Tiered data plan coming this summer

[jcnyc]

Verizon finally killing unlimited data plans this summer, says it'll get iPhone 5 at same time as AT&T -- Engadget

Say it ain't so but it is. Tiered pricing comes this summer to probably the surprise of no one. Now many people will face the choice of being grandfathered into an unlimited plan by buying the tbolt, charge or revolution with 2 year contract or waiting till better phones come out and lose that privelege.

 

[DJ_10]

I have my TB that i bought outright meaning i have until February 2012. Plus if i decide to buy my next phone outright, i'll still have unlimited. But im sure i'll upgrade. I use less than 1 GB a month, all i do is use twitter and facebook. Maybe a little browsing. So im not too worries.

 

[therealbigrich]

I'm thinking that they will grandfather people who already have verizon or they will see a lot of early terminations and they won't be able to charge people.

 

[L4cer8]

And so it begins...

I've been waiting for the day when the cell providers start this bullsh*t. Putting pricing on an unlimited commodity? There has to be some federal laws in place... OH WAIT. There isn't. Screwed by the government yet again.




Sorry to go political at the end there guys/girls.

 

[mykd99]

I believe they have to grandfather you in, unless it is a breach of contract, and they don't want to loose anyone. But what qualifies for grandfather status? Can I just buy a 4G phone off Craigslist and activate it, or do I have to buy the phone through VZW and "sign" a new 2 yr. contract? I have the Incredible now, was going to wait for the next Moto phone, but thinking I should get the TBolt just to have the 4G data pricing.

 

[jcnyc]

When you're "grandfathered in" does that mean come end of 2012 when Im' eligible forn upgrade, if I upgade to a newer phone I will lose the unlimited status and resort to having to buy a phone at stock price for 500+??

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Chances are the grandfather-ing will come in the form of remaining terms of contract or if you make changes to your data plan. It MAY no longer apply when you re-up your contract with your next device (typically how these things work).

 

[WormDoes]

I've had an unlimited data plan with Verizon since 2005 when I got my first BlackBerry and have been a customer with them for about 10-11 years. When I'm eligible for a new device in 2012 if they don't honor the fact that I've had an unlimited data plan for 6 years I'll raise so much hell that I'll either get unlimited data or be kicked out of the store. If it's that latter then I'll just run across the street to Sprint and pick up whichever HTC device they're selling at the time. Either way I will not pay for tiered data with Verizon.

 

[therealbigrich]

I picked up my thunderbolt today so i could be grandfathered in

 

[CaptainObvious]

And so it begins...

I've been waiting for the day when the cell providers start this bullsh*t. Putting pricing on an unlimited commodity? There has to be some federal laws in place... OH WAIT. There isn't. Screwed by the government yet again.




Sorry to go political at the end there guys/girls.

Hey. You're free to your opinion man. But what are the cell companies doing wrong here by giving us tiered data? Consumers don't understand the strain we're putting on their network. I know we like to look at corporations that have money and hold up our pitchforks whenever they make a decision we disagree with, but unless the cap is 1 gb, i don't care. When we turn into a culture of billions of people that HAVE to be on their phones doing pointless crap constantly, yeah. Networks probably can't handle it. I don't have any problem with the idea that people that use internet in crazy amounts (say 10gb in a month on their freaking phone) need to pony up a little more every month. This actually rewards normal people that might use less than a few gigs a month with a smaller bill.

This might be wishful thinking, but if their plan was something like this:

$20=2gb $30=5gb $45=10gb+

$5 per gig you go over your plan

That fair?

 

[8-Bit-Soldier]

Hey. You're free to your opinion man. But what are the cell companies doing wrong here by giving us tiered data? Consumers don't understand the strain we're putting on their network. I know we like to look at corporations that have money and hold up our pitchforks whenever they make a decision we disagree with, but unless the cap is 1 gb, i don't care. When we turn into a culture of billions of people that HAVE to be on their phones doing pointless crap constantly, yeah. Networks probably can't handle it. I don't have any problem with the idea that people that use internet in crazy amounts (say 10gb in a month on their freaking phone) need to pony up a little more every month. This actually rewards normal people that might use less than a few gigs a month with a smaller bill.

This might be wishful thinking, but if their plan was something like this:

$20=2gb $30=5gb $45=10gb+

$5 per gig you go over your plan

That fair?

Yes, that is fair but nothing beats that peace of mind knowing you have an Unlimited amount of data usage.

 

[DJ_10]

I would love a 2GB option. Especially if it's cheaper than the unlimited plan we have now. Hell i may just drop unlimited and go tiered for the pricing. Since it would mean a cheaper bill for me. Like i said, im not too worried. The people this really effects are people who use their TB as a mobile hotspot which i don't do.

 

[jmz768]

The only "grandfathering" you're guaranteed is through the end of your existing contract. I seriously doubt that Verizon is going to allow everybody currently under contract to remain on unlimited data as long as they stay on as a customer.

 

[dguy]

Hey. You're free to your opinion man. But what are the cell companies doing wrong here by giving us tiered data? Consumers don't understand the strain we're putting on their network. I know we like to look at corporations that have money and hold up our pitchforks whenever they make a decision we disagree with, but unless the cap is 1 gb, i don't care. When we turn into a culture of billions of people that HAVE to be on their phones doing pointless crap constantly, yeah. Networks probably can't handle it. I don't have any problem with the idea that people that use internet in crazy amounts (say 10gb in a month on their freaking phone) need to pony up a little more every month. This actually rewards normal people that might use less than a few gigs a month with a smaller bill.

This might be wishful thinking, but if their plan was something like this:

$20=2gb $30=5gb $45=10gb+

$5 per gig you go over your plan

That fair?

Verizon and AT&T are some of the highest margin largest profit corporations in the world. They could charge literally half of what they do for their services and still make a profit. You can pay $30 a month in Europe to get what Verizon charges $90 for. It's not that they can't support the capacity, it is that they would rather not because it costs money to improve the network. This is why people are annoyed. Implementing data caps is nothing more than greed. They would LOVE for people to believe they are actually unable to support it.

 

[JEcht]

Verizon and AT&T are some of the highest margin largest profit corporations in the world. They could charge literally half of what they do for their services and still make a profit. You can pay $30 a month in Europe to get what Verizon charges $90 for. It's not that they can't support the capacity, it is that they would rather not because it costs money to improve the network. This is why people are annoyed. Implementing data caps is nothing more than greed. They would LOVE for people to believe they are actually unable to support it.

You have the option to not have a cell phone if you dont agree with the pricing.

 

[MRW1215]

I wish they would detail the pricing plans already. If I could get a 2~ GB cap for less than the current $30 for unlimited, I just might do it, to save some cash. I honestly don't think I'd ever use more than a gig or two per month, so it wouldn't be a big deal to me.

On the other hand, if it'd only be $5-10 cheaper, I might as well just hold off until I can upgrade again at the end of 2012.

 

[chris2k5]

I think they should just keep the $30 unlimited right now. It just doesn't make sense to tier the pricing. They wouldn't make that much more money at all.

The $20 for 200MB is what most people will be on and hardly anyone goes over it. They'll be losing $10 PER customer.

If they were smart, they'd keep their unlimited advantage and just keep that secret 5GB limit.

 

[jrew]

I think they should just keep the $30 unlimited right now. It just doesn't make sense to tier the pricing. They wouldn't make that much more money at all.

The $20 for 200MB is what most people will be on and hardly anyone goes over it. They'll be losing $10 PER customer.

If they were smart, they'd keep their unlimited advantage and just keep that secret 5GB limit.

AFAIK, it's been gone over that the 5gb limit is a fallacy. They won't charge you for going >5gb.

 

[chris2k5]

AFAIK, it's been gone over that the 5gb limit is a fallacy. They won't charge you for going >5gb.

Yeah I know they won't charge but don't they start to down throttle your speeds?

 

[daveydog]

the way they've worked in the past, you were always allowed to keep the terms of your service, even if buying a new device on new contract. Only if you changed your service plan did you forfeit your previous terms... Going by that, what I think will happen is you will be entitled to hold onto unlimited data, but they will change service plans so much that in order to benefit from other things you want, you will have to give up the unlimited... something like that...

 

[jackdubl]

So everyone thinks they will actually save money when tiered plans come out, because the lower data plan will be a lower price than the current price. Interesting theory...

And getting a new phone on a new contract means you WON'T be grandfathered in; I'm pretty sure of that. But will the extra cost of the tiered data ever equal the extra cost of paying full price for the phone? Doubtful it would.

 

[JEcht]

I just wish it wasnt mandatory to have a data plan. I can see why they do it beings these phones are wifi capable and WiFi in the public is easily accessible. They see it as a way to make a few bucks extra.