[Update] Verizon's New Family Data Plans Begin: It's Called the Share Everything Plan

[Trusstopher]

Ok at $50 for 1GB of shared data I'm probably going to switch to Sprint when my contract ends in 2 years. I use about 5GB per month when I don't do any tethering and on top of that I am the only one on our family plan who has a smart phone so I would get stuck paying for the data. I refuse to pay $20 more for only 1GB of data when I have unlimited for $30. Plus 6GB would cost me $50 more than I am currently paying. At that price I can move my line to Sprint with unlimited everything.

I pay about $45 per month as a secondary line with data and insurance. 6GB of shared data would bump my payment to $95. With Sprint I can get unlimited everything for about $80.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Note: This does not consider the new talk/text pricing compared to the old... Nikecar does a great job of this here.

I think VZW is definitely going after the biggest demographic with this as it will help the 4-5 person family that only use data for e-mail/check google/download apps, but on the other hand it is really going to hurt the power users and 1 or 2 line customers who will be paying a lot more for a lot less.

[TABLE="align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]Old Plans[/TD]
[TD]New Plans[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 2GB for $30

5GB for $50
10GB for $80[/TD]
[TD] 1GB for $50
2GB for $60
4GB for $70
6GB for $80
8GB for $90
10GB for $100[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]





Ignoring people on unlimited because this is a bad deal no matter how you look at it:

1 phone who used 2GB was $30, it will be $60
1 phone who used 5GB was $50, it will be $80
1 phone who used 10GB was $80, it will be $100

2 phones who used 2GB each was $60, it will be $70
2 phones who used 5GB each was $100, it will be $100
2 phones who used 10GB each was $160, it will be impossible but limited to $100


3 phones who used 2GB each was $90, it will be $80
3 phones who used 5GB each was $150, it will be impossible but limited to $100
3 phones who used 10GB each was $160, it will be impossible but limited to $100

4 phones who used 2GB each was $120, it will be $90
4 phones who used 5GB each was $2000, it will be impossible but limited to $100
4 phones who used 10GB each was $320, it will be impossible but limited to $100

And of course you can mix and match on the old plans but that is to many iterations and I'm lazy.

So the large plans will definitely see the biggest benefit, but will also be forced into submission on how much data an account can use. Cutting back on data use is about the only course of action for a 4 or 5 device household with anything more than moderate usage.

 

[SteveIrv]

And what happens if you add a line to your plan? Uh oh...VZ advertised this as a savings for larger families and that's not the case at all. It might save the two-liners some money, but 4+ lines and they ram you hard.

Might be a problem for others, but not for people like me.....I'll be 60 in a couple months, have been retired for 7 years. My wife is 49, still working......all our kids are grown, gone, and have their own phones and plans.

The real issue here is that the phone/data systems are finite, there is only so much capacity in the systems, and capacity costs money....a lot of money. And from a strictly business standpoint...when 4% to 5% of your customers are using the majority of your capacity.....time to do "something" about it. The people at the root of the "problem" will shuffle around to other providers, the "solution" will follow them until one day they'll be paying their share of the capacity used.

And then once people get used to the new normal......the data/capacity used currently by 4% to 5% (power users) will be available for a lot more (average) users. Verizon then makes more money not by charging each one of us more, but by charging us the same or slightly less and having the capacity to service more customers.

 

[Garemlin]

I see people saying this will affect power users more. But when I think power user I think over 10GB a month. I use an average of 3-5GB a month which I consider average. My daughter uses 1GB or less. The reason is I use that amount is because I don't have access to wifi except when I am at home. This is from daily use. I don't stream audio or video all day. I use my phone for the things that it is intended to be used for.

 

[cereal killer]

Check the OP in a minute. Stormy is updating this news with more info that will clarify it for everyone. You won't be too happy with this info.....sorry

 

[suzukimethod]

I completely disagree with this. The heavy data users get a break. The low end users are paying $50/GB. The high end users are paying $10/GB.

i should have been more clear. i'm paying $30 (actually $24 with discount) for unlimited data right now....granted, they will come after me if i go crazy every month, but i meant that switching from unlimited to any cap seems like a penalty compared to the new system (for heavy users)

 

[doomgazer]

I just don't see how anyone is saving money with this plan. If you do an equivalent with the 750 it looks like this:


2 Smart Phones:

You forgot your math, but going on current pricing, my GF and I on individual plans were paying $90-$100/mo ea. So say $190/mo for the two of us (that includes fees). Current family share pricing would put us at $70 for 700 minutes + $30 text + $60 for two data plans. That's $180/mo. This new pricing would put us at $80/mo for two phones with unlimited talk+text + $70/mo for 4GB data. That's $150/mo. We're not heavy data users, but at the end of the day this is still cheaper even with the more expensive data.

 

[SteveIrv]

Even though I cringe at the data prices, I'm another one where this can end up saving me money. I have to wonder though if all the "smartphone" devices on the plan get a new every 2 discount or if it's just the primary line? If I have to pay full price to upgrade my phone, I may as well stick with what I have.

Thought I read somewhere recently that the "new every two" thing is about to go away.

The "new every two" thing wasn't really THAT anyway......it was a $50 discount on a new phone replacement on your primary line. Nothing for the second line. The only way I ever got a discount on the purchase of a new phone for my wife was to make her keep hers for 3 years.....

 

[syndicate0017]

Check the OP in a minute. Stormy is updating this news with more info that will clarify it for everyone. You won't be too happy with this info.....sorry

Woooohooo!!! I feel like VZ is the bully at school who picks me up by my ankles and shakes me until my lunch money falls out of my pockets.

 

[Garemlin]

I think VZW is definitely going after the biggest demograpgic with this as it will help the 4-5 person family that only use data for e-mail/check google/download apps, but on the other hand it is really going to hurt the power users and 1 or 2 line customers who will be paying a lot more for a lot less.

[TABLE="align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]Old Plans[/TD]
[TD]New Plans[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 2GB for $30

5GB for $50
10GB for $80
[/TD]
[TD] 1GB for $50
2GB for $60
4GB for $70
6GB for $80
8GB for $90
10GB for $100[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



Ignoring people on unlimited because this is a bad deal no matter how you look at it:

1 phone who used 2GB $30, it will be $60
1 phone who used 5GB was $50, it will be $80
1 phone who used 10GB each was $80, it will be $100

2 phones who used 2GB each was $60, it will be $70
2 phones who used 5GB each was $100, it will be $100
2 phones who used 10GB each was $160, it will be impossible but limited to $100


3 phones who used 2GB each was $90, it will be $80
3 phones who used 5GB each was $150, it will be impossible but limited to $100
3 phones who used 10GB each was $160, it will be impossible but limited to $100

4 phones who used 2GB each was $120, it will be $90
4 phones who used 5GB each was $2000, it will be impossible but limited to $100
4 phones who used 10GB each was $320, it will be impossible but limited to $100

So the large plans will definitely see the biggest benefit, but will also be forced into submission on how much data an account can use. Cutting back on data use is about the only course of action for a 4 or 5 device household with anything more than moderate usage.

That is just for data. You forgot to add in the new line access charges.

Right now my total line access charges for a 700m unlimited text plan is $120 for four lines (2 smart and two feature). On this new plan it would go up to $140. If I had four smartphones it would go up to $160. Personally I do not care about unlimited minutes. We have 700 minutes with four lines and barely use 200 of them.

 

[suzukimethod]

Thought I read somewhere recently that the "new every two" thing is about to go away.

The "new every two" thing wasn't really THAT anyway......it was a $50 discount on a new phone replacement on your primary line. Nothing for the second line. The only way I ever got a discount on the purchase of a new phone for my wife was to make her keep hers for 3 years.....

I think NE2 is gone. It was phasing out (my last upgrade had it available), but i could get my new phone (galaxy nexus) for cheaper online anyway. (my ne2 was only $30, and vzw had an online discount of $50 that didnt stack, iirc)

 

[doomgazer]

I think NE2 is gone. It was phasing out (my last upgrade had it available), but i could get my new phone (galaxy nexus) for cheaper online anyway. (my ne2 was only $30, and vzw had an online discount of $50 that didnt stack, iirc)

Well, whatever it is called I'm just wondering if all lines on the account get promotional renewal phone pricing (ie $200/device instead of $500) or if it's just the primary.

 

[suzukimethod]

Personally I do not care about unlimited minutes. We have 700 minutes with four lines and barely use 200 of them.

this.

(although i know that voice and (especially) text are pennies in the bucket compared to the dollars of data (which is why they are throwing voice/text at us and charging ever more for GB)

Well, whatever it is called I'm just wondering if all lines on the account get promotional renewal phone pricing (ie $200/device instead of $500) or if it's just the primary.

Im going to assume that promo pricing is available on all lines. if not, seems like an easy way to drive people to places that still subsidize their phones.

 

[the3dolla]

So, I don't think these questions are answerable yet, but here's what I'm wondering. First though, this KILLS me as I have the $20 disc/line for unlimited data; so not only would I lose unlimited date, I'd lose my $100/mo discount for my 5 lines. OUCH Any way this goes over, I lose unlimited and I pay $100 more per month. My questions are these.

1. I currently get 15% off my main plan and I would get 12% off data (if I didn't already get the crazy good discount of $20/data line) How would discounts apply? Is it only for the main "data charge"? or would it be the total bill now? Or maybe NOTHING!?
2. What happens if I forgo subsidized pricing? I'm ok right? Well, they seem to say if you go from 3G to 4G someone that is a change and you'll be forced into a data share? I wonder what the final word on this will be?
3. What happens if ONE of my lines upgrades at subsidized pricing, do the rest get screwed into it? I mean, then you'd have to pay $50+$40 for that ONE line alone, so pretty much I guess it's an all or nothing for family plans. Ok, so perhaps this isn't a question any longer.

Our closest upgrade date is the end of July too, I was hoping to get ONE last upgrade for a subsidized price. :/ I asked Verizon to get it a little bit early and they said, sorry sucka, no go. I've never gotten an early upgrade too, yet I hear of people getting a 6 month early upgrade; ugh. I wonder if I can cry some and get it bumped up a month?

 

[Trusstopher]

That is just for data. You forgot to add in the new line access charges.

Right now my total line access charges for a 700m unlimited text plan is $120 for four lines (2 smart and two feature). On this new plan it would go up to $140. If I had four smartphones it would go up to $160. Personally I do not care about unlimited minutes. We have 700 minutes with four lines and barely use 200 of them.

You are right... I was only looking at data, and considering that we are forced into unlimited talk/text and a new pricing structure for said text/minutes, It really isn't a valid comparison any more. And I agree, I couldn't care less about the amount of minutes I have. I am at the minimum possible right now and I'd cut that in half if they had a plan that small just like I would eliminate half of the cable channels I receive if I could just not pay for the ones I don't want.

 

[mandragora]

You forgot your math, but going on current pricing, my GF and I on individual plans were paying $90-$100/mo ea. So say $190/mo for the two of us (that includes fees). Current family share pricing would put us at $70 for 700 minutes + $30 text + $60 for two data plans. That's $180/mo. This new pricing would put us at $80/mo for two phones with unlimited talk+text + $70/mo for 4GB data. That's $150/mo. We're not heavy data users, but at the end of the day this is still cheaper even with the more expensive data.

Went back and updated the post. Sorry. It posted without me hitting submit. LOL.