[Breaking]Verizon Plans to Slow Downloads of High Data Users Because of iPhone Launch

[eewny]

If vzw didn't expect that much use out of a linux based smart phone they didn't know much about the average linux computer user.

If they didn't expect that much use then it was business decision that looks like it was wrong. They sold a product and it was risky. They expect a lot of people to buy unlimited who didn't need it and that it would be a cash cow. People took them up on vzws offer of unlimited internet and now they are hurting. Just like I doubt sprint can sustain their price point for unlimited data. But companies like sprint and vzw made these offers at a risk purely to get more subscribers. Sprint wouldn't have gotten nearly as many users as they did compared to vzw or attention unless they sold at the price point they do.

They made the deals that you claim are bogging the network just to get more customers.

If it weren't for the need for low latency in video games I wouldn't even have cable internet anymore. Shame on me for using the data package sold to me I guess. I have the dx because the hdmi out let's me browse internet view video download files all on a larger screen. No 4 inches here. I don't think this is out of line with what is an expected use of the smartphone because of the atrix which has a laptop dock. They are promoting computer use of the phone data plan. Laptop style full browser web pages. Maybe not streaming netflix or hulu but still a pc browsing experience

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

 

[kodiak799]

 

[wingdo]

If vzw didn't expect that much use out of a linux based smart phone they didn't know much about the average linux computer user.

Let's start up front by stating that the average user on this forum is NOT the same as VZW's average smartphone user. Most users are not going to replace their home computers with their Droid 1, nor are they going to use their D1 as a replacement for their home network.

I use my D1 all day. When I am at work I stream Pandora or Slacker most of the day via 3G as we've disabled streaming content (sans youtube) on our network. So 5-6 hours a day 5 days a week I am streaming music via 3G. I d/l ROMs straight to the phone all the time. I use google maps for navigation all the time. For the longest time I was updating to CM nightlies 4-7 times a week. I went over 2GB once. People who are somehow using over 10GB a month are not using their phones as intended. VZW didn't intend for people to root their phones to bypass tethering restrictions. VZW didn't intend for people to install PDAnet to bypass tethering restrictions. VZW didn't intend for their $30 "unlimited" data plans to replace people's home networks. Just because the phone runs Linux doesn't mean VZW should have expected people to ditch their DSL lines for home.

I am no defender of any wireless carrier, I deal with them every day in my job and overall they all have major flaws. But I will agree with them on the fact they have to do *something* to keep all data flowing smoothly for people as I don't want my data to end up like AT&T's data in NYC or SanFran, and I certainly don't want to start dropping calls (which I have yet to do on VZW).

 

[kodiak799]

^^^bingo....There was no rational reason to expect people to shift that much usage from pc/broadband to a phone and blow past 5 or 10 gigs a month.

And what exactly has VZW done to this point? They've talked about capping, they've talked about throttling. Is there any proof this has actually happened to someone under contract yet?

 

[wingdo]

This is the letter sitting in my account explaining the changes. Emphasis added by myself.

If you subscribe to a Data Plan or Feature on February 3, 2011 or after, the following applies:

Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand.

 

[kptphalkon]

I was going to say there is already a thread regarding that statement Wingdo, then is realized that this is the thread! Nothing aimed at you, btw

Do people read the first few pages of something or do they just start arguments about the headline?

Sent from the Blue Falcon cockpit on my D2G

 

[kodiak799]

Oh, I knew about that statement. I was summarizing it in layman's terms.

People are crying like they've somehow been wronged or VZW has reneged on contractual promises. They've done no such thing nor have they said they would do such a thing.

 

[lfylove]

Well if they throttle us we will finally be able to prove if the data throttling hack works

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[kptphalkon]

Well if they throttle us we will finally be able to prove if the data throttling hack works

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

+11

Sent from the Blue Falcon cockpit on my D2G

 

[kodiak799]

Well if they throttle us we will finally be able to prove if the data throttling hack works

And then soon thereafter you'll have to hope and pray for a hack around data caps.

 

[wingdo]

Well if they throttle us we will finally be able to prove if the data throttling hack works

And then soon thereafter you'll have to hope and pray for a hack around data caps.

Exactly. People trying to "hack" around their legally binding contracts are the root cause of the throttling in the first place. Throttling and "optimization" are the first things which will be tried, the next step will be new pricing plans with caps.

The bright side to all of this is simple, and beneficial to 95% of VZW's user base (as well as all the other carriers). VZW is going to have to rethink how they are selling mobile data. The lowball data pricing for a very tiny amount of bandwidth has to go, as does the $30 for unlimited. If VZW were to figure out what they consider "acceptable maximum b/w for $30 a month" say 5GB, then they should just go and do some simple math and decide that each GB should cost $6. Then change their price model to reflect a basic delivery fee like any other utility (say $10 a month for "data services") and then charge a fee based upon actual data used (say the aforementioned $6 a GB) and everything would be good. Cellular service is a utility, just like landline phones, natural gas service and electrical service. But for whatever reason, unlike natural gas and electricity, people pay the same no matter how much of the commodity they consume. At some point in the future this will change as unlike hardwire data connectivity (DSL, Cable etc) there is a finite amount of data each cell tower can deliver at any given moment. While there are theoretical limits to all Internet service delivery methods, cell towers are the least efficient and most subject to degraded service at times of maximum use.

On a side note, just speaking about ISPs in general and data throttling, I have Comcast. Overall I love Comcast, it always works albiet with the worst CS department known to man. I have their 30Mbps service. Every time my MSDN subscription gets updated I go online to Microsoft and start downloading all the current DVD ISO images to replace the now outdated ones. After about an hour, I notice that my download speeds decrease as Comcast starts their data throttling to me. Now I am supposed to have 30Mbps service with unlimited data, and yet they too throttle my data. Aside from looking at the screen going "great how long is it going to take to get my data" I try to remember I am in the process of downloading 30-50 full DVD ISOs and that's a of of data even for a landline connection.

 

[czerdrill]

If vzw didn't expect that much use out of a linux based smart phone they didn't know much about the average linux computer user.

If they didn't expect that much use then it was business decision that looks like it was wrong. They sold a product and it was risky. They expect a lot of people to buy unlimited who didn't need it and that it would be a cash cow. People took them up on vzws offer of unlimited internet and now they are hurting. Just like I doubt sprint can sustain their price point for unlimited data. But companies like sprint and vzw made these offers at a risk purely to get more subscribers. Sprint wouldn't have gotten nearly as many users as they did compared to vzw or attention unless they sold at the price point they do.

They made the deals that you claim are bogging the network just to get more customers.

If it weren't for the need for low latency in video games I wouldn't even have cable internet anymore. Shame on me for using the data package sold to me I guess. I have the dx because the hdmi out let's me browse internet view video download files all on a larger screen. No 4 inches here. I don't think this is out of line with what is an expected use of the smartphone because of the atrix which has a laptop dock. They are promoting computer use of the phone data plan. Laptop style full browser web pages. Maybe not streaming netflix or hulu but still a pc browsing experience

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

This is a foolish post in many ways. The overwhelming majority of smartphone users (probably in the realm of 90+ percent) don't use anywhere near 5gb of data. And its not cause they're not using their plans. Its because they're not violating their TOS (tethering) or illegally downloading movies music (torrents). Your post is simply justifying what you know is wrong

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[wingdo]

If vzw didn't expect that much use out of a linux based smart phone they didn't know much about the average linux computer user.

If they didn't expect that much use then it was business decision that looks like it was wrong. They sold a product and it was risky. They expect a lot of people to buy unlimited who didn't need it and that it would be a cash cow. People took them up on vzws offer of unlimited internet and now they are hurting. Just like I doubt sprint can sustain their price point for unlimited data. But companies like sprint and vzw made these offers at a risk purely to get more subscribers. Sprint wouldn't have gotten nearly as many users as they did compared to vzw or attention unless they sold at the price point they do.

They made the deals that you claim are bogging the network just to get more customers.

If it weren't for the need for low latency in video games I wouldn't even have cable internet anymore. Shame on me for using the data package sold to me I guess. I have the dx because the hdmi out let's me browse internet view video download files all on a larger screen. No 4 inches here. I don't think this is out of line with what is an expected use of the smartphone because of the atrix which has a laptop dock. They are promoting computer use of the phone data plan. Laptop style full browser web pages. Maybe not streaming netflix or hulu but still a pc browsing experience

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

This is a foolish post in many ways. The overwhelming majority of smartphone users (probably in the realm of 90+ percent) don't use anywhere near 5gb of data. And its not cause they're not using their plans. Its because they're not violating their TOS (tethering) or illegally downloading movies music (torrents). Your post is simply justifying what you know is wrong

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Agreed. There is a reason all of these phone have WiFi built into them, if people were expected to use the 3G network for all data at all times, why bother putting this chip into the phones? It's just an added expense. It's irrational to expect someone streaming Netflix at home over their Droid X to use 3G as opposed to WiFi.

 

[dfuser312553]

So there's enough people tethering & downloading torrents that it's crippling Verizon's network? I doubt it.

 

[dfuser312553]

& buckets of internet is not the future; it is the past. A very crappy past.