Verizon data limits on the horizon

[s44]

I told you so... And, as I said, that's what LTE really means for you:

[Verizon CEO] Seidenberg said the introduction of new products and services—likely in conjunction with the launch of fourth-generation wireless services—would allow Verizon Wireless to introduce a tiered pricing structure.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Yay. Finally. I was waiting for cheaper prices as I have no real use for unlimited.

 

[corkyg]

Sounds good to me as well. What I would really like to see is a tiered pricing structure that could be annualized instead of month-to-month. IOW, I would like to be able to, for example, buy a package that gave me 20 GB over one year. I would be willing to pay up front for that to get a further discount. I hate monthly plans - it's like being bitten to death by a duck.

 

[sswingle]

They have made it no secret as long as a year ago that LTE would be tiered.

 

[SunnyD]

give me 400 voice minutes for $20, and give me 2gb data for $20, and I'll be a subscriber. Give me unlimited data for $40 with no voice minutes, and I'll be a subscriber.

Force me into a $50 voice plan with text messages and require me to get a $30 limited data plan just because of my phone choice, I'll go elsewhere, thanks.

 

[randomlinh]

Yay. Finally. I was waiting for cheaper prices as I have no real use for unlimited.

I wouldn't jump for excitement just yet until they release how they are going to tier it.

 

[trmiv]

A 2 to 3 gb tier at around $20-$25 a month would be good for me. I average around 900-1000mb on my Droid monthly, so does my wife, so it would save us some money.

 

[Bateluer]

Lols at the people who think this will make their plans cheaper.

I'll just add this as another notch against Verizon. Their treatment of Android, treatment of customers, nickel and dime policies, etc have been making me want to cancel my contract for a while. Wonder what my ETF would be 12 months into a contract?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Yeah don't expect the consumer to see much benefit here.

 

[pm]

Lols at the people who think this will make their plans cheaper.

When AT&T came up with their tiered plan, I switched to it the day that it came out from an unlimited to the 200MB plan, and that dropped the total charges on my cell phone bill for our family plan by ~20%. Even the one month that I exceeded 200MB - and got an SMS from AT&T telling me that I did - I switched to the 1GB plan and that still saved me 7% over the unlimited plan.

I'm sure that if you use the internet a lot on your phone, this sort of change could end up costing you more, but for those of us who mostly use WiFi at home and work, it can end up saving a fair bit of money. My total cell phone bill for the year will be ~$140 less than it was under the unlimited plan, and I didn't change anything about how I use my phone.

 

[frostedflakes]

They already have a couple tiers. For their data plans, 25MB/mo allowance is $10/mo, and "unlimited" (actually 5GB/mo if you read the fine print in the TOS) is $30/mo. Would be nice to having more options in between, though, and/or get more bandwidth for $10/mo.

 

[CurseTheSky]

If I can still get the equivalent of 5GB / month for $30, I won't complain. If they pull BS like AT&T where they save you a whole $5 / month and lower the data limit to by 3GB, I'll start talking to Sprint.

IMO, tiered data plans aren't necessarily a bad thing. They just need to be setup so that the consumer gets to choose what's right for them fairly (which is unlikely):

250MB - $5 / month, voice plan required
1GB - $10 / month, voice plan required
2GB - $20 / month, voice plan required
5GB - $30 / month, voice plan required
10GB - $60 / month, no voice plan required

IMO, if they offered something along those lines, there would be a lot of happy people out there.

 

[QueBert]

Yay. Finally. I was waiting for cheaper prices as I have no real use for unlimited.

This is Verizon we're talking about, I bet they'll figure out a way to either make it cost more money, or the cheaper plans will have something retarded like 50 megs a month and only cost like $10 less If that'd be enough for you great. But the Verizon I know wanted me to sign a contract PLUS have a cell contract with them to get their VOIP doohickey they put out a few years ago. Mind you the VOIP phone + service had nothing to do with cellular and didn't need anything except an internet connection. But they still demand you have their cell service. Not even AT&T is as bad when it comes to being money grubby, and that's really saying a lot.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

They already have a couple tiers. For their data plans, 25MB/mo allowance is $10/mo, and "unlimited" (actually 5GB/mo if you read the fine print in the TOS) is $30/mo. Would be nice to having more options in between, though, and/or get more bandwidth for $10/mo.

The 25MB/mo plan is for feature phones and multimedia phones. If you've got a smart phone, you are required to get the unlimited plan.

 

[Bateluer]

If I can still get the equivalent of 5GB / month for $30, I won't complain. If they pull BS like AT&T where they save you a whole $5 / month and lower the data limit to by 3GB, I'll start talking to Sprint.

IMO, tiered data plans aren't necessarily a bad thing. They just need to be setup so that the consumer gets to choose what's right for them fairly (which is unlikely):

250MB - $5 / month, voice plan required
1GB - $10 / month, voice plan required
2GB - $20 / month, voice plan required
5GB - $30 / month, voice plan required
10GB - $60 / month, no voice plan required

IMO, if they offered something along those lines, there would be a lot of happy people out there.

As nice as the Evo 4G and Epic 4G are, that 10 dollar Premium Data charge regardless of whether or not you have Wimax coverage is BS in my book.

 

[Acanthus]

This makes sense, considering the huge infux of apple fans they will likely get with the iphone 5.

Unlimited data plans would put a heavy strain on their network, especially with a mass-migration of people.

The latest stats i've read say that the Apple exclusivity contract is the only thing that keeps AT&T wireless in business. It is something like 70% of their revenue.

 

[s44]

The latest stats i've read say that the Apple exclusivity contract is the only thing that keeps AT&T wireless in business. It is something like 70% of their revenue.

Now this is making me reconsider my imminent switch to Verizon... Maybe AT&T will be forced to offer better rates?

 

[Bateluer]

The latest stats i've read say that the Apple exclusivity contract is the only thing that keeps AT&T wireless in business. It is something like 70% of their revenue.

While it would be amusing to watch AT&T fall from #2 to #3 or 4 overnight, there's already not enough competition in wireless carriers. I bet AT&T would attempt to boost its subscriber base by purchasing the only other national GSM carrier in the US.

 

[Generator]

I don't have a cell phone, so what are some examples that require/use up alot of data?

 

[boomhower]

I don't have a cell phone, so what are some examples that require/use up alot of data?

Streaming radio and video are the #1 killers.

 

[v8envy]

Define 'a lot.' When you're on a 25 mb plan, simply loading an image-heavy web page or getting map tiles for google maps is 'a lot.'

I have a "downs phone" -- a dumbphone (runs j2me apps on BREW os) given a few lockdown retardation whacks by Virgin Mobile. And yet, I still use a few hundred megs/month from showing youtube videos to kids and co-workers (est. 20 megs a pop), IM and web surfing and navigation.

 

[zerocool84]

They're going to do exactly what AT&T did, get rid of the highest cap. Many people do use 5GB on their phones. While it's great a company gives the option for how much data you want, getting rid of their highest tier really sucks.

 

[zerocool84]

As nice as the Evo 4G and Epic 4G are, that 10 dollar Premium Data charge regardless of whether or not you have Wimax coverage is BS in my book.

Even at $80 they're still cheaper for what you get.

 

[Anubis]

ugh ive used 4.1 gigs this billing cycle and it doesn't end until Oct 6th

tiered plans are gonna suck if there isn't a 5gb option

 

[Bateluer]

ugh ive used 4.1 gigs this billing cycle and it doesn't end until Oct 6th

tiered plans are gonna suck if there isn't a 5gb option

You and me both.

Time to grab an app that directs you to open wifis, Mcdonalds, Starbucks, etc. I may have to migrate from Verizon elsewhere.