of unlimited they did offer a cheap option. They have a $20 200 MB plan. There is ZERO reason Verizon can't offer the $10 75 MB to those of us on smarthphones that want it. ZERO.
dynodb
Premium Member
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

dynodb

Premium Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

There's no reason they can't, but there are legitimate reasons they may not want to.

Sure, part of it (a large part no doubt) is to make more money- they are a for-profit corporation after all.

However, imagine what would happen if they did offer a cheap 75M plan for smartphone users. How many tens of thousands of complaints would they get from people who went over the limit because they didn't take into account that smartphones (depending on what apps are loaded and running) eat up data in the background? The average, non-savvy user would scream about being overcharged and cheated because they didn't realize (and may not want to accept) that you don't have to surf the 'net or watch videos to use data.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by dynodb:

There's no reason they can't, but there are legitimate reasons they may not want to.

Sure, part of it (a large part no doubt) is to make more money- they are a for-profit corporation after all.

However, imagine what would happen if they did offer a cheap 75M plan for smartphone users. How many tens of thousands of complaints would they get from people who went over the limit because they didn't take into account that smartphones (depending on what apps are loaded and running) eat up data in the background? The average, non-savvy user would scream about being overcharged and cheated because they didn't realize (and may not want to accept) that you don't have to surf the 'net or watch videos to use data.

If they were worried about people going over they wouldn't have taken away the unlimited plan. And I'm 100% sure they are not worried about making gobs of money off of overage fees form people going over the 75 MB. What they are worried about is people like me who rather pay $10 than $30. They think the can force people like me to a $30 plan. What they'll end up doing is getting me to do a ZERO $ plan. In their stupid brains ZERO $ is better than $10 a month.
dynodb
Premium Member
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

dynodb

Premium Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

Here's an interesting article concerning average data use:

»blog.nielsen.com/nielsen ··· down-46/

Highlights:

Average monthly usage for all smartphone users as of first quarter of 2011: 435M

Percentage of users going over 2GB: 3%

Increase in monthly data per user from Q1 2010 to Q1 2011: 89%

And yes, it does show that there are a significant number who use very little data, but for how long? Verizon might well lose a few people like you, but they aren't exactly hurting by failing to do so.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by dynodb:

Here's an interesting article concerning average data use:

»blog.nielsen.com/nielsen ··· down-46/

Highlights:

Average monthly usage for all smartphone users as of first quarter of 2011: 435M

Percentage of users going over 2GB: 3%

Increase in monthly data per user from Q1 2010 to Q1 2011: 89%

And yes, it does show that there are a significant number who use very little data, but for how long? Verizon might well lose a few people like you, but they aren't exactly hurting by failing to do so.

Let's have fun with math. Ok 89% increase per year. So if people didn't have to worry about caps. Average monthly useage.

2011 435 MB
2012 822 MB
2013 1554 MB
2014 2937 MB
2015 5550 MB

It's obvious within 3 years most people would exceed 2 GB if there weren't any caps.
slckusr
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Greenville, SC

slckusr

Premium Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

I have a "Family Data Plan" Currently from verizon.

1400 minutes unlimited data on every line. I pay 10$ monthly for my first add a line and 20.00 for each additional. The 30$ on my main line is also priced at 10.00 monthly.

This plan was offered to me at the beginning of this year under the stipulation I extend my contract for 1 year on all my lines. ( a no brainer at the time)

After taxes im around 180 per month with 3 lines. Versus the 230+ i was paying with unlimited data on 1 line, and one of their cheesy smaller packages on a second.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by slckusr:

I have a "Family Data Plan" Currently from verizon.

1400 minutes unlimited data on every line. I pay 10$ monthly for my first add a line and 20.00 for each additional. The 30$ on my main line is also priced at 10.00 monthly.

This plan was offered to me at the beginning of this year under the stipulation I extend my contract for 1 year on all my lines. ( a no brainer at the time)

After taxes im around 180 per month with 3 lines. Versus the 230+ i was paying with unlimited data on 1 line, and one of their cheesy smaller packages on a second.

A) they only offered that to select people

B) they don't offer that anymore so that's no good to me anyways

C) We don't need 1400 minutes. That's an extra $20 a month so that negates the savings on the data plan.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora to dynodb

Premium Member

to dynodb
I may switch from a smart phone to a dumb phone with tablet. It'll be cheaper to look for free Wi-Fi at hotspots as necessary.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by pandora:

I may switch from a smart phone to a dumb phone with tablet. It'll be cheaper to look for free Wi-Fi at hotspots as necessary.

Yep was thinking maybe dumbphone and PSVita. Does everything I want in a smartphone except make calls which is what the dumbphone will do. At $250 after saving $30 a month for 9 months it's paid for itself.
ShellMMG
join:2009-04-16
Grass Lake, MI

ShellMMG to pandora

Member

to pandora
That is the setup I use. My family plan phones are all "dummies" and we use a Cradlepoint router with the aircard for our devices (I have an iPad). These data plans have to be soaking families dry...and the bill shock is going to be nasty.

And I keep thinking:

"Beware the broadband caps, my son! The bills that bite, the limits that catch! Beware your Netflix use, & shun the streaming apps!"
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23 to dynodb

Member

to dynodb
My wife has a BB Torch on AT&T with 200MB and never goes above 50MB. She surfs a lot, emails pictures and videos also.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
I expect the family data share plans to show up later this summer, prior to the "back to school" season. I wouldn't count on it to get you anywhere close to $15/mth for 150 MB. If anything, it will likely be priced slightly less than what it costs to have two data plans currently. Purely a guess, but if I were doing it....

Current data price for family plan with two lines: $60
WAG at shared data price for family plan with two lines:
- $50 for 3 GB/mth
- $75 for 7 GB/mth
- $99 for 12 GB/mth

Saves consumers money, therefore encouraging grandfathered users to willingly surrender their unlimited plans. Or may VZW will keep everything really simple and maintain the new data tiers while charging a $10/line fee like it does currently for voice, (e.g., my two data plans for a total of $60/mth will change to $30+$10 each mth for 2 GB of data).
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by openbox9:

I expect the family data share plans to show up later this summer, prior to the "back to school" season. I wouldn't count on it to get you anywhere close to $15/mth for 150 MB. If anything, it will likely be priced slightly less than what it costs to have two data plans currently. Purely a guess, but if I were doing it....

Current data price for family plan with two lines: $60
WAG at shared data price for family plan with two lines:
- $50 for 3 GB/mth
- $75 for 7 GB/mth
- $99 for 12 GB/mth

At those prices I could bite. We have 4 phones so $50/4 =$12.50. So that's $2.50 a month less than what I'm paying now. That might get everyone else to upgrade to a smartphone. At current prices hell no.

I suspect data amounts will be the same though. I'm thinking they'll be closer to:

$50 for 2 GB
$80 for 5 GB
$120 for 10 GB

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

Vchat20

Premium Member

Re: Unless they come out with a family data plan

said by 88615298:

said by openbox9:

I expect the family data share plans to show up later this summer, prior to the "back to school" season. I wouldn't count on it to get you anywhere close to $15/mth for 150 MB. If anything, it will likely be priced slightly less than what it costs to have two data plans currently. Purely a guess, but if I were doing it....

Current data price for family plan with two lines: $60
WAG at shared data price for family plan with two lines:
- $50 for 3 GB/mth
- $75 for 7 GB/mth
- $99 for 12 GB/mth

At those prices I could bite. We have 4 phones so $50/4 =$12.50. So that's $2.50 a month less than what I'm paying now. That might get everyone else to upgrade to a smartphone. At current prices hell no.

I suspect data amounts will be the same though. I'm thinking they'll be closer to:

$50 for 2 GB
$80 for 5 GB
$120 for 10 GB

I agree. Right now in our house we have 2 smartphones on the current unlimited data plan. Likely going to get at least one more added after this changeover. With the current data usage amongst the existing 2 phones and expected addition of the 3rd, a capped shared data plan at these prices would be enticing. Until a confirmation from Verizon though, the 3rd looks like it is going straight to PagePlus.

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One to 88615298

MVM

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

that is significantly cheaper then when my contract is up I'll go back to a regular phone. The only reason I even got my smartphone was because I got their $15 for 150 MB monthly plan.

Just FYI, you will continue to be grandfathered on that $15 plan as long as you keep the same phone, even beyond the end of your current contract. They will (usually) force you into something higher if you buy a new smart phone though.

stvnbrs
Premium Member
join:2009-03-17
Cary, NC

stvnbrs

Premium Member

What about the $15 plans?

I have unlimited, wife has $15 plan. I found I can save at least $30 a month on my bills switching over to AT&T but Verizon says $350 per phone to disconnect and nothing they can do to lower two droid phones below $140 a month.

If they try to change her over, I will try to use this as a way out of contract. Not happy about this at all.

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

south1178

Premium Member

Re: What about the $15 plans?

You'll be grandfathered in until you change your plan. Just like the America's Choice plan that I had for a few years.
old_wiz_60
join:2005-06-03
Bedford, MA

1 recommendation

old_wiz_60

Member

Preview of things to come..

With AT&T taking over T-Mobile, there will be only 2 real players, so there's very very little incentive for Verizon to keep prices for data down. AT&T will probably raise their rates as well.

Next on the line for Verizon will be usage based internet for home users with DSL or FIOS. What they really hate is people who stream videos from legal places like Netflix, since that means people aren't paying Verizon for TV service.
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

1 recommendation

Os

Member

Re: Preview of things to come..

If Verizon goes with the AT&T model, they won't have a problem with you using Netflix.

Netflix = $$$$$$$$$$ out of your pockets and into theirs.

They'll light up with glee at people who use streaming video, and they'll make sure that it's cheaper to go with their TV than play with these new-fangled technologies.

Party like it's 1999, Verizon!

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

3 recommendations

r81984 to old_wiz_60

Premium Member

to old_wiz_60
It is funny how bandwidth is now magically exponentially more expensive than 10 years ago.
The sad part is these monopolies and duopolies do not give customers a choice.

•••••••••••••••••••••••
WernerSchutz
join:2009-08-04
Sugar Land, TX

WernerSchutz to old_wiz_60

Member

to old_wiz_60
Collusion agreements. Nice.

US Government, hello ??? Anyone there ?
apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA

1 recommendation

apollo80

Member

Re: Preview of things to come..

said by WernerSchutz:

Collusion agreements. Nice.

US Government, hello ??? Anyone there ?

Nah, they're too busy shoving bills like Obamacare down our throats and catering to those that donate to them.

Nightmare
@uhc.com

Nightmare

Anon

investors win with 2 GIANT carriers

once big red and the death star have 70% of the market they will go back and forth with screwing the consumer..... Big red will raise prices one month (insert below the line mystery fee).... 2 months later ATT does it.....
VZW investor: Wait ATT raised their rates.... why cant we?

i want the FCC to have regulatory authority like the FTC, FDA and so forth. also, IMO, a mb is NOT a natural resource you can meter and if they all do goto metering MAKE SOME METERS THAT WORK, ARE USERS ACCESSIBLE (Charter, i really cant tell how many GB's I've used of that 100 GB limit you gave me) STANDARDIZED, AND REGULATED.

kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL

kapil

Member

Re: investors win with 2 GIANT carriers

...says the anon from United HealthCare, itself no slouch when it comes to screwing the consumer and deflecting regulatory scrutiny.

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Re: investors win with 2 GIANT carriers

said by kapil:

...says the anon from United HealthCare, itself no slouch when it comes to screwing the consumer and deflecting regulatory scrutiny.

And the bad part is United Healthcare probably taught at&t and Verizon how to do it. They are the best at it!
travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Bismarck, ND
Asus RT-AC68
Ubiquiti NSM5

travelguy

Member

Look at the Big Picture

It looks like Verizon is positioning themselves to deal with customers who have limited broadband at home.

A lot of the country is stuck with 1.5MBps DSL. For the first time, mobile broadband becomes a viable solution for home users. VZW doesn't necessarily want home users saturating their network at the expense of mobile user.

••••••
TechGuy99
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Flushing, NY

TechGuy99

Premium Member

3g switch to 4g

Does anyone know for sure if you have a 3g unlimited plan that you will be grandfathered in if you switch to a 4g phone after the 7th?

Or is it only from 4g to 4g?

•••••••

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

With all these new chargers, the consumer wins!

I am sure we are a few days away from some PR release by Verizon saying such a thing.

going sprint
@spcsdns.net

going sprint

Anon

Re: With all these new chargers, the consumer wins!

said by Bill Neilson:

I am sure we are a few days away from some PR release by Verizon saying such a thing.

by switching to sprint, like i did. bummer for those not in a sprint area who are forced to go with att/vzw. you are getting ripped.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

They would not let me keep my $35/3GB plan

They would not let me keep my $35/3GB plan when I upgraded my MiFi 2200 to a 4G MiFi. They did let me upgrade early to a 4G device despite the fact I bought the 2200 in December of 2010. Our area is officially getting 4G July 21st but is already online. I orginally bought the Samsung but exchanged it for the MiFi 4510L (because of known issues with the Samsung). The MiFi 4510L was cheaper but I had to pay a restocking fee. The MiFi is really handy when I am up in Maine and Mom and Grandma go shopping at stores that don't interest me so I'll sit in the car and use the laptop. It is also handy when I am waiting for mom at her doctor's appointments. I also use it on the train and when traveling (but not when I'm driving).
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

1 recommendation

tmc8080

Member

pricy..

$15 a gb.. so how much for 911? $1 - $10 per call? Afterall, it's all bits and bytes now..

Good luck with this idea.. but sooner rather than later all this investment in 4g/LTE will come back to bite them in the ass by overpricing the product. AT&T/tmobile too! You consumers would be best served by sitting on your hands until these companies get enough backlash that they abandon METERED data pricing altogether-- even the prepaid companies!
tdmachine
join:2011-07-06
Mount Juliet, TN

tdmachine

Member

Re: pricy..

Look on your bill. You are already taxed for 911 service,...,

Geminimind
Premium Member
join:2003-12-20
Sacramento, CA

Geminimind

Premium Member

wow

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
ender7074
join:2006-11-21
Saint Louis, MO

ender7074

Member

Bye Verizon

Looks like my wife and I will be looking into different service once our contract is up. These escalating prices for no improvement in service are ridiculous. We'll be looking at other services for sure now. Bye VZW, you've finally priced yourself out of my budget.

EliteData
EliteData
Premium Member
join:2003-07-06
Philippines

EliteData

Premium Member

Re: Bye Verizon

said by ender7074:

Looks like my wife and I will be looking into different service once our contract is up. These escalating prices for no improvement in service are ridiculous. We'll be looking at other services for sure now. Bye VZW, you've finally priced yourself out of my budget.

soon there wont be any services left as the big players gobble up small competitors
mmay149q
Premium Member
join:2009-03-05
Dallas, TX

mmay149q

Premium Member

Wait hold on

What happens if you don't accept the update? Does that mean you still get free tethering? I'm curious how this works.... Something tells me I'm going to be calling VZW asking them why they charged me $30 for a tethering fee I never use..........

Matt
decifal7
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN

decifal7

Member

lol

Lol, yeah, I won't be smart phoning jack for damn sure now.. Here I was debating on if the 30 a month for unlimited was gonna be too high for me for a phone.. 30 for just 2 gigs? Lol, shove it verizon. You and ATT can hold hands and do your dance.. I'll have no part of it..

N10Cities
Premium Member
join:2002-05-07
0000000
Asus RT-AC87

1 edit

N10Cities

Premium Member

Re: lol

said by decifal7:

Lol, yeah, I won't be smart phoning jack for damn sure now.. Here I was debating on if the 30 a month for unlimited was gonna be too high for me for a phone.. 30 for just 2 gigs? Lol, shove it verizon. You and ATT can hold hands and do your dance.. I'll have no part of it..

I 2nd the motion. Was in the same situation as you were. Was debating getting a smart phone, but this decision by VZW helped me make MY decision. No thanks. When November rolls around and my contract expires, we will be shopping for another provider (and DEFINITELY not AT&T)..
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

DUMB

They should do what AT&T did, and make it pro-consumer instead of anti-consumer.

mm8
@charter.com

mm8

Anon

att to verizon

so if I port my number from ATT (contract) to Verizon today can i still sell my iphone as not being under contract and soften the blow of the contract breach? ( iphone 4)
tdmachine
join:2011-07-06
Mount Juliet, TN

tdmachine

Member

Re: att to verizon

Yes you can. And be able to get considerably more for it than they sell it to a new or upgrade eligible customer for. Because the people that would want to buy it are usually people that are not eligible for discounted price and would have to pay approx. $500-$700 (depends on the carrier and internal memory) if buying a new device.

Pope
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Napa, CA

1 recommendation

Pope

Premium Member

Verizon

I actually don't come anywhere near the 2gb cap because I have WiFi available in both my home and at work. Either way, I am starting to think it is time to buy myself a pay per minute basic phone and save about $50 a month x 3 phones.

Smart phones are not necessary, and that's where these companies are making a mistake. Everyone wants/needs the ability to make calls but the rest is not required.

•••
MyDogHsFleas
Premium Member
join:2007-08-15
Austin, TX

MyDogHsFleas

Premium Member

Here's the comparison with AT&T smartphone rates

AT&T:

$15 for 200MB
$25 for 2GB, $10/GB thereafter
$45 for 4GB with tethering/hotspot

Verizon:

$30 for 2GB
$50 for 5GB
$80 for 10GB
$20 extra for tethering/hotspot, adds 2GB to plan
not sure what overage charges are

These seem to line up fairly closely, except that Verizon is significantly more expensive at the low end, but a little cheaper for the extremely heavy user (5GB and over).

examples:

"grandma" user 200MB/month
-- AT&T $15
-- Verizon $30

"regular" user 2GB/month (over 90% of users are in this category)
--AT&T $25
--Verizon $30

"regular" user with tethering/hotspot
--AT&T $45 for 4GB or $55 for 5GB ($10/GB overage, not a separate plan)
--Verizon $50 for 5GB

"extreme" user 10GB/month with tethering/hotspot
--AT&T $105 (includes tethering, 6GB overage above 4GB plan)
--Verizon $100
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: Here's the comparison with AT&T smartphone rates

said by MyDogHsFleas:

AT&T:

$15 for 200MB
$25 for 2GB, $10/GB thereafter
$45 for 4GB with tethering/hotspot

Verizon:

$30 for 2GB
$50 for 5GB
$80 for 10GB
$20 extra for tethering/hotspot, adds 2GB to plan
not sure what overage charges are

same as at&t $10 per GB.

"regular" user

For NOW. Go back 2 years and the 90% of users were under 200 MB a month. Without caps I wonder what the average would be in 2 years? I suspect in 2 year the AVERAGE use will be close to 2 GB a month and will only be prevented form going higher because people will avoid getting hit with overages.

Verizon and at&t like to tout their 4G service as a solution for rural broadband. hardly. Their service is no better than satellite.

Here is what someone that lives a mere couple of miles from city limits of my town has to do to get internet somewhat resembling what I can get in town.

Verizon 3G( max speed 700 kbps ) 4G arriving in 2013.

$80 for 10 GB. $10 per GB overage

Hughesnet Express 300 business class internet 3Mbps

$200 for 800 MB daily cap. No cap between 1 AM and 6 AM. Slowed down to lewss than dial-up speed for exceeding cap between 6:01 AM and 12:59 AM

Wildblue Pro package 1.5 Mbps

$80 for 17,000 MB download per month 5000 MB upload per month. No overages just get slowed down to under dial-up speeds.

So $360 a month just to get 50 GB a month and speeds no faster than 3 mbps. And of course with satellite HUGE latency issues. and you have to use 3 different services. What a joke.
apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA

apollo80

Member

When the day comes...

...when Verizon tells me I have to go to tiered pricing, one of two things will happen.

1.) I'll switch to Sprint and go unlimited (unless they end up going tiered too)

2.) Back to the days of the flip phone.

Goodbye luxury of a smartphone. Because THAT'S all it is. A LUXURY.
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