Verizon Ending Unlimited Data Plans...

[Isthmus]

According to Gizmodo, Verizon is set to kill unlimited data plans. It seems that verizon has decided that although it will be substantially cheaper to offer 4G, that consumers just get too much Data and should be paying for access time instead. You know what this means, anyone looking to tether in any serious way is now screwed. How long do you think it will be before other companies say screw it and offer 4g for a set fee instead of nickel-and-diming their customers. Where is the line to start sending angry letters to Verizon over this nonsense. I'm a longtime customer, but will gladly jump ship if it means not having to count minutes for using a phone that I bought because of its convenience.

 

[HustlinDaily]

I remember last year AT&T's CEO was talking about doing something like this.

If they do, looks like it is gonna be Sprint or T-Mobile lol.

 

[IOWA]

Ouch.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[Chillout]

No way in hell im going to "watch my usage" , if they pull that crap I will jump ship in a hot second to someone else. I got my droid and the unlimited data plan for the sole purpose of not having to worry about my usage.

 

[mrw5641]

ya if they do that, i am sure alot of poeple will switch , I would hope and maybe verizon will see that they are morons

 

[IOWA]

The first company that does this I hope the hemorrage customers.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[Hrethgir]

Ooo, yeah, this would be a bad thing! I want to switch from AT&T to Verizon eventually to get onto a good Android phone, but if Verizon does this, that would suck.

 

[Jayziac]

Boost Mobile Prepaid with $50/mo unlimited talk/text/data and an upcoming Android phone seems the best alternative.

 

[mattwill]

This has been in the works for at least a year. And all the carriers will do it. They will argue it makes business sense - yes even for their customers. The reason why is because there are heavy users and regular users. The regular users are currently subsidizing the heavy users. Why should you pay the same fee per month to update a few widgets and read a few wesites as the guy next to you downloading youtube videos and streaming music all day? Towers and Capacity costs money, and a good network need to have enough capacity for all the users at once, heavy and regular. Same concept as tiered electric rates.

If this would actually save customers money as it theoretically should, I would be all for it, but it likely wont. I am just pointing out that in some ways it makes sense.

 

[XtremeAaron]

Plus, this only effects the upcoming 4G phones. Our Droids are fine.

 

[Magwa]

If this would actually save customers money as it theoretically should, I would be all for it, but it likely wont. I am just pointing out that in some ways it makes sense.

Right. Verizon has proven over and over again that their primary purpose is to save their customers money.

If this plan is put in place, I'm down the road in a flash of.....anything but AT&T.

I don't know. Right now, waiting for 2.2 to be given at the good grace of Verizon, I feel screwed already. I'm thinking I don't need all this technology, anyway. As a confirmed gizmo geek, maybe I just need to stop buying any phones except bare- boned handsets that will allow my wife to give me orders....

And, guess what...too much more of this "nailing the customers" mode...in this economy...I'll bet I'm not the only one to start to think about simplifying my life.

Maybe some parents might start thinking about pulling their text addicted kids back into a family dinner table mode. Or maybe a few folks will be saved from the grim reaper by not texting in the car at 75 mph.

Okay, Verizon, start pulling the pin now. It's your social responsibility.

 

[IOWA]

But here's the problem. The "light" users probably won't even see any savings at all. The prices will just increase across the board. We gotta keep the ceo's with their 10 million dollar bonus's every year ya know.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[anonymous2]

And all these new devices are pure data hungry beasts. Something is wrong with this picture.

 

[IOWA]

And 4g should accomodate them just fine.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[oakindustries]

VZW grandfathers you in on plans and features. They won't change it unless you do by asking to have it changed or by getting a device that requires a change.

 

[IOWA]

VZW grandfathers you in on plans and features. They won't change it unless you do by asking to have it changed or by getting a device that requires a change.

And how much you wanna bet all the new smartphones will require the plan change.. lol

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[koolaid25]

According to Gizmodo, Verizon is set to kill unlimited data plans. It seems that verizon has decided that although it will be substantially cheaper to offer 4G, that consumers just get too much Data and should be paying for access time instead. You know what this means, anyone looking to tether in any serious way is now screwed. How long do you think it will be before other companies say screw it and offer 4g for a set fee instead of nickel-and-diming their customers. Where is the line to start sending angry letters to Verizon over this nonsense. I'm a longtime customer, but will gladly jump ship if it means not having to count minutes for using a phone that I bought because of its convenience.

I just got the new Verizon Incredible with a new 2 year contract. They can't change my unlimited data until 2 years are up...am I correct????

 

[SystemsLock]

I don't know. While I defiantly don't support the idea. I can see some benefits. I use the internet on my phone all the time yet it remains low becuase I don't stream much yet I still have to pay the $30/month. If they dump unlimited data, as long as I stay away from streaming, my data cost should be a lot lower

 

[Jayziac]

Prepaid plans are where real market forces work. You pay a reasonable rate for minutes and data used. All these minimum packages and requirements distorts consumers and demand and misallocates a limited resource.

 

[dvdivx]

If they just try to tack on $10 extra for 4g then I don't think they will loose that many people. If they try and restrict it then it will be a good time for Sprint. I can't imagine phones using that much bandwidth. ATT is still only third behind both Sprint and Verizon for data usage since Iphones and Ipads use alot less data than wireless cards for laptops.

 

[Deanie]

Requiring users to pay for access time does not make sense. I'm sitting here thinking about cable/dsl/satellite internet access, and what it would mean if providers started charging for usage based on access time. The internet with all its possibilities is our way of life now...nobody can deny that.

The cost of progress should be to expand and build the infrastructure, not remain static and milk customers. You're sure to lose them that way.

 

[Isthmus]

I don't understand all these posts saying that metered time is a good thing. data usage is simply not the same as talking. for pure voice, sure it makes sense to buy a block of minutes. some people (like myself) aren't glued to the phone and our conversations are short. however data usage (as ATT's woes have shown) took cell carriers by surprise. people don't want to use smart phones like they do to make calls. They want to use them as miniature computers. Guess what verizon, as tablets expand on capabilities this is only going to increase. Let's face it, modern smart phones and tablets are computers that also make calls, not cell phones with computing functions. when people are online, specially in a feature rich environment, they want to use services as intended. who is going to sit there watching their bandwidth meter while streaming a TV show, or reading Google Editions online?

IIRC several months ago at the cell phone convention in Spain, Google begged all the major carriers to improve their data distribution and they ALL fought back to the point that google argued going at it alone (what happend iwth that afterall?). They were all arguing that Android is providing too much and depriving them of income streams from services like crappy web access, crappy picture hosting, and crappy navigation.

Lets face it, the companies pare pushing hard for everyone to adopt a smart phone (when was the last time you saw a single add for a regular cel phone?) and they want you to buy the most expensive plan possible. Cell companies are, afterall in the business of making money, and thus far Verizon has been able to pull it off because they have had the most reliable system. I don't know, but I would be willing to try a different carrier, if it means not getting nickeled and dimed by verizon. It's amazing how old habits and business models die so hard. In 6 months version has gone from a giant provider of reliable but ugly hardware, to a provider of some of the sexiest and most popular hardware around. once people get what they are selling, now they are trying to squeeze.

Well I say **** them. We should start a letter writing campaign and start sending them to the powers that be at verizon. Let them hear our voices and reconsider this stupid move.

 

[Isthmus]

BTW, if you want to give Verizon an earlful, here are two contacts recommended by Consumerist.com:

Got a Verizon complaint wireless complaint that's not getting anywhere?
A Verizon Wireless insider tells us that the best way to get white glove customer service treatment is to target the president for your Verizon region. Here's how:


1. Try to resolve your customer service issue with a call center supervisor or a store manager
2. Fail
3. Go to Region Presidents
4. Locate your "Area" (Northeast, Midwest, South, or West)
5. Click on the presidents until you find the one in charge of your state/region
6. At the bottom there is a contact form for the administrator to that president.
7. Fill out your complaint form, noting how you attempted to resolve the issue with a call center supervisor or store manager. If you don't, you will probably get a canned response telling you to call regular customer service.
8. Await your call back!


And if that doesn't work, you can always try these contact infos.

I checked the contact numbers and it is a bunch of artciles with VZW contact numbers and addresses for company executives who would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the proposed barrel they want to bend their customers over. Let'em have it guys and pass the info around.

 

[IOWA]

For some reason people think metered time would save them money somehow what they don't realize if this ever goes into effect, it will only result in price increases, not decreases, for anyone.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[Isthmus]

Here is a great article from business week that talks about this year's Mobile World Congress and how mobile service providers have benefioted greatly from google, but now in many ways fear that it will cut into their income sources and turn them into bit players:

Mobile Industry Strikes Back at Google and Apple

And here is another showing that Vodafone (VZW's co-parent) is already actively lobbying to put the breaks on Google (even though at the same time they are turning most of their offerings into android based devices):

Vodafone Head Hits at Google's Power

and

Mobile World Congress: Google tries to placate mobile operators

Lastly here is part of the reason they are scared, and what could be a great option for North American consumers:

Google to build 1Gbps ultra-high-speed broadband networks