Verizon Wireless Goes Ahead With 'Bucket' Data Plans 376
CanHasDIY writes "Previously, it was reported that Verizon was considering eliminating their current data plan scheme, as well as the grandfathered unlimited plans, in favor of a new 'bucket' plan in which up to 10 devices would share a data allotment. Verizon has now officially acknowledged the new scheme, called the 'Share Everything' plan, which will go into effect as of June 28, 2012. According to USA Today, 'Under the new pricing plan, a smartphone customer opting for the cheapest data bucket, 1 gigabyte, will pay $90 before taxes and fees ($40 for phone access and $50 for 1 GB). Customers can add a basic phone, laptop and tablet to share data for $30, $20 and $10, respectively.' Those of us still grandfathered into the unlimited plan will be forced (when upgrading) to either sign up for Share Everything or one of the tiered pricing plans currently in effect."
Oh really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks like the prepaid phone market's getting another customer when my Verizon contract ends.
Re:Oh really? (Score:5, Informative)
I just got the HTC EVO V on Virgin Mobile
$45/month with 1200 minutes and unlimited data.
4G, Android 4.0 and it's a hotspot.
Re:Oh really? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:Oh really? (Score:4, Insightful)
HIlarious. Wifi is free all over the place, tablets are less expensive in TCO than phones, and you idiots willingly pay these huge fees to the greedy telecoms for your tiny little phones. You're gonna be old, blind... and poor.
I'd take 256kbps works anywhere connection over hunting wifi, asking baristas for access and signing up to random hotspot systems..
the more important thing is, with unlimited you can leave constant updates on and use your smartphone as intended. 256kbps is even enough for spotify.
the new verizion data bucket deal is fucking ridiculous. america is truly a 7th world area when it comes to mobile bandwidth(you can get 4 devices for unlimited hsdpa for the verizon price around here and you can do several gigs in first few hours of the month..).
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Looks like the prepaid phone market's getting another customer when my Verizon contract ends.
You don't have to wait if they change the terms of your contract.
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They aren't changing the terms of the contract, they're waiting till your current contract expires then changing your subscription and removing the previous service as a contract option.
You're only under contract with verizon during that 2 year period after you purchase a phone from them at their "subsidized" price (what the phone would actually cost on a free market if they didn't have the power to jack up the price for non-contract phones). After that you're just a normal subscriber, unrestricted and unpr
Re:Oh really? (Score:4, Interesting)
Which is actually illegal. The terms of the deals are they extend this phone at ths price with this payment plan and you agree to not walk away from those terms for a time no less than two years- which you pay a penalty to them if you do.
The terms for payment and the services offered legally don't have an expiry. The way they get you to change contracts up is to "upgrade" your phone at a discount at the 1-2 year mark.
Sadly, this little price increase just made it more economical to not sign a new deal and just simply buy the phone at full price, keeping the old terms in place. You'll save $200-400 over the lock-in term of the agreement to do that so long as you can bear the brunt of the up-front price. I suggest saving up for it or using revolving credit on a short-term basis.
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What the Hell??? (Score:5, Insightful)
$50 for 1 gigabyte of data?!? That's insane!
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Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Informative)
This interview is hilarious:
Verizon Spokeswoman: We think that people need to go to a usage-based model for data and pay for the amount of usage that they're using so that everybody is able to access the network...... And we're charging on the megabytes of data that they use.
John Moe: Why?
Spokeswoman: Uh................... er................... cough............... People have changed the usage of how they're using their devices. They're moving to using more data, and to ensure the speed and reliability and the access to the network, people are paying for the amount of data that they use.
LINK - http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/verizon-trying-stamp-out-unlimited-data-customers [marketplace.org]
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Insightful)
OK, verizon, so then go ahead and charge me by the megabyte (or gigabyte). They aren't doing that.
They require at least a $50 base charge (supposedly made palatable because it also includes the voice and text -"now unlimited!' - I never used up my voice and text quotas!) for 1 GB. Can I just pay per gigabyte after that? No. If I upgrade my dumb phone to a smart phone so I can use that data, I have to pay an extra $20 - $30/mo. *with no extra data* (adding a smart phone to the plan is $40/mo. Right now, adding a dumb phone to a family plan is only $10 plus $10 for text).
Every time one wants to "share" the rationed GB's with another device, one has to pay $20 - $40 /mo. extra for no more data. That's not paying by the GB.
Stop lying through your teeth VZW! If bandwidth is limited, then just sell it by the GB.
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't get why utilities are so expensive in the US.
Here in Iceland, we're considered an expensive country. And you should expect the same sort of thing with anything having to do with data, since it's not exactly cheap to run underseas cables to us, and all the electronics hardware has to be imported, and not nearly in as much bulk as places like the US can buy in. So why is it that our utilities on things involving data are so cheap?
For my phone, I use NOVA. Since I don't call much and text in-network, I get the free, per-usage voice/text plan. The data plans available are 1GB for $7,60 or 10GB for $23, both at 5 MB/s. And coverage? We have one-7th the population density of Iowa. Here's Síminn's 2G coverage [siminn.is] and here's 3G coverage [siminn.is] (note that the population here is clustered around the coasts, there's no permanent residents in the interior and that you can't even drive on the few roads in the interior without a high-clearance 4x4). You can get 3G on some glaciers here! I was facebooking from the top of a mountain last weekend.
Or TV, for example. From Síminn, which I subscribe to, the base package is $7,60, a middle-of-the-line package is ~$27, and the everything package is ~$44.
We're on an island in the middle of nowhere. These sort of things should be way more expensive than in the US, not cheaper. Why is this? And availability, too. Back when I lived in Iowa City (a big 10 university town, I should add, so there were some fat pipes running into the place), the best uplink speed I could get on my netconnection was 1.5Mb/s (down was better, but not impressive). Here I get 50Mb/s bidirectional, and that's considered bad.
I don't get it, America. What's up with all that? I'm in freaking *Iceland* here.
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Thinking it over, I suspect that Verizon is about to prove that yes, consumers really are that stupid.
After all, they've been raping their customers for years, almost at will and whim. What makes 'em think that anything will change now?
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I'm not a Verizon customer. How exactly does one leave Verizon if one was never with them in the first place?
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Funny)
2) Leave
3) Profit
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:4, Funny)
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/verizon-trying-stamp-out-unlimited-data-customers/n [marketplace.org]
Laughed my ass off listening to it on the radio.
Best Verizon Quote Yet... (Score:3, Informative)
This is my favorite quote yet: "What I'm doing is giving you the flexibility to share the data you've paid for," Chief Marketing Officer Tami Erwin told Reuters. "Customers who are using more than one device will very quickly see the value in this." Which is from this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/verizon-share-everything-family-data-plan_n_1589216.html
They're charging me extra for letting me use the data I already paid for, and act like they're doing me some unusual favor.
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Wrong. It now becomes $90 per month, according to TFA, because you have to pay an extra $30 to add the scond phone.
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Interesting)
You are being a little dense. Previously, up to 2GB of data would have cost me $30 a month. Now it will cost $50 a month, for 1GB. Before that, $30 would have gotten unlimited data.
So from a consumer point of view, the deal has gotten worse and worse. And it still costs money to add devices to the plan for data sharing, leaving this an all-around shitty deal.
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Many people are on family plans and this will increase their costs.
Do you work for verizon?
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I'm currently on a family plan. I just looked at my bill, and I'm paying:
$100 for 1400 shared minutes and unlimited messaging
$10 per line
$30 per smartphone
which adds up to $180 for 2 smartphones.
With this, I would pay:
$60 for 2GB data plus unlimited messaging plus unlimited minutes
$40 per smartphone
which is $140 for 2 smartphones. If I up the data to 4GB, it's $150.
It's the same price to add a smartphone, so you just compare the new data price to the old voice+text price.
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Informative)
How do you reconcile your statement with the Q&A from the article [usatoday.com]?
If USA Today is making that up, as you claim elsewhere, they have one hell of a lawsuit coming from Verizon. They would have yanked the quoted text the second someone told them how badly they'd gotten it wrong. Why is it still up there?
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Informative)
get back to us when you get your first bill. (Score:3)
they may fix their mistake
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Let me make this quick: Generally, as technology improves and the customer base grows, the cost-per-customer of delivering service decreases.
With Verizon, the faster you can move data to your devices, the less of it you're allowed to move and prices keep going up. Unlimited data didn't start out at $30, it started out at $15. And I don't know where you got $60/month for a gig of data. There's no reason to make things up. Verizon's a la carte pricing for data on smartphones is $30 for 2 gigs, $50 for 5
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Let me make this quick: If you had two smartphones, the same 1GB (if that's all you used) would have cost you $60 a month. Now, it's $50, and $50 is less than $60.
From TFA:
Under the new pricing plan, a smartphone customer opting for the cheapest data bucket, 1 gigabyte, will pay $90 before taxes and fees ($40 for phone access and $50 for 1 GB)
$40 + $50 != $60, by any stretch of the imagination.
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Yes, $60 is less than $50, but the $40 per phone service charge is more than what we are paying now. Also many people use more than 1GB, especially between 2 or more people. My family plan has two users that together use 4GB of data and under 300 minutes and 500 texts combined, we currently pay $120. Under this plan we would pay $80 just for phone service and another $70 for data. That means our bill would go up by $30 a month.
Instead I will switch carriers. I have no interest in unlimited voice, nor texts.
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Instead I will switch carriers. I have no interest in unlimited voice, nor texts. I would in fact love a data only plan and just use voip.
A buddy of mine is talking about doing just that; basically, he would ditch his current plan in favor of a 4G iPad w/ unlimited data only, then just use Skype/GTalk/whatever for any of his voice-call needs.
He seems to think it will work out to a net savings, but depending on your needs and usage, YMMV.
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:4, Informative)
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Then why not switch to another carrier and buy an unsubsidized GSM phone that works when I travel?
Re:What the Hell??? (Score:5, Funny)
Because then youd miss out on the world renowned Verizon customer service experience!
Oh wait.
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You can keep your unlimited data plan, for a price. Rather than signing a new 2 year contract, and saving $500 on your new phone, you can pay full price for the phone, not be locked into a 2 year agreement, and keep the unlimited data package.
If you're not under contract anymore what is to stop them from just saying sorry contract over, then insert whatever plan they want on the 25th month of a 24mo contract?
I recently bought an unlimited data plan on e-bay and I was told over and over by AOL (assumption of liability) yes sir we will transfer the unlimited data. recorded her and everything. Next day I have a 2gb plan and they've been "trying" to get that unlimited data i was promised. Its just so hard to get to the people above loyalty dep
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Same here. The most I have ever used in a month was between 6 and 8GB. I usually use around 2 to 4GB in a month. I want unlimited because it is simple and I like to know it is there is I need it. I would accept limited if it was metered (no ridiculously priced overages) and reasonably priced. They really should just have one low price for unlimited phone and texting and then charge $2 to $5 per GB used for data. Data would cheap enough to be reasonable but high enough that most people would not go and burn
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Go look at mobile phone plans in Austria if you really feel like getting your envy on. Drei.at: 1000 minutes, 1000 SMS, unlimited data (full speed up to 2GB, then 64kbps), 10€.
How about France? mobile.free.fr: 20€ for unlimited calls to France, USA and Canada, unlimited calls to landlines in 40 countries, unlimited SMS within France, unlimited data (full speed up to 3GB, then throttled).
If Americans traveled outside their own country more then they wouldn't accept the prices they pay.
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If Americans traveled outside their own country more then they wouldn't accept the prices they pay.
I hear this all the time, but the reason for this is the size of the country and the lack of nearby countries that aren't named Canada or Mexico. To get anywhere out of the country other than that is out of the budget of most Americans.
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By "keep my own money", you mean "give all my money to the corporations that price gouge me", right?
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That's only income taxes. The US has absurdly high property taxes in most areas, plus state income taxes in most states.
You can also add medical insurance on top of that as for most countries it comes out of taxes.
$90 for 1GB (Score:2)
Wow, what a deal! Thats only $9 a device for 100MB each!
Seriously? (Score:4, Interesting)
Unless the other carrier follows suit, how on Earth do they expect to keep customers?
Certainly,while Sprint and T-Mobile may be small, and AT&T has sucky customer service and/or coverage (I'm sitting here at home with a AT&T smartphone that has zero signal - thank Heaven for automatic call forwarding), any of the three would be infinitely better than being forced to shit out what is likely going to be a three-digit cell phone bill each month.
Then again, knowing carriers, they'll likely start jacking their rates in proportion to how badly they want new customers vs. getting a piece of that pie.
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
Unless the other carrier follows suit, how on Earth do they expect to keep customers?
Odds are good that they're trying to see if other carriers follow suit. Back in the days before the Internet, 1 airline would raise prices at 4:45 PM on Friday afternoon, see if the other airlines raised their prices to match over the weekend, and if they didn't then lower the prices back down at 8:15 AM on Monday morning. Legally, that's not price fixing, even though in practice it is.
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Funny)
Over the years I have come to understand that Verizon really truly does not expect or want to keep customers. Their only goal is to infuriate, annoy, inconvenience, and generally cause problems for as many people as is possible.
I believe that they are not a data carrier, as much as a hatred delivery company who uses their status as an ISP to more easily deliver that seething contempt to its customers.
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I was planning on switching to Verizon from AT&T sometime here in the next 6 months. After reading about these rates over the last couple days, those plans are aborted. AT&T is bad, but they're not that bad.
I already pay $70 for 2GB with AT&T. Why would I pay an extra $20 for half the data? I was hoping to do a break-even switch in the fall figuring I'd pay about the same but get better coverage with Verizon (in my neck of the woods anyway). I guess I'll stick with crap(pier) coverage and s
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So, I found this on Computer World (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9228051/Unlimited_data_customers_freaked_out_by_new_Verizon_shared_data_plans):
" You're not required to move to Share Everything, but if you do, unlimited data will not be retained on your line. As a Verizon Wireless customer you have choices when you upgrade at discounted pricing. You can choose from a standalone data package starting at $30 for 2GB or a Share Everything Plan. If keeping unlimited is important to you, you can choose
*shrug* (Score:2)
Some may win, some may lose.
In my case, if I had my current ATT account on Verizon, that'd be saving me a nice chunk of money. Anyone with more than one device is coming out ahead. Anyone with a current Verizon data plan *and* a phone will come out ahead. Anyone who is currently paying for tethering will come out ahead.
Personally, I hope ATT does this quickly, as well. (Although, frankly, I wish I could skip the $40 voice part... as it works out to about $2 a minute for the usage I have in a given month.)
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This is false.
I have two smartphones on my data plan with unlimited data and this will increase my cost $30/month or mean I have to use less data. Niether is attractive to me.
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Please provide a link to a Verizon site that backs up your assertion - one that is shared by NONE of the articles I can fine.
Everything said by anyone not on Slashdot is taking this as "you don't get a choice if you're a new [or upgrading] Verizon user". These are the ONLY plans.
If you truly believe you're right and all those articles are wrong, back it up with evidence. Show us the link.
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Minor shift?
$30 extra a month to get only the data I use, and not what I will want to use in 6months is a minor fucking shift?
You must work for these assholes.
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Damn you VZW (Score:2)
Buckets might be ok, but these prices? (Score:2)
There is a lot of merit to the bucket idea, where multiple devices can draw from the same data allotment.
Lots of us have cell phones and tablets, (or would like to). Or we live in household with a a couple low-data users.
If nothing else,it puts the policing of high-data use into the group, and brings peer pressure into picture
when you actually share a plan in such households.
But for the individual user with two devices, 90 bucks for one gig, and then having the bill jacked up simply because there is anothe
Hyperbole much? (Score:4, Informative)
'Under the new pricing plan, a smartphone customer opting for the cheapest data bucket, 1 gigabyte, will pay $90 before taxes and fees ($40 for phone access and $50 for 1 GB).
Not that I'm a defender of Verizon, but why the hell would anyone sign up for a shared plan with only one device? Obviously you're going to lose out... the prices are designed to make it marginally cheaper to add additional devices in return for a higher "first device" fee.
The new "share everything" plans are designed to make it easier (and a bit cheaper) for families with a bunch of smartphones, a tablet or two, and text-messaging addicted teenagers. Not for single-device customers looking for a bargain.
Re:Hyperbole much? (Score:5, Informative)
The new "share everything" plans are designed to make it easier (and a bit cheaper) for families with a bunch of smartphones, a tablet or two, and text-messaging addicted teenagers. Not for single-device customers looking for a bargain.
Indeed; that is addressed in a Q&A page linked from TFA: [usatoday.com]
Q: I'm single and I just want a smartphone, that's it. The cheapest Shared Everything plan looks pretty expensive at $90 per month, and that's with just 1 gigabyte of data. Is there no alternative?
A: There's one cheaper plan, intended for first-time smartphone buyers. It gives you unlimited calling and texting, and just 300 megabytes of data per month. If you're frugal with data usage, that will get you by. It costs $80 per month.
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The new "share everything" plans are designed to make it easier (and a bit cheaper) for families with a bunch of smartphones, a tablet or two, and text-messaging addicted teenagers. Not for single-device customers looking for a bargain.
Indeed; that is addressed in a Q&A page linked from TFA: [usatoday.com]
Q: I'm single and I just want a smartphone, that's it. The cheapest Shared Everything plan looks pretty expensive at $90 per month, and that's with just 1 gigabyte of data. Is there no alternative?
A: There's one cheaper plan, intended for first-time smartphone buyers. It gives you unlimited calling and texting, and just 300 megabytes of data per month. If you're frugal with data usage, that will get you by. It costs $80 per month.
That Q&A is USA today-conjured bullshit, plain and simple.
Somebody take a shit in your niswa or somethin' bro? Being just a bit defensive, aren't we?
None of the actual Verizon literature has suggested there will be ONLY a family share plan for all users.
*looks at own words quoted above*
Never said there was, dink. Calm down before you give yourself a coronary.
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That $70 is for "Basic Phones" and so doesn't apply to anything Verizon deems a "smartphone". Which is pretty much everything that can deal with mobile data in a non-trivial way. Not a valid comparison unless you're my grandma.
How about $40 for unlimited (Score:4, Interesting)
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The key phrase here is "major cities only". If you were in the US and you were only going to use your phone in major cities, you wouldn't have signed up for Verizon, which has always had the highest prices in exchange for deep penetration into rural areas. Instead, you would sign up for Cricket, Boost, MetroPCS, or a similar carrier that only has coverage in major cities.
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Yup. I have a lot of friends and family in rural areas. For most of them, it's Verizon or nothing. They put a lot of effort into remote areas; I've even heard of them doing things like airlifting towers into forests and on top of mountains.
I live near a major city and have Virgin Mobile, which uses Sprint's network. I'm paying $45/mo for 1200 minutes and unlimited text/data (4G even, although it's crappy WiMAX), no contract. The coverage in my neighborhood is actually better than Verizon, and I have no prob
Grandfathered unlimited plans stay. (Score:2)
Q: Will Verizon convert me to a new plan, or can I keep my old plan?
A: Verizon won't switch you over to the new plan unless you ask. You can keep your old plan, even if you trade up to a new phone after that date and extend your contract.
Q: What if I have an "unlimited data" plan? Can I keep it?
A: Yes, you can. But —and there's a big "but" here— Verizon will no longer let you move the plan to a new phone after June 28, unless you pay the full, unsubsidized price for it. For most smartphones that will add hundreds of dollars to the price. A subsidized Verizon iPhone 4S costs $200. The price you'll pay if you keep your unlimited plan: $650. (Verizon stopped signing up new customer for unlimited a year ago)
So for me, nothing will change, at least for a while. I'll still have my 30$ a month unlimited plan. This may shift when it comes time to get a new phone, but thats a ways off. In two years who knows what the wireless landscape will look like.
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yeah T-Mobile! (Score:2)
Unlimited xfer (at throttled speed, mut meh) for 50/mo.
Unlimited xfer (at 4g speed) for 90/mo.
The only carrier in the us that rewards you for owning the damned handset.
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I am _so_ glad that AT&T didn't manage to buy them out!
Cheaper to rent a video (Score:3)
At $50/gig its cheaper to rent a video at redbox or netflix than to download and watch the trailer on youtube to see if its worth renting.
The cost superficially appears astounding. However I'm actually using about 10 megs a day on average over the air (non-wifi) according to "data counter widget" and paying $20/month to republic wireless for unlimited service... so I'm paying about $66/gig if I did my math correctly.
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Please note that I disapprove of the new pricing plan, so don't take this as an endorsement of it.
It's not a truly terrible thing to be discouraging users from doing heavy duty video on cellular connections. 3/4G data connections can push a lot of data but the tower's network connection can easily get swamped. Encouraging users to load movie rentals at home from their broadband connection is a good thing - other than the spur of the moment aspect, there's no reason that users have to transfer those files
Incentive to get hitched! (Score:2)
It's pretty obvious the new pricing is a "screw the single user who wasn't using a bazillion bytes of data or talk time" plan. Maybe it's Verizon's way of saying I should get hitched? My mom would like that, for sure.
Or maybe they're abandoning the singles market in dense urban centers to Sprint (about the only place Sprint works well, so it plays to their strengths).
Honestly, I was thinking about switching to Verizon when my AT&T contract ended later this month or when the next iPhone came out. It woul
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make sure you know what's included here... (Score:2)
This includes unlimited texts, plus tethering & wireless hotspot, each of which costs extra (unlimited texts is, I know, normally $20/mo by itself). So when you start to compare prices, make sure you're comparing apples to apples.
I'm more interested in when the new individual plans, though. With wifi hotspot, there's no need to have a dedicated plan for anything besides my phone that I'm likely to be using.
So how do I switch? (Score:2)
Real plan name (Score:4, Funny)
"whole paycheck" plan (Score:2)
IT LIVES!! (Score:2)
Those of us still grandfathered into the unlimited plan will be forced (when upgrading)
Whelp, looks like I'm going to be stuck with this Palm phone forever. Ah, WebOS, I guess you're not that bad...
Cheaper with Friends (Score:2)
Look, $50 for 1 GB is insane. 10 GB for $90? Not so much.
You get unlimited text/voice/etc for $40 per smartphone. Get 2 other friends to split the cost. Now, you're paying $70 (total) per month for your smartphone w/3 GB worth of data. That's not a bad deal, especially considering the unlimited voice/text and tethering. You can't get that good of a deal right now.
Hopefully, they'll come out with more frugal plans for us single folk, but I wouldn't count on it.
Wallet Rape (Score:2)
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More? Yes. Wireless access is difficult to predict and properly engineer, has highly nonuniform demand (huge per square mile in cities, low per square mile rurally), suffers from nonuniform demand because of its design, and is fundamentally limited by its licensed bandwidth. Wired access pretty much works when you run wire and install appropriate networking equipment. Providing high-bandwidth wireless data access is a reasonably challenging and expensive problem.
Can I justify why it should cost such obscene
Charging overages and financial sodomy (Score:2)
That is all this is. What most people seem to have missed is the fact that verizon has not currently stated how users will be notified.. sharing 1G of data between two phones.. when 1 might be a heavy user, will the other user be notified when they reach the 1G limit.. or will they just be charged an overage fee.
Data is data, and should be sold as such, you pay for 1G through 10G of whatever, and you use it as you see fit, no matter the number of devices or uses, then you pay for more data when you run out
AOL Returns (Score:2)
So time for wireless cellphone dial up then? It sounds like this is AOL's big chance to return to profitability.
Want to get data plan for both phones & comput (Score:2)
Assuming I am understanding these plans and packages correctly, I will need a phone data plan AND a computer data plan (another $50)? I can't use the current phone data plan, in Apple iPhone 4S with its Verizon's 3G, to use as a wirelesss hotspot to the computer devices through their wireless connections?" It's dang expensive already!
I'd like to use it as a backup in case my home's Time Warner Cable's Internet connection goes down, or need to go out that has no open/free wifi for quick Internet usages.
Maybe
Re:Ugh. Worst summary ever? (Score:5, Insightful)
DID you not see the BIT about them dropping all THEIR other plans? So there's plenty point TO comparing these new prices to existing one-LINE Verizon prices as Verizon CUSTOMERS will soon be paying these prices or no LONGER be Verizon customers.
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DID you not see the BIT about them dropping all THEIR other plans? So there's plenty point TO comparing these new prices to existing one-LINE Verizon prices as Verizon CUSTOMERS will soon be paying these prices or no LONGER be Verizon customers.
Not all of them.
or one of the tiered pricing plans currently in effect.
Was that so difficult? Disclaimer: When my grandfathered unlimited goes away, so do I. Also, what the shit is with your illogical, all-caps emphases?
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Also, what the shit is with your illogical, all-caps emphases?
I believe that is whats known as "parody".
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But can you ever really be sure? [rationalwiki.org]
Re:Ugh. Worst summary ever? (Score:5, Funny)
BECAUSE...
It's MOST LIKELY....
WILLIAM SHATNER...
That you're TALKING to!
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You're right, that sounds so much better! A $150 ($130 plus tax and then all the little fake "fees" and "services" they apply to the bill afterward) for two smartphones with ONE WHOLE GIGABYTE TO SHARE!
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That does not help one bit.
I want less minutes and less text in my family plan. They have already forced me up to 600 minutes of which we use about 150 minutes combined.
Re:less minutes and less text (Score:2)
So get a prepaid cell phone plan and use free wifi for the data. I have almost no use for "always on" phone data - I can just go to McDonald's. (ProTip!) So my home landline is a Magic Jack on a $25/mo dry loop DSL (let's call it the Schrodinger's Voice plan!). Then that makes my $100 block (about three per year) of prepaid minutes last even longer. I don't text. So my yearly communication costs are something around $500 total, instead of about $1300 per year.
Re:less minutes and less text (Score:5, Insightful)
So get a prepaid cell phone plan and use free wifi for the data.
Some of us have jobs and can't hang out at McDonald's all day. Some of us live and/or work in rural areas and don't have any McDonald's or other free wifi close by.
Please stop giving out ProTips. You kinda suck at it.
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Where do you get the idea this is only for people currently on family plans? I don't see anything in any articles saying this isn't for individual users as well.
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Re:Ugh. Worst summary ever? (Score:5, Informative)
This is completely 100% false. THERE ARE NO OTHER PLANS. From the Q&A linked in TFA
Q: I'm single and I just want a smartphone, that's it. The cheapest Shared Everything plan looks pretty expensive at $90 per month, and that's with just 1 gigabyte of data. Is there no alternative?
A: There's one cheaper plan, intended for first-time smartphone buyers. It gives you unlimited calling and texting, and just 300 megabytes of data per month. If you're frugal with data usage, that will get you by. It costs $80 per month.
In other words, you can do this plan for 1GB of data, or pay $80 for 300MB of data (basically, $40 for 300MB of data, since the phone access costs $40), or you can not buy a smartphone from Verizon. There are literally no other options for new customers.
USA Today is retarded. (Score:2)
They are not getting rid of the other plans. Here is Verizon's site [vzwshop.com] for the new plans, and it clearly states that the existing tiered plans aren't going away; just the unlimited plans.
This plan is for people who want unlimited voice, text and/or want to share a data plan over many devices. Not for anyone else. Definitely not for me. As someone who pays $10-15 a month for basic prepaid service, I think it is ridiculously expensive, and a good reminder of why I don't intend to get a data plan any time soon.
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It is not pretty much equal you. It will cost me $30/month more for my family plan and mean I can't use more data in the future. I will want more data in the future.
Are you employed by verizon or painfully dense?
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So for 3 phones you have to pay:
$40: 1st phone (smart one)
$30: 2nd phone (basic!)
$30: 3rd phone (basic?)
$50: 1GB
===+
$150 for 1GB shared data or $50/month for 333MB if shared evenly. WTF is Verizon thinking!
In other news I read Lenovo becoming an access provide:
http://news.lenovo.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1602 [lenovo.com]
In NL the prices would be 2GB for 35EUR/month or 5GB for 50EUR/month.
I thought that these prices were to expensive already.
Re:Ugh. Worst summary ever? (Score:5, Informative)
My current plan has 4 smartphones , 1 basic and 1 tablet.
The bill would go up by $30 dollars if I switched. The amount of data I could used would go down by 9 GB .
Funny hearing the silence from the customer service agent when I asked him . "You mean my bill would go up and I only get 5GB for 5 devices ?"
Who gobbled whom? (Score:2)
Umm...I think you have that backwards.
SWB gobbled some companies and renamed itself SBC. Then SBC gobbled some RBOCs. SBC had a joint venture with BellSouth called Cingular. Cingular gobbled ATT Wireless. Then SBC gobbled ATT and became "the New ATT". Then the New ATT gobbled BellSouth and renamed Cingular to ATT Mobility.
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I have to ask this. I have wondered about this for as long as I've had mobile phones on a contract-based carrier (versus PAYG carriers).
If you bring your "older unsubsidized phone" to Verizon and say "Hi, I'd like to continue my current contract but switch to using this phone on your fine network", will Verizon really say "Oh, gosh, I wish I could sell you a new phone and put you into one of our draconian plans, but I guess we have to do it your way."?
It doesn't seem like a very Verizon thing to do. Frankly
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