[Follow-Up] Verizon's 'Share Everything Plan' Overload; Reactions from Around the Web

[dgstorm]

Obviously, the big news of yesterday, (and probably the next couple of days), was/is Verizon's shakeup of the mobile landscape's pricing structure... their new "Share Everything" call/data plans. In some cases, reactions have been a little bit mixed, because a small few families will actually save money on these new plans. For the most part, reactions have been overtly negative. The dirty bomb that Verizon dropped on users could easily be compared to what Netflix did to their customer's a few months ago.

For well over a year now, Verizon has been teasing us with the premise of these Family Data plans with the hint that they may save families some money. In many cases, that is true. For some couples and families, switching to one of these tiered data plans will save them a little bit of money; however, when you dig deeper into the math, it seems that a whole lot more people (including some families) will actually end up paying more than they were before. People are so frustrated, some have even been accusing Verizon of "price gouging", although that is difficult to quantify.

Regardless of whether you are one of the lucky few that can benefit from these new plans, or count yourself amongst the throng of the downtrodden, we thought it might be worthwhile to share some reactions from across the web to Verizon's newest stinky. Below is a list of articles around the web that show some of these reactions. Incidentally, one of our members, Jmoore1701, had the same idea we did, and already got the ball rolling on this idea in the droid general discussions news section. (Thanks for the legwork, Jmoore1701! Also, nice journalistic instincts!)

Forbes:
Welcome to Forbes

MobileMedia:
2 Ways Shared Data Plans Can Backfire | Mobiledia

CNET:
Why Verizon's shared data plan is a raw deal | Mobile - CNET News

Wired:
Verizon's Shared Data Plans Aren't Cheap, But They Are the Future | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

MobileBurn:
Verizon's new shared data plans are great for smartphone users, less so for feature phone owners

TIME - Techland:
Verizon’s New ‘Share Everything’ Plans: Good Deal or Total Ripoff? | Techland | TIME.com

The Verge:
Everyone's reaction to Verizon's 'Share Everything' plan campaign. | The Verge Forums

This last one is just priceless! It isn't a story, but is instead just a hilarious animated gif.

 

[94lt1]

Great article!! as far as vzw... BAD MOVE IMHO. I hope that they will rethink some of this. But i doubt they will.

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

 

[jstafford1]

Great article!! as far as vzw... BAD MOVE IMHO. I hope that they will rethink some of this. But i doubt they will.

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

As I posted in the main thread on this. The structure really isn't bad. The real issue is the prices are out of whack with what you are getting. If the prices were more comparable its a good model. As it stands now I think more people will have to pay more a month, and that isn't right.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[94lt1]

As I posted in the main thread on this. The structure really isn't bad. The real issue is the prices are out of whack with what you are getting. If the prices were more comparable its a good model. As it stands now I think more people will have to pay more a month, and that isn't right.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

My comment is meant only in the financial aspect...I lose my butt on this big time.

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

 

[Lars]

Why am I being FORCED to have unlimited minutes and messaging? That will be my first question when it comes time to upgrade (assuming these plans stick). My wife and I maybe use 200-300 of our 500 allotted monthly minutes, and a similar percentage of our text messages. These plans will likely cause us to have a $50/month increase, while losing unlimited data. I knew losing unlimited data was inevitable, but I never though it would be such a hit on the wallet.

I think VZW completely overlooked couples and small families with these outrageous plans. Go ahead and create family data plans at a reasonable price, but don't force me into things I don't want or need. To be honest, I was looking forward to family data plans because I thought it would be more reasonable than the current $60/month my wife and I pay, but clearly VZW massively dropped the ball.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Unless I plan on severely restricting data use and pray that my 3 kids are able to do the same, this plan su@*s dog doo for my family. With 4 smart phones, two with unlimited data, two with 4gb data, unlimited texting, 1400 shared minutes (which we don't even use) my monthly bill is less than $250 (that includes taxes and surcharges). With this new plan, I am looking at $260 to be safe, $250 if I am conservative... not including taxes. This plan will screw families. And given that data usage is going to keep going up, families who chose the conservative route with 4gb or less will be shocked with overage charges.

I have been with Verizon since the bell Atlantic days and this will be the first time in my 15 years of loyalty to this company that I will be seriously looking at other options.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[nikecar]

I could deal with the txt, but I don't care for minutes.

If the phone fee was $10 for each line, this would be golden.

now its just a pile of smelly dog stuff.

 

[94lt1]

We'll call this the Verizon rip off families plan

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

 

[Trash Can]

Why am I being FORCED to have unlimited minutes and messaging?

You are not being forced into unlimited minutes and texts. Directly from VZW:

"I have an unlimited data plan on my account. Do I need to change it?

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 to upgrade and pay full retail price for the phone."

I'd like to know what other options will be available. Unlimited minutes was useful for many several years ago, but not so much today.

 

[Caesars]

Wtb: sprint's TD LTE now instead of 2013-2014 lol.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[huskur]

Forced because minutes and texts are nothing for their network. It's the data that kills and bogs them down. In order to keep their network working effectively they have to get the part of their 93,000,000 customers to limit their use so others can benefit from the LTE service. The spectrum would be overloaded if they did not control their data on their network.

I am not defending VZW by any means. In all likely hood I may just switch to a phone for calling and texting and using a 7" tablet with wifi since VZW will be forcing people to use wifi anyway. Hell, that will save me $80 bucks a month.

Still, for now, this is how I am going to work it......

I love having up to date phones, the newest out. It just peaks my interest in technology. Its a passion of mine lets say. So, at this point I don't care to change my plan or upgrade at discounted prices. Who really cares? You can get the latest phones still for what you would pay for an upgrade! How you ask? OK. It's like this---I have a Razr Maxx now but the SG3 looks nice. I will purchase it outright at $650. Then sell the Maxx on ebay with my accessories for around $500. So essentially I am getting the SG3 for $150. Then the cycle continues when the next phone I want comes out.

I DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' UPGRADES!!! :icon_ devil:

I am keeping my unlimited as long as I candancedroid

 

[Beka27]

I could deal with the txt, but I don't care for minutes.

If the phone fee was $10 for each line, this would be golden.

now its just a pile of smelly dog stuff.

Yeah. Reading over some of these articles, it seems that they're really sticking it to the families with both smart and dumb phones on the same plan (possibly a technique to force everyone to upgrade to smartphones to get some value for their money?)

It's not very BAD for us. We currently have 2 lines with 1400min/unl text and the $20 discount on each of our unlimited plans for $150 (including tax, fees, insurance etc...). With this new plan we'd have 4GB for $141 WITH my 15% discount, BUT before tax, fees, insurance, etc... Not a huge difference, but increased data usage with 4G concerns me. And when the time comes for our son to get a phone, we'll be screwed.

People are going to start family planning based on how many phones they eventually will need on their plan... :icon_eek:

 

[Lars]

You are not being forced into unlimited minutes and texts. Directly from VZW:

"I have an unlimited data plan on my account. Do I need to change it?

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 to upgrade and pay full retail price for the phone."

I'd like to know what other options will be available. Unlimited minutes was useful for many several years ago, but not so much today.

Thanks for the clarification. Of the few articles I read about the changes, they seemed to imply that everyone would be forced to switch to a share everything plan. I just went back and checked, and many of the articles have been updated to include the information you provided. This isn't so bad because I can keep my bottom line minutes and messaging plan, and I never thought I could keep unlimited data forever.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Oh believe me, Verizon's hungry wheels are spinning faster than they can keep up with them trying to figure out a way to get everyone off of unlimited. I am suspecting that once my two year contract is up, there is nothing binding Verizon to continue to honor it and when I go to activate a different phone, they will have created some way to force me to pick a plan. I have lived without mobile data before, I can chose to live without it again.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[nikecar]

Oh believe me, Verizon's hungry wheels are spinning faster than they can keep up with them trying to figure out a way to get everyone off of unlimited. I am suspecting that once my two year contract is up, there is nothing binding Verizon to continue to honor it and when I go to activate a different phone, they will have created some way to force me to pick a plan. I have lived without mobile data before, I can chose to live without it again.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

at that point, i'm a free agent and willing and able to go elsewhere for the best plan.