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Verizon Will Introduce Tiered Data Pricing in Next 4 to 6 Moths, Says VCast App Store is about

phandroid

Admin News Bot
Apr 12, 2008
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We have heard talk for a while of Verizon moving to a tiered pricing plan for data on their network along with the launch of their 4G LTE service, and it seems plans are moving ahead. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the new pricing structure could be in place in four to six [...]

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I don't like the idea of tiered pricing, but if there is a asmall handful of people who make it so the carriers need to implement tiered pricing, I think the cutoff should be rather high in general...

Did AT&T do a lot of research before settign their cap at 2 gigs? By this, I mean, will this cap only affect 5% of their users...the so called abusers?

If your average person is going to get hit with overages regularly, it's bad policy...and capitalism/free market will tend to have consumers moving to carriers with no limits.

Hoever, if the average user isn't affected by this, and only the top 5% are...as long as I am not in that group, it's not a battle that I would fight.

Also, I feel overages should be billed at more reasonable rates. In other words, if you have a 2 gig cap, and the data portion of your plan is $30 (for example) then 4 gig should cost you $50 (price break for volume)...and 10 gig could be $100 or something.

I would not like to see a 2 gig limit, and then $1 per megabyte after that. That pricing scheme is total BS!!!
 
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Where this starts to be a problem is when everyone starts to do it.

Those who are big-time-capitalists will argue that if you don't like it...go somewhere else. I usually go along with these ideas...but what happens when the whole industry does this?

If everyone is tiered, then where do you go? How do you let your money talk for you if they are all doing it?

Similarly..what if all the carriers all got together and decided to stop competing for customers. They could raise the prices for everything, and as long as they ALL DO IT, the consumer won't be able to find a better deal.

What if all carriers went to a $150/mo rate for 450 anytime minutes? What would the consumers do? My guess is...eventually, they would start to lose customers...some people will just get rid of their cell phones completely. This would eventually cause a change...but as mentioned...if everyone is doing the same thing...there isn't REAL competition out there is there?
 
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Where this starts to be a problem is when everyone starts to do it.

Those who are big-time-capitalists will argue that if you don't like it...go somewhere else. I usually go along with these ideas...but what happens when the whole industry does this?

If everyone is tiered, then where do you go? How do you let your money talk for you if they are all doing it?

Similarly..what if all the carriers all got together and decided to stop competing for customers. They could raise the prices for everything, and as long as they ALL DO IT, the consumer won't be able to find a better deal.

What if all carriers went to a $150/mo rate for 450 anytime minutes? What would the consumers do? My guess is...eventually, they would start to lose customers...some people will just get rid of their cell phones completely. This would eventually cause a change...but as mentioned...if everyone is doing the same thing...there isn't REAL competition out there is there?

That is Illegal in the US. They cannot sit down and agree to hike their rates in unison, it basically creates a monopoly on the industry.
 
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I bought my Droid from CL and am not locked into a smart phone contract. Will I get screwed in this? Will we be grandfathered in, or next time we get a phone we have to lock into their new data pricing?

Bing only searching, expensive plans, and now this- This only affirms that when my original contract expires in July that I will be going to Sprint. I'll even pay the extra $10/month for 4g that you can't get anywhere.
 
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I bought my Droid from CL and am not locked into a smart phone contract. Will I get screwed in this? Will we be grandfathered in, or next time we get a phone we have to lock into their new data pricing?

Bing only searching, expensive plans, and now this- This only affirms that when my original contract expires in July that I will be going to Sprint. I'll even pay the extra $10/month for 4g that you can't get anywhere.

I spend all day in Charlotte NC, and live 5 miles from there. Most of that city is lit up blue on the 4G map. Where I live is lit up orange on the 3G map, so it just made sense for me to go with Sprint. I'll use WiFi while at home so I think the next 2 years of my cell phone experience will be totally cool. At least...until I break the camera lens on the EVO.
 
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I'm a verizon customer from Alltel. I was on the phone with Verizon before upgrading my blackberry to the Droid X and the guy on the phone was making me change my plan to one of their current plans for the Droid X...

my plan is $89.99 a month, unlimited everything with exception to 500 anytime minutes. But I have 10 #'s I call for free and mobile to mobile. Nights start at 7pm and free weekends. I raised hell and they let me keep it. I use something like 36 anytime minutes a month.
 
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I'm a verizon customer from Alltel. I was on the phone with Verizon before upgrading my blackberry to the Droid X and the guy on the phone was making me change my plan to one of their current plans for the Droid X...

my plan is $89.99 a month, unlimited everything with exception to 500 anytime minutes. But I have 10 #'s I call for free and mobile to mobile. Nights start at 7pm and free weekends. I raised hell and they let me keep it. I use something like 36 anytime minutes a month.
Former Alltel customer who was kidnapped too. See and I didnt have to raise hell. I guess it varies from state to state. In FL there is no question that I keep my plan no matter what I do. I take no small satisfaction from the idea that Verizon hates me.
 
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Those who are big-time-capitalists will argue that if you don't like it...go somewhere else. I usually go along with these ideas...but what happens when the whole industry does this?

If everyone is tiered, then where do you go? How do you let your money talk for you if they are all doing it?

You let your contract expire, and then quit having a phone altogether. The providers can't handle that, they need new people to grow their market share. If they are all roughly the same price for the same service, no-one is switching, so they'll have to give deals to new customers in order to grow. This just means you'll have to switch providers every 2 years to keep a good deal up.

Or, don't have a phone. Or don't use data.

What if all carriers went to a $150/mo rate for 450 anytime minutes? What would the consumers do?
Get a Wal*Mart $30/month unlimited voice phone and call it a day. No matter what the big 4 do, they'll always be others willing to sell the same service cheaper.
 
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nobody can screw you over any more then you let them; people's greed is the only thing that allows them to get screwed over.
- you dont have to have data on a phone
- you dont have to have a fancy phone
the only thing you have to have is food, water, and shelter.

its when a person makes that decision in their head that they "are getting" or "deserve to have" this and that; that they set themselves up to get screwed.

if their product you buy no longer fits what you are willing to pay for, then just decide you dont want it anymore....problem solved.
 
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nobody can screw you over any more then you let them; people's greed is the only thing that allows them to get screwed over.
- you dont have to have data on a phone
- you dont have to have a fancy phone
the only thing you have to have is food, water, and shelter.

its when a person makes that decision in their head that they "are getting" or "deserve to have" this and that; that they set themselves up to get screwed.

if their product you buy no longer fits what you are willing to pay for, then just decide you dont want it anymore....problem solved.
Well stated. Again, this likely will only apply to new accounts as Im certain "we" can be grandfathered in. Perhaps Im in the minority here but I don't go over 2GB a month
 
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Well stated. Again, this likely will only apply to new accounts as Im certain "we" can be grandfathered in. Perhaps Im in the minority here but I don't go over 2GB a month

I don't usually either. As long as the prices are fair I won't really mind. Especially since I might be getting the Galaxy Tab when it hits VZW. I still think unlimited data will come back, most likely to all carriers.
 
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That is Illegal in the US. They cannot sit down and agree to hike their rates in unison, it basically creates a monopoly on the industry.

Yeah, tell that to big oil and the gas companies.

All niche products that become ingrained in society do the same. Start low, get sheep hooked to a point they can not live/function without, then gradually tighten the screws.

You notice a $10 jump in fees per month. You probably suck it up and keep going. Then when they keep doing that every year or so, after about 5 years you realize that you cost has doubled from when you started, but you don't use the product any more than you did when it all started.
 
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