Hurry & Buy TB before tiered plans roll out?

[jamor]

Is this the wisest/best time to buy a Thunderbolt? I noticed Verizon would be coming out with tiered plans soon..

If we purchase the Thunderbolt now than we will have unlimited 4G for 2 years according to the rep I spoke with.

I am kind of torn. While I don't need a new phone right now, it would be foolish to pass up unlimited 4G for 2 years.. wouldn't it?

What do you guys think? Can Verizon change our plans mid contract if tiered plans roll out? Here is my transcript with the rep:

You: Hi, I was wondering how much 4G will be each month for the entire 2 year contract - same as 3g at $30 per month?
Chad: Correct, it's still only $29.99 a month.
You: Thanks. What will happen if I purchase this plan and in 2 months Verizon rolls out tiered plans for 4g?
You: Are we grandfathered or susceptible to change?
Chad: Then you would be grand-fathered in with your old plan.


So according to him we would have unlimited for our entire contract.. But with the changes Verizon has been making, who really knows?

 

[WormDoes]

This has been covered in another thread, but they can not change your pricing plan mid contract. If they were to, you can leave or opt out without paying an ETF.

Also, I keep hearing people say "you'll be grandfathered in for the 2 years." I'm pretty sure you'll be "grandfathered" in to unlimited for as long as you need a data plan. They did the same with their old text and minute plans, I don't see why this would be any different. I've been on the old 450 minute family plan for years, which they no longer offer.

 

[WA_Bob]

With as much info as the Android community has access to, weather Verizon wants you to or not, I don't think you'd have to decide right now. Someone will know (and post for all the world to see) when they'll be implementing their tiered plans to the day so you'll be able to make up your mind then.

My guess is they'll keep unlimited data around for another 4G phone release at least to differentiate themselves from AT&T. Of course, I've been wrong before and I'll defer to the knowledge of more experienced folks. But I would worry too much yet.

 

[jamor]

Good point, wa_bob. I imagine we would know when the plans will be implemented which would give us a small time frame to make a decision.

 

[Eric Bishop]

There's NO WAY that Verizon's going to undercut 2 of their 3 main Android handset partners, Samsung and Motorola, by eliminating unlimited data before their first LTE handset launches, Charge and Bionic, respectively.

Verizon has sorta said/not said that they'd roll out tiered data pricing this summer. So, my guess is you'd see it by mid-June or July. That's probably enough time to see Thunderbolt drop to $99 on wirefly or amazon.

 

[Karuk]

I feel it depends on usage. I'm a little over 6 gigs a month and plan on increasing that number in the near future.

My girl is another story. She is lucky to use 500mb. I suggested she get the thunderbolt to get unlimited data...something she will not use in the forseeable future.

If you are a data hog get the Thunderbolt. If not don't sweat it right now.