Verizon Confirms Plan To Switch Away From Unlimited Data Plans 207
loafula writes "Looks like Verizon is going the way of AT&T by not offering new unlimited data plans and switching to a tiered-only plan within six months. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said the new plans would be different from what AT&T offers, but didn't provide further details. 'We're not sure we agree yet with how they valued the data.' Everybody take a good look at your contracts; this will be a nice opportunity to jump ship without the hefty fee."
Re:Bait and switch (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:You know the consumer my actually win (Score:3, Interesting)
I use the most data while I'm driving. Pandora connected via bluetooth to the audio system of the truck. I'm sure I'm not the only one doing that, I think most average users would do that.
Re:Come on... (Score:4, Interesting)
They can do tiers the same way that (most - at least in the US) ISP's do - you base tiers on bandwidth (which inherently caps data usage). If you want the $15 a month data plan, you get say 75 KB/s, $25 a month will get you 150 KB/s, $35 gets you 300 KB/s, etc. It's fully workable, keeps people from ending up with no data / insane extra fees, and allows the phone companies to not use as much bandwidth.
IP-based services need more spectrum (Score:2, Interesting)
I think most consumers can rest assured that they won't outgrow these caps over the course of a 2-year contract, but this trend highlights the broader problem that spectrum is scarce and getting tighter. (I'm not an engineer, but my understanding is that AT&T can't possibly build enough towers under current constraints to fully service lower Manhattan on a Saturday night.) What happens when this year's 1 GHz Snapdragon processor seems like your old 486? Consumer demand for mobile bandwidth is going to keep growing exponentially.
If the mobile carriers don't increase caps at a corresponding (albeit halting) rate, they'll get some dissatisfied customers. The only solution is going to be more spectrum. I hope the unregulated TV white spaces ruling yesterday (yippee!!!) is just part of a continuing trend of freeing spectrum for IP-based (rather than dumb radio) uses, but at this rate, the mobile wireless industry is going to be hungry for more auctioned space soon.
I generally think telco lobbyists cry wolf at policymakers' doors all the time, but in this case, I think they're right.
Re:Get Out of Contract Free Card (Score:1, Interesting)
I held onto 7PM nighttime minutes for years after AT&T switched to 9PM nighttime, even after upgrading phones a couple of times. I expected a change after the initial contract was up, but they kept me on 7PM nighttime minutes. Probably the only good thing I can say about AT&T.
Basic Contract Law - They can't fundamentally alter the terms of the contract for existing customers without offering a way out. Even if they say "take it or leave it", "leave it" can't involve an ETF.
Re:Come on... (Score:2, Interesting)