I'm awesome...and got that $20 per line for life discount they ran in the beginning of 2011...there are quite a few of us here still with that discount...oh and I get a 22% corporate discount as well off my total bill...now if I could just get my sister to stop making collect calls my phone bill would be affordable...:rofl:-
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Verizon Ending Unlimited Data for Grandfathered Users
- Thread starter Raftysworld
- Start date
I'm awesome...and got that $20 per line for life discount they ran in the beginning of 2011...there are quite a few of us here still with that discount...oh and I get a 22% corporate discount as well off my total bill...now if I could just get my sister to stop making collect calls my phone bill would be affordable...:rofl:
kool kat2
Android Expert
I cant help but feel that im one of those people you all hate. I easily use at least 5gb a month on my phone alone. I also pay for tethering for my tablet and that just uses even more. I watch netflix and youtube on my lunch break, my home internet is slow enough without adding a phone and a tablet to the wifi to make things lag even more. I guess im a data hog. I also thought i had unlimited data. Apparently that doesnt mean go ahead and use unlimited.
As far as this situation goes, if im going to be capped, throttled, whatever, i may as well pay T-mo pricing. I really only use 4g for netflix and such but being capped just makes having my trusty 4g smartphone pointless so might as well save a few bucks. If i can continue my unlimited without upgrading on another contract (buy phones from CL or something) then i will stay.
trparky
Android Enthusiast
I'm going to say that you're not abusing your connection. You are using your connection on mobile devices which is fine. You're using a lot of data but nowhere near the kind of people I'm talking about.
I'm talking about the kind of people who often take their phone and connect multiple PC's and XBox 360 consoles and then proceed to torrent crap all day and all night long pulling down data upwards of 100 GBs. Those are the people who I blame for this mess we're in! They abused their connection and now we all have to pay for it. Thanks a lot!
cmybliss
Android Enthusiast
I'm with you on this one. Kool kat2 paid for the services and uses them as intended. 5gb in this instance is not to much. I'be got unlimited, but rarely break 1gb as I stay on WiFi most of the time. But it sure is nice when on vacation to know that I can use nav, stream music, pull up restaurant info, check my email, check into a flight, ect and not have to worry I'll don't home to a $500.00 bill. People who illegally tether and suck down data like it's Diet Coke ruin for the rest of us. They should be the ones penalized. At contracts' end they should no longer be offered the unlimited plan.
I'm due for an upgrade right around the time this likely to drop. I'm still rockin' the Inc2 and there is no 4G in my area, (which is why I chose to go with a 3g phone last time). So, it looks like I'm going to loose my unlimited, being forced onto a 4G plan, and get none of the benefits of 4G. Thanks Big Red.
I love how vwz blames the change on us consumers being under the impression we need a data plan with our phones. Ummm, wonder why that is?
I'm due for an upgrade right around the time this likely to drop. I'm still rockin' the Inc2 and there is no 4G in my area, (which is why I chose to go with a 3g phone last time). So, it looks like I'm going to loose my unlimited, being forced onto a 4G plan, and get none of the benefits of 4G. Thanks Big Red.
I love how vwz blames the change on us consumers being under the impression we need a data plan with our phones. Ummm, wonder why that is?
in2uition
Android Enthusiast
kool kat2 - You're not being a data hog and using your plan accordingly. It's those that literally abuse the plan to absurd levels that I have a gripe with.
I'm going to speculate that this might be due to the extreme overages that people incurred when using data without a plan in place.......during a time when having data on your phone was a new thing (circa 2000?). I remember parents would give their kids a cellphone and the kid would go online and do other things on the phone not within the plan, leaving the parents shocked over the bill. It's possible the backlash carriers were getting from this forced people to get data on their phones.
Just speculating! Not trying to defend VZW lol
I'm going to speculate that this might be due to the extreme overages that people incurred when using data without a plan in place.......during a time when having data on your phone was a new thing (circa 2000?). I remember parents would give their kids a cellphone and the kid would go online and do other things on the phone not within the plan, leaving the parents shocked over the bill. It's possible the backlash carriers were getting from this forced people to get data on their phones.
Just speculating! Not trying to defend VZW lol
cmybliss
Android Enthusiast
You're probably right. Looks like VZW wins either way, and people complain either way. In a perfect world, we would be able to choose what works best for our needs, and VZW would crack down on those abusing the unlimited plan, terminate their plans for being in breach of contract and leave the rest of us alone. To bad it's not a perfect world.
AeolianReflex
Android Enthusiast
It's just a matter of time until all carriers go with a tiered data plans including Sprint. 3G is on the way out and 4G will be replaced in a few years too. The faster data transfer seems to get the more data the average user will use and the larger the files being transferred will be. I was lucky enough to get the 4GB data plan for the same $ as the 2GB plan on VZ when I upgraded and I am already using almost twice the amount of data that I was using on my previous phone just because I can surf more quickly and not wait for stuff to download.
Dude you are in the clear
you pay for tethering you are playing by the rules so to say...I think the issue that was previously spoken of is the users who root to tether and don't pay for it. If you are paying for tethering and unlimited then :thumbup: more power to you bud If you are paying for tethering and using 20 GB monthly I have no issue with what you are doing personally and hope I didn't make you feel as tho you were doing anything wrong.I can understand where you are coming from with the cap/throttle/whHtever...and feel for you. You are paying a good deal for data much more than some of us and playing by the rules
irishjoeyo
Android Enthusiast
At first, I got all pissy when I heard about VZ nixing unlimited data. But then I looked up every bill of mine from the last twelve months and found that nine of them were between 150-250 MB and three of them were between 450-750 MB. Never once did I even hit 1 GB. So, as much as I want to keep my lovely little unlimited data package, it looks like I don't actually need it, and could probably even safely go with the lowest data package VZ offers.
Eryl Flynn
Android Enthusiast
So what are they going to do when this backfires, we all stop caring about data and start sipping? They won't have any selling points to get us excited for new phones. It will go back to just the call quality.
Trust me this could happen, already kind of is for me. I download so little now, it is the principal and that it limits my options that bothers me. Would not take much upgrading for T Mobile or Sprint for me to consider them.
Trust me this could happen, already kind of is for me. I download so little now, it is the principal and that it limits my options that bothers me. Would not take much upgrading for T Mobile or Sprint for me to consider them.
YankeeDudeL
Android Expert
I suppose I should preface this by saying that I am a third party agent for three of the big four mobile carriers. I speak for none of them, and state only my observations and opinions.
Firstly, as many here have already stated, we knew this was coming. And this isn't exactly new. Cell phone companies have the right to make ammendments to their policies and you have the right to accept them or not. Your contract doesn't change until you renew it. Whereever you choose to go, know that only one company still offers unlimited data, and more than half of the calls made on that network are done so using towers that belong to other carriers.
The truth is we're not the majority of consumers. We're power users, the 5%, the educated. The vast majority of customers actually do want family shared data, I hear this every single day. And for those consumers, this option will be a benefit to them. This plan has been implemented for the betterment of Verizon's consumer base, and the other companies are not far behind.
The truth is that the more people that use a network, the slower that network becomes. Seek no further than AT&T and what happened when the iPhone was first released. Areas with high population density were crippled with slow data speeds. In just two weeks time I've seen this with my own eyes. LTE was turned on here the Monday before last and has been in a testing phase until it's official release yesterday. I was initially getting anywhere from 20-30mbps DL speeds consistently, getting as high as 40. Once word got out, the speeds began to dwindle. By yesterday's official release, I was getting about 15mbps reliably. As more 4G phones make their way into the customers' hands, that number is only going to decrease. All these carriers are boasting incredible speeds (and rightfully so, LTE is amazing). Companies have to cap data to maintain the high level of integrity they've put into their networks that we enjoy so much.
Truth is, I have as much to lose as the next person. I have five lines of unlimited data and pay just $10 for each. I can't say that I'm happy about the change that's going to take place, but I have a choice. I can stick with the best network that is looking out for every customer and not just me, or I can seek a better deal elsewhere.
Firstly, as many here have already stated, we knew this was coming. And this isn't exactly new. Cell phone companies have the right to make ammendments to their policies and you have the right to accept them or not. Your contract doesn't change until you renew it. Whereever you choose to go, know that only one company still offers unlimited data, and more than half of the calls made on that network are done so using towers that belong to other carriers.
The truth is we're not the majority of consumers. We're power users, the 5%, the educated. The vast majority of customers actually do want family shared data, I hear this every single day. And for those consumers, this option will be a benefit to them. This plan has been implemented for the betterment of Verizon's consumer base, and the other companies are not far behind.
The truth is that the more people that use a network, the slower that network becomes. Seek no further than AT&T and what happened when the iPhone was first released. Areas with high population density were crippled with slow data speeds. In just two weeks time I've seen this with my own eyes. LTE was turned on here the Monday before last and has been in a testing phase until it's official release yesterday. I was initially getting anywhere from 20-30mbps DL speeds consistently, getting as high as 40. Once word got out, the speeds began to dwindle. By yesterday's official release, I was getting about 15mbps reliably. As more 4G phones make their way into the customers' hands, that number is only going to decrease. All these carriers are boasting incredible speeds (and rightfully so, LTE is amazing). Companies have to cap data to maintain the high level of integrity they've put into their networks that we enjoy so much.
Truth is, I have as much to lose as the next person. I have five lines of unlimited data and pay just $10 for each. I can't say that I'm happy about the change that's going to take place, but I have a choice. I can stick with the best network that is looking out for every customer and not just me, or I can seek a better deal elsewhere.
damewolf13
live~laugh~love
As long as you don't upgrade from a 3G phone to a 4G phone, that would probably be the way to go. If you are not changing anything on your contract, which paying full price could potentially avoid, then you might be smart to do that. Also, you would not be extending your contract, so you would be free to go once your contract expires, or stay if you choose to.
rdalev
Android Enthusiast
My contact ,on my phone is up this coming Jan. ! The contract's on my 3 other lines are already up. Come this Jan., if Verizon, after being a customer for more that 10 years, is going to #%&* me over, it's off to Sprint for me.
Guess some people will defend Verizon to the end !
What makes you think that Sprint will not be doing the same thing with their plans come Jan? As I have said before this is monkey see monkey do...I can only think that this is in response to the iPhone 5...which will be available on Sprint as well...Sprint's network isn't better than VZW and they had the same strains caused by the iPhone already suffered by the other carriers.
trparky
Android Enthusiast
I wouldn't be so quick the move to Sprint, especially since we don't even know if Sprint will survive.
The company is on some seriously shaky financial footing, there's talk damn near every day about the financial problems that the company is having and the fact that they don't have enough capital to invest in their network to maintain quality of service. Hell, there's talk about them going bankrupt if they don't raise some capital. In many parts their network is in serious trouble, I've heard people who say that they barely get dial-up speeds. Sure, it's unlimited but if you can't even download an MP3 in a reasonable amount of time then it's not useful to me.
I'm not defending Verizon for their decision to do this, I don't like it as much as the next person here. But, I can see why they are doing it. I may not have to agree with them to see the reason.
And if that means the people who I feel are abusing their unlimited data are going bye-bye after this, then that means that ultimately my service should stay the same even as Verizon piles on the smartphone users since the vast majority don't use that much data. Including myself, I don't use that much data... I barely use 1 GB a month.
ImgBurn
Member
Come on guy's Oh! people are driving to much people are not driving enough uninsured motorists people on welfare draining the system to many old people Baa Baa Baa. And when people like you make excuses for them to raise price's it just make's me sick.
Hello HEllo HELlo HELLo HELLO it just one of many BIG CORP. tricks to raise price's and pass there cost's on to you. Oh it's your fault they have to raise price's pitting us against each other brilliant. Offering you a service at a price but wait , (but don't use it). We just said that to get you to buy it we didn't actually expect you to use it. Auto Insurance pay but don't every have an accident or need to use it or we 'll raise the price. Anybody see a pattern here. Just keep paying for all these product's and service's but don't ever use them yea that's the ticket.
IT's JUST GREED PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing more nothing less
But That's Just My Opinion. I Could Be Wrong
If this was Helpful hit the Thanks Button It makes me smile...
Hello HEllo HELlo HELLo HELLO it just one of many BIG CORP. tricks to raise price's and pass there cost's on to you. Oh it's your fault they have to raise price's pitting us against each other brilliant. Offering you a service at a price but wait , (but don't use it). We just said that to get you to buy it we didn't actually expect you to use it. Auto Insurance pay but don't every have an accident or need to use it or we 'll raise the price. Anybody see a pattern here. Just keep paying for all these product's and service's but don't ever use them yea that's the ticket.
IT's JUST GREED PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing more nothing less
But That's Just My Opinion. I Could Be Wrong
If this was Helpful hit the Thanks Button It makes me smile...
I'm pretty much in the same boat (usage wise) as you Joey. I have a family plan with my wife and daughter. As such we all have grandfathered unlimited data and we pay $90 for data. (3 x $30 = $90)
Our data usage; (monthly averages)
Me................ .5GB/Mo
Wife ............. .5GB/Mo
Daughter ....... 1GB/Mo (does a lot of facebooking)
Total ............ 2GB/Mo
If Verizon were to offer a data plan (just guesses on my part at this time) for say 5GB's of shared data for $50, I would jump at it. It would save me $40/Mo.
Now if one of the so called "data hogs" that normally uses 20GB's+/Mo might have to purchase a data plan that costs $80 for a 20-30GB/Mo plan.
My point in describing these possible future data plans is this; when we all had unlimited plans, (Me, wife, daughter, and data hog) Verizon was collecting $120/Mo from the 4 of us. $90 from me and $30 from DH. Under the new shared data plan, I'm paying $50 and "data hog" is paying $80. Verizon is now collecting $130 ($10 more than before) but now my plans are no longer subsidizing "data hogs" data usage. Verizon has in effect switched to a "pay for play" data plan. The customers who are using the bandwidth are now paying for that priviledge. Now the "data hog" can choose to cut back on his data usage or even switch carriers but Verizon is ok with that because either way they save bandwidth. Also, like others have said, eventually all carriers with be switching to shared/tiered data plans.
Right now with Sprint being the only carrier offering unlimited data, can you imagine what would happen to thier network if all the "data hogs" signed up with them?
:questionmark:Anyway, this just describes a possibility of what Verizon might do and as such I could be way off base with my thinking, but there's also the possibilty that I'm close. Time will tell, so while we're waiting,
Best of luck to all of us,
Come on guy's Oh! people are driving to much people are not driving enough uninsured motorists people on welfare draining the system to many old people Baa Baa Baa. And when people like you make excuses for them to raise price's it just make's me sick.
Hello HEllo HELlo HELLo HELLO it just one of many BIG CORP. tricks to raise price's and pass there cost's on to you. Oh it's your fault they have to raise price's pitting us against each other brilliant. Offering you a service at a price but wait , (but don't use it). We just said that to get you to buy it we didn't actually expect you to use it. Auto Insurance pay but don't every have an accident or need to use it or we 'll raise the price. Anybody see a pattern here. Just keep paying for all these product's and service's but don't ever use them yea that's the ticket.
IT's JUST GREED PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing more nothing less
But That's Just My Opinion. I Could Be Wrong
Really you want to compare having a smartphone to having auto insurance...Okay well both are quite close to me so...
While both policies have standardizations auto insurance policies and practices of the insurer are controlled by the department of insurance for whatever state you are in. Rates for Auto insurance are determined by a group of actuaries call underwriting that weigh the risk of insuring a certian individual and how much they need to pay to make the risk worth it. It isn't greed on the insurer's part but rather the state mandates you have insurance if you wish to drive...driving is not a right rather a luxury...you can choose not to drive or get a vehicle that you do not have to have insurance on (bike, scooter in some states...) The state also limits how much an insurer can charge a person for insurance and the rates are not written into the standard policy.
Your phone contract is standarized by the carrier, the rates are written into the contract and little of it is mandated by the state. Nobody is forcing any of us to have data on our phone contracts...we could all be using basic dumb phones and wouldn't have to worry about them changing the data parts of the contracts at all...but instead we are all paying for the luxury of having a smartphone that is able to connect to the internet. If it is going to break the bank for someone to have a smartphone under the current or new policy VZW has then they should perhaps look into their priorities and figure out if they need to have a data enabled phone. Just because it seems like "data shouldn't cost this much...I've had unlimited for X years now..." doesn't make that reality.
That is my opinion...BTW I am a claims investigator for an auto insurance company...as a hobby I enjoy Android and the telcom industry...my opinion could be wrong as well but I would like people who claim that VZW is price gouging and data doesn't cost as much as VZW claim to provide some publicly available source that reflects this instead of just making the broad claim that the FCC is allowing VZW to abuse their customers by hiking up rates for no reason.
^Driving isn't a luxury out here in the country, it's a need for people to get to work.
Back on topic, anybody else find it funny the CFO's name is "Sham"mo ? Seriously though, I might be able to save a few bucks. I think I use about .5-1 GB a month. Never anywhere near 2.
Back on topic, anybody else find it funny the CFO's name is "Sham"mo ? Seriously though, I might be able to save a few bucks. I think I use about .5-1 GB a month. Never anywhere near 2.
derek533
Member
Just knowing Verizon's track record recently and how they love charging more for less, I just have a hard time believing that these shared data plans will be cheaper in the end. It's not to save the customers money at all, it's to limit the data and milk us for as much as possible.
Heck, even the CFO stated as much when all this was revealed.
OTOH, I just checked my data usage for the month and so far, 90.71MB of Unlimited is what my account shows for 17 days of my current billing cycle. That's with me downloading a few apps as well as some mobile browsing while waiting for a table at dinner, etc. Of course, that's with no streaming Pandora or Netflix either, but I can't see the occasional stream throwing me over a 2gb threshold. Of course, I would probably use it quite a bit more if I had LTE (which is available in my area) and probably consume much more data than I do.
Maybe these will be savings for some of us. Who knows in the end, just have to wait and see where the pricing comes in at and for how much.
Heck, even the CFO stated as much when all this was revealed.
OTOH, I just checked my data usage for the month and so far, 90.71MB of Unlimited is what my account shows for 17 days of my current billing cycle. That's with me downloading a few apps as well as some mobile browsing while waiting for a table at dinner, etc. Of course, that's with no streaming Pandora or Netflix either, but I can't see the occasional stream throwing me over a 2gb threshold. Of course, I would probably use it quite a bit more if I had LTE (which is available in my area) and probably consume much more data than I do.
Maybe these will be savings for some of us. Who knows in the end, just have to wait and see where the pricing comes in at and for how much.
Driving is a luxury...you can have your license revoked...
On topic: I am curious as to what the pricing will be as well unless they are only gonna offer $60+ plans I would think many people will be able to save money since many of us are confirming their use to be less than 2GB/line...even if you have 2 lines and get a $50/5 GB plan you would be saving $10 monthly.
rabiddawgs
Well-Known Member
Ok this is my opinion but here it goes.
i think mainly what he meant by say getting more money is that there are a lot of family plans out there that have 3-5 phones and only 1 or 2 lines have the data package on them and people have commented how they want a data share plan so the other lines can get data but they dont want to pay the $30 for each line. this includes myself. we have 4 lines right now and getting ready to add a 5th soon. we only have 1 data line, mine.
i would say maybe 1/5-1/4 family plans have more than 2 data packages.
they goto this tiered data share plan. more people would be willing to upgrade their dumb phone lines to smartphones and add in tablets to that also.
now you not only have more money they will be making on the smartphone sales but also the tablet sales. this number could grow to 1/2 to 3/4 of all family plans all having data packages. so i think this is where he is stating more money in their pockets which is true, but it also means that as the customer we will save money in the long run to get all our lines/tablets with data packages.
will i be peed off that i lose the unlimited. yep. will i be happy that the rest of my family can enjoy a smartphone like i do. yep. will i be happy that i can actually now get a tablet with 4g. yep. 5 phones and a tablet would cost around 180 for DATA ONLY. do i think the new family share will cost that much. i doubt it. i dont see how they could. i think it will be more like 50 for 5gb shared. and then $10 more for each gb over that.
now what i think verizon should offer or say is. we have some lines that are using the data at an alarming rate what we are going to do to protect the integrity of our service and make sure we dont have any problems down the road is the current people that have unlimited data is drop them down to a 10gb a month cap at the same price. that is still a crap load of data and would still make some people unhappy but the % would be so tiny. im sure most here would be happy with 10gb a month as opposed to 2/4gb a month.
dumbphones are going away so this is an attempt to get everyone switched over. go look at the reviews of all those basic phones. they all suck.
but this is just my opinion.
i think mainly what he meant by say getting more money is that there are a lot of family plans out there that have 3-5 phones and only 1 or 2 lines have the data package on them and people have commented how they want a data share plan so the other lines can get data but they dont want to pay the $30 for each line. this includes myself. we have 4 lines right now and getting ready to add a 5th soon. we only have 1 data line, mine.
i would say maybe 1/5-1/4 family plans have more than 2 data packages.
they goto this tiered data share plan. more people would be willing to upgrade their dumb phone lines to smartphones and add in tablets to that also.
now you not only have more money they will be making on the smartphone sales but also the tablet sales. this number could grow to 1/2 to 3/4 of all family plans all having data packages. so i think this is where he is stating more money in their pockets which is true, but it also means that as the customer we will save money in the long run to get all our lines/tablets with data packages.
will i be peed off that i lose the unlimited. yep. will i be happy that the rest of my family can enjoy a smartphone like i do. yep. will i be happy that i can actually now get a tablet with 4g. yep. 5 phones and a tablet would cost around 180 for DATA ONLY. do i think the new family share will cost that much. i doubt it. i dont see how they could. i think it will be more like 50 for 5gb shared. and then $10 more for each gb over that.
now what i think verizon should offer or say is. we have some lines that are using the data at an alarming rate what we are going to do to protect the integrity of our service and make sure we dont have any problems down the road is the current people that have unlimited data is drop them down to a 10gb a month cap at the same price. that is still a crap load of data and would still make some people unhappy but the % would be so tiny. im sure most here would be happy with 10gb a month as opposed to 2/4gb a month.
dumbphones are going away so this is an attempt to get everyone switched over. go look at the reviews of all those basic phones. they all suck.
but this is just my opinion.
Driving is a luxury...you can have your license revoked...
On topic: I am curious as to what the pricing will be as well unless they are only gonna offer $60+ plans I would think many people will be able to save money since many of us are confirming their use to be less than 2GB/line...even if you have 2 lines and get a $50/5 GB plan you would be saving $10 monthly.
I honestly believe that many people on family plans will ultimately save money with this plan. The people who will pay more will be the people who use more data. Like it or not bandwidth is a finite resource. The people who use tons of data (read above 30Gb a month) are either trashing their local network or forcing big red to expand their infrastructure which costs money. I'm not saying I'm happy with this, but they're a business. They have a legal and moral obligation to make money. It didn't seem to out of line that their prices for a service reflect their costs for providing that service.
One change they should definitely make is separating peak and off-peak usage, like they do with voice minutes. If my phone burns through data in the middle of the night that doesn't hurt anybody. The entire network is excess capacity then anyways. It shouldn't cost me the same as using data on my lunchbreak during week.
I agree with your reasoning but I don't think dumb phones will ever go away...this is an attempt by VZW to get more people willing to make the jump to smartphones no doubt...likely it will work too but there will always be people who have no need for internet on their phone.