[Updated] Verizon Plans To Eliminate 'Grandfathered' 3G Unlimited Data Plans

[monkey_man]

And for the record, I would love to have Unlimited Data for $30. It's not like I don't want it. I am just realistic and understand that my wanting it doesn't mean I should get it. I want a lot of things that I will never get. LOL

If I sign a contract for 2 years and it says Unlimited, then I should keep it until the contract is up. After that, they owe me nothing. I have a choice of whether or not to do business with them.

Prices go up, it's life. Look at the motorcycle industry... prices are through the roof. Because sales and revenue are down, the Japanese manufacturers are simply jacking the prices up to make up for the lower volume. A Suzuki GSX-600 is now over $12k! A few years ago 600's were going for $8k. They went up 50% in about 5 years, for bikes that are only a couple HP more than before. Small incremental increases and yet they cost 50% more? But guess what? It you want a new one, that's what they cost. If you don't want to pay it, look elsewhere, but you don't have the right to demand that they sell you the new bike for 2008 prices because "that's what I used to pay and I deserve to keep paying that until I decide not to"... LOL

The business world just doesn't work that way...

I am sorry but couldn't hold myself laughing at " The business world just doesn't work that way". I believe in consumer rights, a right that will determine a company's success or fail. Those that willing to adjust and learn the market tend to be successful. Always fight for what we can fight tho end result ended with the company's itself (Netflix Vs Mervyn). You are not new customers that can only do is to window shopping what's best for them. This affects you, you are financing their business survival so you have a voice to show a concern. Same with your bike terminology. I believe in a treshold price where you think the price is right for the bike you desired most. You feel so right n in love that you don't care about other bikes. Once you noticed that price doesn't fit your liking, then you starting to open your eyes. You will compare and contrast about bike materials, speed, fuel efficiency, and etc. So that extra 4k better be a damn worth spending. This same goes with this unlimited issue.

 

[Trusstopher]

That's an interesting point too.

YouTube, Netflix, etc... All these companies that make a ton of money streaming massive bandwidth content, which hits the carriers network hard with no penalty to them. VZW and others see this massive increase in bandwidth used, for services that don't make them a dime. It just taxes their network while those other companies rake in the cash because they don't have to provide the infrastructure to deliver the content. I mean they have to host it and all, but the actual path it takes to get to our devices is a massive expense that the carrier has to provide, not them.

So like the old all you can eat analogy... that is profitable when you know that only a certain percentage of your customers will truly pig out and eat more than the average share... But when pigging out is what the majority of your clients start doing, at some point that business model no longer makes sense. It's great for the gluttons, but not so much for the guy running the joint. At some point he has to decide... keep the current pricing and hope you stay in business, or increase prices or move to a more traditional "tiered" menu where each person pays for what they eat.

The fatties eating all the food will of course cry and complain about how unfair it is that they have to start paying for what they eat, but they don't really have much of a leg to stand on. They can choose to pig out somewhere else if they way, but the pricing is what it is.

But if VZW truly feels that these apps over tax their network, they should stop pre-loading the customer's food tray (phone) with an 18 oz steak (V CAST Video, Blockbuster, GoToMeeting, Netflix, NFL Mobile, Slacker) before they even have a chance to go get the stuff they want.

 

[droidbionicmaster]

Us who have unlimited data have had smartphone for years and paid lots of money for our phones and bills it only fair us who stuck with Verizon should let us keep what have be we been paying for.

 

[SquireSCA]

I am sorry but couldn't hold myself laughing at " The business world just doesn't work that way". I believe in consumer rights, a right that will determine a company's success or fail. Those that willing to adjust and learn the market tend to be successful. Always fight for what we can fight tho end result ended with the company's itself (Netflix Vs Mervyn). You are not new customers that can only do is to window shopping what's best for them. This affects you, you are financing their business survival so you have a voice to show a concern. Same with your bike terminology. I believe in a treshold price where you think the price is right for the bike you desired most. You feel so right n in love that you don't care about other bikes. Once you noticed that price doesn't fit your liking, then you starting to open your eyes. You will compare and contrast about bike materials, speed, fuel efficiency, and etc. So that extra 4k better be a damn worth spending. This same goes with this unlimited issue.

I don't disagree for the most part, but I don't think that a consumer has a RIGHT to pay whatever they want for a given good or service. The price is what it is, and you can either pay it or go find someone else selling it for the price that you want to pay. If enough people do that, then the business has to decide to either adjust their prices to get those people back, or not. It really is that simple.

If they lock you into a contract for 2 years, then they should abide by the pricing, services, etc... But once that 2 years is up, it fair game, for both parties. They can eliminate or modify plans, change pricing, etc... And you are free to accept that or leave them.

But you don't have a right to force them to offer a certain plan or price, any more than they can force you to be their customer and pay for that service at that price.

 

[SquireSCA]

Us who have unlimited data have had smartphone for years and paid lots of money for our phones and bills it only fair us who stuck with Verizon should let us keep what have be we been paying for.

Why? Because you want it?

You paid for it, and you used it. It's not like they charged you for something and you didn't get to use it. Because you did.

I think it is just this country's sense of entitlement. Once we have something or get used to something, we just expect that we will always have it, that it is owed to us. And that just isn't true or even realistic...

 

[SquireSCA]

But if VZW truly feels that these apps over tax their network, they should stop pre-loading the customer's food tray (phone) with an 18 oz steak (V CAST Video, Blockbuster, GoToMeeting, Netflix, NFL Mobile, Slacker) before they even have a chance to go get the stuff they want.

It's not that they don't want you to use the bandwidth... They just want you to start paying for it.

 

[drewrivera]

Us who have unlimited data have had smartphone for years and paid lots of money for our phones and bills it only fair us who stuck with Verizon should let us keep what have be we been paying for.

And as if paying 120 bucks a month is not enough for Verizon to make enough money? There like the highest expensive carrier inn the market plus there new 30 dollar upgrade they just announced not to long ago. I hate to say but i might have to like root and switch carriers secretly with my Verizon phone cause there asking for to much now. I haven't even used my upgrade since my d1 first came out. :-(

D1 milestoner

 

[SquireSCA]

And as if paying 120 bucks a month is not enough for Verizon to make enough money? There like the highest expensive carrier inn the market plus there new 30 dollar upgrade they just announced not to long ago. I hate to say but i might have to like root and switch carriers secretly with my Verizon phone cause there asking for to much now. I haven't even used my upgrade since my d1 first came out. :-(

D1 milestoner

And they are raising prices because people are willing to pay it. That is the thing here. If too many people said screw it and walked, the prices would come down. They are charging what the market will bear, because we can't live without phones or being online every minute of the day. And as these telecom companies lose the residential landline market, they are simply increasing the costs on the mobile customers to compensate. You used to pay $50 or whatever for a landline and then pay for your cell phone. Most of us got rid of the landlines and just started using cell phones. That's hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, lost. So how do you recover those costs? By charging more for the lines that people are using; The cell phones.

Putting in a new national network, with new towers, new servers, lines, infrastructure, taxes, etc... it isn't free. It costs money. Huge money.

Most technologies start out high, and come down in price as time goes on. Computers, DVD players, etc... They cost money to invent and create, but as time goes on and volume picks up, manufacturing processes mature and costs come down, so does the price of the unit. BluRay players were $800 when they came out. So were VHS and Beta players. Now you can pick up a BluRay player from Costco for $49.

But cell phone technology seems to go the other way. Because it isn't the same product just being mass produced. It is a constantly changing and advancing technology that is being improved and deployed in mass quantities. That "economies of scale" never really sets in because the network has to keep updating... Just about the time you get it all updated, it's time to deploy the next big thing....

 

[dyno]

It's not that they don't want you to use the bandwidth... They just want you to start paying for it.

I'm already paying for it..

 

[SquireSCA]

I'm getting pretty sick of Verizon (and other large corporations) thinking they can just dictate what we get for the exorbitant money we pay them. I think the consumer needs to be granted some sway in these types of decisions.

Do car companies decide what they can charge for cars? How about any other product? What industries let the customers just tell the company, "Here is what you will charge me"...?

I think we do pay them a lot, but the bottom line is that we CHOOSE to do it. The prices are what they are. If it is too much, then go find a cheaper alternative, as there are several to pick from.

A business should be allowed to dictate their pricing. if it is too high for the market to bear, it will cost them and the free market, capitalism, will correct itself by either forcing them to lower prices to get more customers, or creating a void and demand in the market and some other company will step in to fill that.

 

[sonixmon]

It is obvious that the 1% here don't understand economics, demand vs. availability etc. They can only charge what customers are willing to pay, no more! Like several people mentioned here, if enough customers leave or drop services they will make adjustments.

I also agree with the comment that data usage now is a lot more than what it was when the unlimited plan started. They just need to adjust the data pricing, it shouldn't be $10 a gig, maybe $5 a gig.

 

[N4UPD]

My biggest problem is how they push these data hogging apps and want you to jump on the worlds fastest network while at the same time telling me you can't have an unlimited data plan.It's like I'm at an all you can eat buffet for one price then putting a 10 x bigger buffet out in front of me and telling me that it is the end of the buffet now you can only get 2 items from the spread for the same price as you paid for all you can eat.

 

[Androidatic]

I'm getting pretty sick of Verizon (and other large corporations) thinking they can just dictate what we get for the exorbitant money we pay them. I think the consumer needs to be granted some sway in these types of decisions.

They don't dictate anything. They set the price and we voluntarily pay it. No one is forcing anything on us.

If I owned company "A" and sold widgets I wouldn't let my customers have a say in the decisions I make. Why should I? The first chance they get for a better deal they will purchase elsewhere. It's an open market economy. We can only speak with our wallets.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[nalgon]

Can I get insurance on a phone that I bought full price?

Sent from my SCH-I510 using DroidForums

 

[Bullitt6996]

From what I've read on other sites, Verizon has issued a reply to this, along the lines of the 3g folks won't have to worry about this till upgrade time, than if you wanna keep it, you have to pay full price for a new device, or simply stay with your old device. I think the same applies for 4g, here's one site where it's clarified....

Verizon Clarifies Discontinuation of Grandfathered Unlimited Data: Applies to New Subsidized Devices - Mac Rumors