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

[monkey_man]

There's no nice way to say this:
Verizon has around 100,000,000 customers. They have the biggest 4G network and the best reputation for call quality. They're they 800-pound gorilla that can do whatever it wants.
I'm not defending them, just saying: They've already decided on the fate of Unlimited Data and Shared Data.. I don't know how many customers would have to switch--not just threaten to, but actually switch--for them to care or even notice, but IMHO, it would have to be close to a million. If you leave Verizon, you've definitely lost Unlimited Data forever, and how long can Sprint stay Unlimited? Two years? If I upgrade now with Verizon, I've got two years of unlimited, too.
I'm not saying don't switch; by all means, vote with your checkbooks...but with over 100 million customers, it's going to take a lot to get VZW's attention--and it's not like they don't anticipate losing customers over this.

Hold up... hold up just one sec I assume you get this number (100 Millions+) from Wikipedia? :blink: .. Ok ok... let's assume we can trust Wikipedia this time. there are about 300 Millions people in the US and as we know it Verizon don't cover all 50 US States. Not just that, in every states, there are other competitors in this Wireless Market. Granted tho Verizon had a tremendous lead due to our mouth to mouth advertising (Shamo said this too during this Unlimited debacle article and not till recently tho where I keep on seeing Verizon ads on air thousands of times unlike before.... To me, this is a sign of trouble (Customers distrust aka Dominos Pizza :biggrin) Recently they are also selling some of their spectrums too... Needing Cash perhaps? Rome Fell... Wall of Jericho fell... Goliath fell.... Never learned from history? This "800 pound gorilla" will soon follow suit. I feel that Verizon want to skim its network out and get rid of old users (erm erm :happy3 Data plan is nothing to them if you compare to old users that are paying their minutes/month :icon_wink:. If you don't know what I mean.. let's move on . Granted that Verizon are covering vast amount of states... but data wise? This will be an equal battlefield. Smart CEOs will invest and better the company, hence will cause more trouble to Verizon's future. As we know it, 4G hasn't been great due to "adding new/optimizing towers here and there". Ok, they have created these new amortization assets right? How can they recover their investments without its data users? Now, back to this 100 Millions figure. Verizon have 5 customers but 1 PAYING Customer from me. I am still talking about 1 household, then how about business owners? I know am not alone for having 5 phones? I also not going to quit on Verizon when I still have Unlimited data... that just plain nuts!!! :biggrin: . Pretty obvious one would leave when it's over and reach that point of no return right? Hence, Verizon try to hold off a massacre by saying no more subsidized phone for us instead of kicking us out of unlimited. If Verizon's Unlimited era is over in the near future, then let's do the math of having to pay $30 for 2GB with their "double the data gimmick" then $10/GB compared to T-Mobile's $30 5GB w/ rest throttled? Pretty easy choice for me. All 5 be non-data phones on Verizons with 2 Data phones from T-Mobile is a winning solution to me :icon_ lala:

We are hapless in keeping Unlimited data everywhere due to limiting movements of Copyrighted materials anyways.... sad but true.:icon_ devil:​

 

[kodiak799]

VZW reports how many subscribers they have on their earnings calls. It's @100M, might even be 105M. They have 1/3 of the market, and AT&T has a similar number. Sprint and T-Mo have most of the rest.

I think about half their subscribers now have smartphones. Their annual customer turn is very low - <2%. So even 1M people jumping ship might not even register if promos offset that attracting other new customers.

 

[monkey_man]

This should be more of Factualish... I'm no expert... I will always make some mistakes and this is just for the purpose of discussion :biggrin:

http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/19/verizon-starts-2012-off-strong-sales-and-profits-rise-in-q1-earnings/

I will put some important things from that link.

1. "Verizon says it added 734,000 wireless customers (501,000 on contract) and saw low churn (users who leave) of .96 percent. Wireless revenues were up 7.7 percent at $15.4 billion and data revenues jumped 21.1 percent. Overall, Verizon now has 93 million wireless customers (88 million on contract), and 47 percent of its wireless customers use smartphones."

2. "The company sold 6.3 million smartphones in the first quarter, and 72 percent of contract customers went for smartphones. Notably, Verizon says it sold 2.9 million 4G LTE devices this year. Its LTE network now covers more than two-thirds of the U.S. population in 230 markets. (Typical results of increase due to their Fear -Tactics of trying to take some "goodies" away once a deadline has past its due. There are also increases in "sales" but really a sales with low % profits for a promo like BoGo event and $150 Lapdock 500 thing. This Double the Data event also helped rejuvenate users that already on Tiered Data or from competitors as I believed AT&T only 3GB? This is something that they can play around with as they used to give it out as Unlimited :biggrin:. I believe they are currently expanding their 4G LTE Markets... but to how much of a growth spurts? Some rumours said there will be about 200 new markets by the end of 2012 (400+ total). All depend on how much money coming in to back them up tho right?

3. Reading Company statments will mostly look good as they are there to lure potential new shareholders. They gladly give their Company Statements for free! I am not assuming anything or bad talking anyone but we have two examples before with Enron and Bernard Madoff :happy3:.

 

[monkey_man]

Monkey_Man I said a little protection lol!!!

:rofl3::rofl3::rofl3: yeah sorry man ... had to make abit more obvious just cuz I hate people stealing phones :blush: :crazy:

 

[kodiak799]

OK, 95M was the number I heard a few years ago. Good research, I don't think the numbers mentioned were far off. I am surprised by the 93M customers. Thought they had 95M a year or two ago, and perhaps that shrinkage or lack of growth is due to the economy.

The surprising thing to me is the lack of adoption of LTE. Number I heard, think it might have been Q4 or perhaps Q1, was 5M(total). That's a shockingly low number given their LTE footprint. It's also puzzling that they are already pushing back on unlimited, given that hardly anyone is on LTE currently. I maintain this is really all an experiment to see how users react between the subsidy and unlimited (i.e. it's a small subset of users, so even a 20% loss is only 1M customers).

Anyway, apparently the majority of new smartphone customers are going for the free phones. I probably would have done the same, not knowing how slow VZW 3G service can be.

 

[crossr1]

Verizon Wireless (used to be Bell Atlantic Mobile, etc.....)

I started out with a cell phone in Maryland in 1996 with Bell Atlantic Mobile (now Verizon Wireless).

I have traveled thru almost every state in the lower 48 with my cell phone, including the remote areas of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas. I have convinced many a people to use Verizon. In fact, just about everyone in my family is on Verizon. I did this because I was always able to receive reception when other Cell Phone carriers wouldn't work. I did a LOT of testing for Verizon as a customer!!!

One thing I remember is that Bell Atlantic / Verizon has always tried to get $150 - $200 month out of my pocket. Like most of the Verizon customers, I started out with a $45 - $60 month phone bill. But, I slowly added features and options. Needless to say; Verizon has been VERY GOOD to target the $100 - $150 per customer per month -> no matter the options (they've changed over the years).

After talking to my very smart sister-in-law tonight, I am gonna start eyeing some other carriers besides Verizon and ATT. She recently switched their cell phone service to Virgin Mobile. They have an unlimited talk and data plan for $45. I have been an unemployed Information Technology Professional for 5 months now in Denver, Co. With my unemployment and the state of the economy, my wife and I can not afford this $150 a month luxury. Trust me: I will be doing some SERIOUS research! I dont have the luxury to throw money away anymore!!!

I AM SO TIRED OF THE CEOs / CFOs lining there pockets irresponsibily. They'll layoff 100 workers and not give it a second thought if it meant more money in their pockets. This country has been SO RAPED and PILLAGED by the CEO / CFO for the last 15 years. And, this is just another example of it. They will say anything or do anything to make a buck.

RC

 

[GSdub510]

Hey guys, quick question. 10 days ago I got the Razr Maxx because I had an upgrade and I heard Verizon was doing this so I wanted a 4G phone fast so I could keep unlimited. And although I like it, I hear the S3 and Razr HD are around the corner. So should I return this phone and wait for one of those? Or will tiered plans be before those phones? There's also a dead pixel on my screen so regardless I want a new phone.

 

[cdm369]

No one is sure when this will happen other than sometime this summer.

 

[monkey_man]

@crossr1

But...But...But... we are always learned to say "I don't make much money" or "I am barely making it" all the time (Same goes with the said CEO/CFO). I get ya though... They are good @ utilizing their skills?:biggrin: More people would response negatively to your hard time tho... believe it or not:happy3:. Heck if Denis Rodman with his 1 Million dollar left in his account is considered broke... I wonder what that makes me :rofl3:.

Anyways I came up with an interesting article where I feel like there An Indirect Anti-Trust (If there is such a term ) going on at this moment.

I feel like a De Ja Vu going on when I found this article :biggrin:

- AT&T Caps Unlimited Data Plans - WSJ.com"

Carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, have long chafed at having to spend billions of dollars to build and maintain networks only to watch Internet companies like Google Inc. and device makers like Apple Inc. collect most of the profits for using them. The pressure on carriers has grown more acute with the rise in use of smartphones like the iPhone, essentially mini computers that make mobile Internet use easy and put a heavy toll on networks."​

"

AT&T moved toward cashing in on rising wireless Internet traffic in 2010, when it became the first major U.S. carrier to stop offering unlimited data plans to new subscribers. Instead it pushed them into contracts that charged higher prices for greater data use."
​

Sounds Familiar?

Here is some other things I learned about Iphone. Iphone and AT&T partnered together in 2007, and in 2010 AT&T ended its Unlimited Data Plan. Verizon took chances by adding Iphone 4 to the line up in late 2010, and by 2012, Verizon are also announcing that they would follow AT&T. Three times a charm with Sprint in 2-3 years time? So, Those people have a valid point about how long will Sprint's Unlimited data will last... dancedroid

 

[King_Bean]

I'm not happy about Verizon and their money-hungry shenanigans AT ALL. But it looks like I'm going to have to just accept it...sigh.

I don't want to risk going to another carrier and having to deal with slow data speeds and dropped calls. If there were another carrier with coverage like Verizon, I wouldn't think twice about leaving...but there isn't.

However, getting rid of grandfathered unlimited may not be the money boon that Verizon thinks it's gonna be. A lot of people are going to look for other ways to save on their monthly bill if they're forced into paying extra for data. For example, there are some customers who will opt for the 4gb plan (and pay an extra $20 per month) but will offset this additional cost by reducing their minutes or reducing texting or dropping a line or something. And some will just leave Verizon altogether. Verizon may not make any appreciable gains from this move and may just end up hurting their image and eroding their customer base.

If they were offering a plan that were $30 per month for 5 or 6gb and below, that would be far more reasonable and far fewer customers would be pissed right now.

 

[Taunton]

I don't want to risk going to another carrier and having to deal with slow data speeds and dropped calls. If there were another carrier with coverage like Verizon, I wouldn't think twice about leaving...but there isn't.

That's why they can afford to do what they do. Quite a shame, really. And a somehow offensive treatment of their customers.

 

[kodiak799]

3G didn't really start bogging down (if it ever did) until they had at least 25% of their customers on smartphones. LTE theoretically has 10x the bandwidth, or more. But if average usage doubles to say, 1gig/mo, then when they get to 100% they could start running into capacity limits.

Bottom line is VZW isn't going to jeopardize their quality of service for everyone else just so 2% of users can use it as an ISP. They aren't going to lose money. Family share plans are going to make extra data lines more affordable. VZW is looking at the 50% not currently on data plans (not to mention people with multiple devices) - they have little concern for the 1% that might leave or find other ways to reduce their expenses.

And so far reports are you'll only lose your unlimited if you change plans, but you'll have to pay retail for the phones (which VZW doesn't make money on and actually costs them money).

 

[loki993]

I'm not happy about Verizon and their money-hungry shenanigans AT ALL. But it looks like I'm going to have to just accept it...sigh.

Thats exactly what they're counting on. Fact is they're network isnt the greatest thing since sliced bread anymore..at least not here. Sprint and ATT have just as good coverage where Im at. There has to come a point where people say enough is enough no matter what

 

[monkey_man]

" They aren't going to lose money. Family share plans are going to make extra data lines more affordable. VZW is looking at the 50% not currently on data plans (not to mention people with multiple devices) - they have little concern for the 1% that might leave or find other ways to reduce their expenses. And so far reports are you'll only lose your unlimited if you change plans, but you'll have to pay retail for the phones (which VZW doesn't make money on and actually costs them money)." Kodiak799

Verizon have never lose money (where their statements are in red ink)! Actually... they want to increase their profits. They are confused as how their stock is mere $42, while Apple's stock is ~$550? They just don't want to become a stable going company anymore. They want to shake things up (silly rabbit... tricks are for kids). Verizon lack of concern really tho? If only 1%, News wouldn't report on it mate (I am talking about Major News Networks, and not just online news stuff). This is big! That's why Verizon's changed their statement. Like that report above nearly half of Verizon's users used Smartphones now. Since this tiered data only happened shortly, I assume that about 30%+ users are on Unlimited data plan.

Thats exactly what they're counting on. Fact is they're network isnt the greatest thing since sliced bread anymore..at least not here. Sprint and ATT have just as good coverage where Im at. There has to come a point where people say enough is enough no matter what

Yep.. Before Verizon's added Iphone, I used to get 3G speed @ 2-3MB avg. Once Iphone showed up, I barely managed 1MB speed . This is why I had to move to 4G LTE as they were advertised @ 20-30MB blazing speed, and they were! Now tho they are only about ~ 15MB. It is still faster than my home internet though, but what the matter is Tiered data just doesn't work in maintaining the supposed speed. I tried all days during the month, and that's the speed I get now. All is a lie! They just want some more money by making Data like texting fees. Like King Bean said that sadly they are not our company, we can't do anything in this capitalist society besides to stick with them or leave the company.

The second bold reminds me of texting and how we as customers are powerful! I hate it when we are getting belittle on like this. Didn't you remember as parents with child's texting problem back in the day??? Some parents even got fined asmuchas $10 grand due to her child obsessive textings. More and more parents talked and found that they had the same problem! What happen next??? Verizon changed their policy about texting and made Texting Unlimited ​ if a costumer paid $5 or something.

 

[the3dolla]

Hmm, so I'm guessng the answer to this question is, "we just don't know" but based on the first comment anyone on Unlimited 3G cannot move to 4G without going to shared data, right? Currently, only 1 of the 5 lines on my family share plan is on a 4G device; the others are on 3G. My main issue is that I got on the stick deal where I get the $20 discount on each line with data, thus $100/MONTH off my bill. That alone is worth it to pay full retail or buy slightly older phones and the bonus is, keeping unlimited data. However, what are they going to do, not let me add a 4G phone on a 3G line? I always though the "unlimited" plan was the same for 3G and 4G. Danget Verizon, I don't see how I can be wheened off only paying $210/mo for 5 smart phones and unlimited txt!!!!!! I've always touted Verizon as the hands down best, but now.. it's going to be harder to say. I don't even care about "unlimited" too much, it's the hue discount I'm hanging onto.

I mean, if you read the below; I should be ok upgrading off contract to a 4G phone.
– Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.
– The same pricing and policies will be applied to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.I guess Verizon can do whatever they want though.