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Tiered Data coming soon...

JazzMat said:
Now, you're making sense. I think perhaps the thing that makes tiered plans such an onerous concept for so many is the fear that they will be structured like non-unlimited texting has been. If you go over a certain number, you incur what are truly frightful per-text charges. In other words, you're being penalized for using more resources than you had contracted for.

I don't have a problem with the concept of paying per MB of data usage, as long as the price is reasonable and I end up paying approximately the same amount for the usage I currently enjoy. Where people get pissed off is with the concept of their current usage suddenly costing two or three times the amount they've grown accustomed to paying. And frankly, that is a bit of a "bait and switch" strategy, whch runs counter to our collective sense of fairness.

What would work best, and would be the smallest PR nightmare for Verizon, would be for it to do a full analysis of current usage patterns and come up with a per-MB-usage charge that will keep as many people as possible at the current rates they pay. Those who are "underutilizing" their data packages would see their rates go down. Those who are at or slightly above the usage that is covered by the per-MB fee would see their bills remain the same or increase slightly. Then, as demand goes up, those whose data usage increases will pay only for the increased usage; not a penalty for breaking through an arbitrary threshold.

Of course, this will still piss off the people who live on their phones 24/7. They will see their rates increase significantly. Can't please all of the people all of the time.
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Exactly, and this is probably what I should have just said in the first place, but was at work and was being pulled here and there so I kept losing my train of thought heh. ;)
 
I don't understand the complaint that by Verizon introducing tiered data they will not be honoring your contract. No where have I seen mention that they will not fulfill their contractual obligation, nor would I see them handling the introduction of tiered data any differently than AT&T. You will be entitled to your unlimited data for the remainder of your contract, then when your contract is up if you chose to sign a new contract both parties will then have to honor the new contract. This I suppose is speculation to an extent, but it doesn't make sense for Verizon to breach contract and face a class action lawsuit.
 
Dtatch said:
I don't understand the complaint that by Verizon introducing tiered data they will not be honoring your contract. No where have I seen mention that they will not fulfill their contractual obligation, nor would I see them handling the introduction of tiered data any differently than AT&T. You will be entitled to your unlimited data for the remainder of your contract, then when your contract is up if you chose to sign a new contract both parties will then have to honor the new contract. This I suppose is speculation to an extent, but it doesn't make sense for Verizon to breach contract and face a class action lawsuit.
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People seem to think that they sign up for a 2 year contract, but the terms of that contract should last for generations, and never change.
 
chammer said:
How is it a sense of entitlement to expect to get not only what you're paying for, but what the contract itself says you are *gasp* entitled to receive (ie: unlimited data)?
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If you were actually reading everything, you would have read that those with unlimited data would be grandfathered until they renew/upgrade (which renews your contract). That would mean you are signing a new contract agreeing to new terms. Businesses renegotiate contracts all the time.


chammer said:
Dawnierae: I seriously doubt Verizon are just breaking even.
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Nobody said or suggested they were. It's just how it sounds people expect them to do business. Gasp, how dare they charge me more! Do you pay the same price today that you paid 10 years ago for ANYTHING?

chammer said:
If Verizon really wants to do this, then metering (as has been proposed in the past) is the only logical way of doing it.
Just like your power, water, natural gas, gas for your vehicle, etc all do for similar type services (ie: paying for what you use). Tiered is not the way of handling this. Verizon needs to figure out a metric be it a byte, kilobyte, or whatever (though the smaller the metric the better the accuracy) and present that as their ONLY data plan. Something that ends up working out to around $30/month for 2gb of data or whatever. This way those that use fractions of what others are using, will pay hardly anything. Those that sit and stream YouTube all day and all night with torrents running in the background would probably slit their wrists after their first bill, but thats the bed they will be making and laying in.
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Because clearly that worked for cell phone carriers back in the 80's and early 90's when they charged by the minute, didn't it? Why do you think we have the "tiered" minutes packages now?
 
I will be curious to see what happens if people let their two-year contract run out and continue to pay month-to-month. In the past, the Verizon Wireless policy has been to continue the terms of the existing contract.

If VW continues that policy, it would be in the best interest of heavy data-consumers to not sign a new contract. Just keep paying the monthly charges as determined by the current deal. It might even work out better for heavy-data-consumers to buy a new, non-subsidized phone two or three years down the road without re-upping for a new contract. The added expense of a non-subsidized phone might be more-than-offset by the lower monthly charges.
 
JazzMat said:
I will be curious to see what happens if people let their two-year contract run out and continue to pay month-to-month. In the past, the Verizon Wireless policy has been to continue the terms of the existing contract.

If VW continues that policy, it would be in the best interest of heavy data-consumers to not sign a new contract. Just keep paying the monthly charges as determined by the current deal. It might even work out better for heavy-data-consumers to buy a new, non-subsidized phone two or three years down the road without re-upping for a new contract. The added expense of a non-subsidized phone might be more-than-offset by the lower monthly charges.
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IF that is true, it is another work around for the people who do not want to pay for tiered data...The other option being: Don't pay for data
 
JazzMat said:
I will be curious to see what happens if people let their two-year contract run out and continue to pay month-to-month. In the past, the Verizon Wireless policy has been to continue the terms of the existing contract.

If VW continues that policy, it would be in the best interest of heavy data-consumers to not sign a new contract. Just keep paying the monthly charges as determined by the current deal. It might even work out better for heavy-data-consumers to buy a new, non-subsidized phone two or three years down the road without re-upping for a new contract. The added expense of a non-subsidized phone might be more-than-offset by the lower monthly charges.
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I doubt that...a lot of the ones who are using that much data are probably also the ones that get every new phone that comes out, and who MUST have the latest and greatest phone available at all times. :p
 
chammer said:
While it is us, the customers, which are using said service, it's NOT our fault that they can't keep up with demand. By artificially limiting the supply instead of supplying more as needed, its just another attempt at sucking MORE money from people all the while pretending its going to save money for most people.
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Again, cell radio spectrum is a scares resource. Radio spectrum space are licensed through the FCC to carriers. These spectrum can't be expanded. Carriers can't just add bandwidth like they do with with wired networks. The only way they can add more bandwidth is to improve data transfer efficiency or build more cell towers, which both have their own limitations.

Because spectrum is limited, it's either Verizon (or other carriers) managing data usage through tier pricing/pay per kb or have a congested and slow network.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/3G/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220900186
 
eh....if my price goes up or i lose unlimited ill just go back to home internet.
no big deal. then i can stream movie on tv and play vid games on net.

just like everything else in life; if you dont like what they are offering then dont give them your money.
 
chammer said:
I wanted to stay out of this, but I have to question you two (and possibly others) that feel this way:

How is it a sense of entitlement to expect to get not only what you're paying for, but what the contract itself says you are *gasp* entitled to receive (ie: unlimited data)?

I seriously wonder about some people these days.

Dawnierae: I seriously doubt Verizon are just breaking even. However, you are correct in that people SHOULD expect a certain level of service even if it does mean Verizon are just breaking even. If Verizon hadn't agreed to offer it in the first place, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Verizon offered a certain level of service. While it is us, the customers, which are using said service, it's NOT our fault that they can't keep up with demand. By artificially limiting the supply instead of supplying more as needed, its just another attempt at sucking MORE money from people all the while pretending its going to save money for most people. Riiiiiiight..... To think that is naive at best. Just wait and see.

If Verizon really wants to do this, then metering (as has been proposed in the past) is the only logical way of doing it. Just like your power, water, natural gas, gas for your vehicle, etc all do for similar type services (ie: paying for what you use). Tiered is not the way of handling this. Verizon needs to figure out a metric be it a byte, kilobyte, or whatever (though the smaller the metric the better the accuracy) and present that as their ONLY data plan. Something that ends up working out to around $30/month for 2gb of data or whatever. This way those that use fractions of what others are using, will pay hardly anything. Those that sit and stream YouTube all day and all night with torrents running in the background would probably slit their wrists after their first bill, but thats the bed they will be making and laying in.

Verizon could get even smarter and tier THIS aspect of the service. Meaning, if you're using 0-200mb/month you pay $0.02 per MB, 200mb-1gb you pay $0.05 per MB, 1gb-5gb you pay $0.10 per MB, etc etc. This rewards those who use less bandwidth, and punishes those who hog the resources.

We can all agree, I'm sure, that one size fits all rarely works in applications like this. However, while tiered works on some level (like ordering fast food), it does not fit with services which attempt to measure by usage.
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I don't know about you, but I didn't sign a lifetime contract with Verizon. I expect them to honor the contract for the two years we've agreed to. (I certainly have no reason to believe they won't.) After that, I'll trust the market and review my options. Sheesh!
 
What I find interesting about this whole thing is that just a few months ago, when AT&T announced they were going this direction, there was immediate speculation as to when VZ would do the same. It was awful nice of VZ to announce that they had no plans to introduce tiered data.

Its typical corporate stuff..... "we would never do that.......... (Wait, we can make even more money?).... ummm, we never officially said we wouldn't do that! "
 
ghmerrill said:
What I find interesting about this whole thing is that just a few months ago, when AT&T announced they were going this direction, there was immediate speculation as to when VZ would do the same. It was awful nice of VZ to announce that they had no plans to introduce tiered data.

Its typical corporate stuff..... "we would never do that.......... (Wait, we can make even more money?).... ummm, we never officially said we wouldn't do that! "
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Okay, did they say "we won't ever do this. EVER. NEVER EVER!!" Or did they say "We are not looking into this right now" or "We do not have plans currently in the works to implement this"

There is a huge difference. I don't know the answer, but I bet its closer to the second response than the first. I'm sure they saw that while people mumbled and complained, they were still signing up for iPhone contracts...so verizon saw that there was a way to gain revenue/ease pressure on their bandwidth
 
BCox said:
IF that is true, it is another work around for the people who do not want to pay for tiered data...The other option being: Don't pay for data
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Opting out of a data plan alone is not an option, you also have to opt out of any smart or media phone also. This is a point that irritates me, you cannot activate a smart phone on VZW without a data plan. I DON'T need to be connected to the internet all the time. Let ME make that choice.

At any rate, many places now offer free wireless. It is an inexpensive amenity that you can provide to customers and it is a trend that will only continue to keep growing.

I just hope that with this tiered business, they will include this.
 
JazzMat said:
I will be curious to see what happens if people let their two-year contract run out and continue to pay month-to-month. In the past, the Verizon Wireless policy has been to continue the terms of the existing contract.

If VW continues that policy, it would be in the best interest of heavy data-consumers to not sign a new contract. Just keep paying the monthly charges as determined by the current deal. It might even work out better for heavy-data-consumers to buy a new, non-subsidized phone two or three years down the road without re-upping for a new contract. The added expense of a non-subsidized phone might be more-than-offset by the lower monthly charges.
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More than likely, when you go to renew your contract in X number of years/months you will still have unlimited data even though. AT&T is doing it this way, as long as you had an unlimited data plan, you can keep it on that number indefinetly. Really there is a lot of gripping on this forum from people that will never be affected; either they fall in the 97% catogory of those that are not heavy date users and would benefit with this new pricing model, and/or they are already enrolled in an unlimited data plan.
 
ghmerrill said:
What I find interesting about this whole thing is that just a few months ago, when AT&T announced they were going this direction, there was immediate speculation as to when VZ would do the same. It was awful nice of VZ to announce that they had no plans to introduce tiered data.

Its typical corporate stuff..... "we would never do that.......... (Wait, we can make even more money?).... ummm, we never officially said we wouldn't do that! "
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"We have no plans" and "We will never" mean two totally different things.
 
I like the 29 unlimited...but like others said....if I could get away with paying less because I am not a GB hog...I wouldn't mind that either!
 
deekum1627 said:
this is b*llsh*t. so now my nephew cant get the unlimited plain in dec when he gets his x??
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Well, since my crystal ball is in the shop today, I can't give you an exact date that the tiered pricing will go into effect. Perhaps you should try reading tea leaves to figure out when they'll be switching? Or Tarot cards?

And perhaps you should try not getting pissed off that your nephew might have to pay for what he consumes like we do in virtually all other aspects of life?
 
its hardly worth getting mad about.
if you dont like what they do, then like everything else in life; just tell em' to get f'd.

shoot you can even steal wifi from the neighbors for FREE.
or live in the city? wifi is everywhere.
go to another carrier.
get home internet.

there are to many options now a days to get online to let this make you mad.
a company can hang themselves (not saying this is the case, im not a business owner) and all their customers just go somewhere else or spend their money elsewhere....it really is that simple.

they may lose their arse....they may not. really i couldnt care.
if i dont like what they do then off to somewhere else i and my money go.
that easy.

shoot, im kind of looking forward to getting home internet again and streaming movies and playing games and stuff on unlimited, faster bandwidth for 10 a month more if i dont like how this goes....

so dont get upset, just show em' how you feel with your money if you dont like it....hit them where it really hurts.
 
At first I thought it was a bad idea but then I looked at all the usage on our dozen smartphones. I was the highest and don't even break 1gig while using it all I want. Sometimes I use wick at home because it is faster and uses less battery. In short we would save money on a tiered system. I tether occasionally too.
going to a tiered plan I will likely get my wife a smartphone with a minimum data plan. She is usually at home where she can use wifi. It wont cost much more than her dumb phone and I can convert her to android from the 2 ipod touches we have.
 
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