Verizon Planning on "Turbo" Network Speed Mode with Micro-Transaction Tiered Data

[SquireSCA]

Im not a resident fanboi of any institution, but I am a fanboi of common sense and not showing only half the truth. This information from WildcatRudy is not the topic of this post. They do caveat this policy with ONLY on congested cell towers during peak hours and only if you are among the top 5% and only if your activity is causing an inconvenience (slow speeds) for the other 95%. SquiresSCA, did you read the whole article or just skim it? It has nothing to do with going OVER 2Gb. Not one thing in the Terms of Service says anything about 2Gb. That being said, I DO disagree with the practice of forcing you into another plan and OUT of the unlimited plan by throttling you after 2Gb. THAT is crap and should be illegal, SOMEHOW.

It states:

By alerting customers in February 2011, and including the notice in our terms and conditions as of February 3, 2011, we made sure customers knew we began reserving the right to implement Network Optimization practices. In February 2011, we began alerting customers:

• Data Management – (note: now named “Network Optimization” to more accurately describe the tools) – Verizon Wireless may reduce data throughput speeds in a given bill cycle for customers who use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of data users. The reduction will only apply to those using congested cell sites and can last for the remainder of the current and immediately following billing cycle. The reductions will only apply when appropriate in locations and at times of peak demand.
• Data Optimization – (note: now named “Video Optimization” to more accurately describe its function) – Verizon Wireless is implementing optimization and transcoding technologies in its network to transmit data files in a more efficient manner to allow available network capacity to benefit the greatest number of users, and although unlikely, the process may minimally impact the appearance of the file as displayed on the mobile device.

So you could, in theory use 11Gb that month, and as long as you aren't hitting a congested cell site, be fine right? At least that is my take on it. Still, let me reiterate "I DO disagree with the practice of forcing you into another plan and OUT of the unlimited plan by throttling you after 2Gb. THAT is crap and should be illegal, SOMEHOW".

I think the article and the site hosting the article has their own agenda (obviously, everyone does, that's fine) and they made assumptions that anyone over 2GB is affected, I don't think that is the case here.

The point is that they can claim any cell is congested that they want to, and what will anybody do about it?

This is about them being forced to grandfather in the unlimited plans, so they are taking an underhanded approach to force people off of them and into higher priced plans. They are doing it this way so that it will be "our choice" and therefore we would have to abide by the Early Termination Fee part of the contract. If they force us off it would be null and void. If they just keep playing in the gray area legally, they can make it so restricted and painful that we will opt out of our unlimited plans.

It's BS and everyone knows it, or should. This is a crappy tactic.

 

[SquireSCA]

yeah, i'd like to get some more information based off of what sb1831 posted. if verizon DOES consider 2GB+ excessive then we ALL probably have a problem here!

2GB is nothing. As the new phones come out that can do more, and they SELL them to you on that basis, crippling the data plans more and more doesn't make sense. I mean it does make sense to a company that is predatory and wants to screw you at every turn, but it is like Verizon selling you a car that goes faster and faster each year and then they keep lowering the speed limit. What's the point? Why have a phone that can do all that and needs data to do so if they are just going to keep holding it back?

I also don't like the way they call a plan "Unlimited", and then have an every increasing list of limits, restrictions and caps. That in and of itself is intentionally misleading, and just because 95% of users are smart enough to know better or use what they have, doesn't make it right.

I am not wrong for being in the top 2%. I am not abusing anything, just because most people under-use their plans and therefore puts people like me who use it moderately into the top %.

 

[liftedplane]

I am not wrong for being in the top 2%. I am not abusing anything, just because most people under-use their plans and therefore puts people like me who use it moderately into the top %.

Exactly... The only reason my wife got a Droid is because it was buy one get one free. She barely uses her phone for more than internet and Facebook... Most consumers are like that that's what is causing this issue.

Kinda like your car analogy though, just because grandpa buys a sports car doesn't mean he knows how to drive it, that's what the problem is

UN-L3ASH3D bionic with th3ory. Posting straight from me to you!!

 

[WildcatRudy]

Exactly... The only reason my wife got a Droid is because it was buy one get one free. She barely uses her phone dirt more than internet and Facebook... Most consumers are like that that's what is causing this issue.

My solution to the under-utilizers: "all ur bandwidth r belong to us".

I'll only take what I need...everyone else here can divvy it up responsibly. :icon_ devil:

I did have a feeling that the "unlimited" plan we held onto would be modified down the road. It just happened sooner than I thought. It's like the banks with their "free checking" schemes...the fine print says they can change whatever they want, whenever they want. I don't have to like it, but I guess I've been disappointed so many times that I'm nearly immune to it.

 

[SquireSCA]

My solution to the under-utilizers: "all ur bandwidth r belong to us".

I'll only take what I need...everyone else here can divvy it up responsibly. :icon_ devil:

I did have a feeling that the "unlimited" plan we held onto would be modified down the road. It just happened sooner than I thought. It's like the banks with their "free checking" schemes...the fine print says they can change whatever they want, whenever they want. I don't have to like it, but I guess I've been disappointed so many times that I'm nearly immune to it.

Yeah, well when we are already paying a couple thousand dollars a year for a service, it adds up to a lot more than some $6 a month checking fee.

People can keep saying that "you are in the top 2%" of users, implying that I am wrong, or have somehow gotten there by abusing the system... It's BS.

If there are 20 anorexic's in an all you can eat buffet and I walk in, even if I eat but one plate of food, I will be in the top 1% by default. Not because I pigged out, but because if everyone else eats so little, statistically I rise to the top.

So should I be charged double because of that?

It always amazes me how people can defend these kinds of tactics. They are shady, there is no other way to describe it. If any other utility company tried this, they would be dragged into court... But I guess that because technically, nobody needs a cell phone, that it is ok to gouge customers.

 

[davishusband]

Yeah, well when we are already paying a couple thousand dollars a year for a service, it adds up to a lot more than some $6 a month checking fee.

People can keep saying that "you are in the top 2%" of users, implying that I am wrong, or have somehow gotten there by abusing the system... It's BS.

If there are 20 anorexic's in an all you can eat buffet and I walk in, even if I eat but one plate of food, I will be in the top 1% by default. Not because I pigged out, but because if everyone else eats so little, statistically I rise to the top.

So should I be charged double because of that?

It always amazes me how people can defend these kinds of tactics. They are shady, there is no other way to describe it. If any other utility company tried this, they would be dragged into court... But I guess that because technically, nobody needs a cell phone, that it is ok to gouge customers.

I have unlimited hahaha, I use lotsa bandwidth! Don't go to the buffet if you can't eat alot.

Proud of my bloated D3, I don't miss unstable roms on my D1 at all!

 

[Trusstopher]

1) Yes, dirty trick when they call a plan "Unlimited" to begin with. And after you sign the contract, they decide to change the terms to make unlimited equal 5GB. Then a few months later they decide to change the definition again and call 2GB unlimited. They are the ones advertising all the things you can do with unlimited plans. Downloading music, streaming video, harnessing the power of blah, blah, blah... And then when you do all those things that they promoted and used to lure you into that device and plan, they turn around and tell you that you are using "too much" and charge you more? It is a classic bait and switch.

2) I signed a contract. They keep changing it after I signed it and what they are doing now is NOT what I signed up for. That said, they should let me out of my contract, as the current one is not what I signed for. I realize that they have to right to just do whatever they want to the contract, but they should be forced to let me opt out when they change it into something that I do not agree with, did not sign for and would never sign for.

3) Users like you "paying whatever they ask" is *why* they are doing this. 2GB isn't much data over the course of a month. It only takes 2 hours of Netflix *PER WEEK* to put you over that limit, not including anything else you might do. 2GB in today's world with phones like these, isn't that much if you use the phone as it was intended, as a multimedia device. Yes, most people just use it as a phone and to check Facebook, but why should I be penalized because I use it the way it was designed, the way it was sold to me and as outlined by the contract THAT I SIGNED? What we are pissed about is them constantly changing the contract AFTER we signed it, in order to charge us more and deliver less than both parties originally agreed to.

How you can defend that is beyond me...

Anyone who has seen me post in the data discussions knows that I pretty much agree with this point of view... BUT, there is one thing here that I do not think is correct. I am 99% sure that any time there is a change to the TOS we are all notified by e-mail and/or hard copy in the mail at which point it is basically said "If you do nothing, you are consenting to agree to these new terms, but if you do not agree, you can write a 92 page essay on whuy you don't agree and have it noterized by the pope but it must be on the 3rd of March and then we will let you out of your contract with no fees incurred."

I may not be 100% accurate on the italicized part, but it if I recall, it is a pain in the ass and they don't make it easy, but it is possible.


Oh and to the first part, it is still unlimited on the amount of data, what they limit is your speed, so unfortunately they are still delivery what they originally promised, just a painfully slow speed. Which is BS, too. And as long as we are grandfathered, I don't think the price/fees/overage will ever go up or be added, just the quality of service will go down, again, total BS.

 

[liftedplane]

Yeah, well when we are already paying a couple thousand dollars a year for a service, it adds up to a lot more than some $6 a month checking fee.

People can keep saying that "you are in the top 2%" of users, implying that I am wrong, or have somehow gotten there by abusing the system... It's BS.

If there are 20 anorexic's in an all you can eat buffet and I walk in, even if I eat but one plate of food, I will be in the top 1% by default. Not because I pigged out, but because if everyone else eats so little, statistically I rise to the top.

So should I be charged double because of that?

It always amazes me how people can defend these kinds of tactics. They are shady, there is no other way to describe it. If any other utility company tried this, they would be dragged into court... But I guess that because technically, nobody needs a cell phone, that it is ok to gouge customers.

I wonder what it would take to get a class action suit for tactics like this... honestly.

since I've been an "adult" I've never had a house phone, the whole idea of not needing a cell phone is something from the 20th century... honestly, I've been moved all over the states by the army, and in 6 years I've kept the same phone number, you can't do that with a house phone... I've never paid for a house phone and I never will... even when comcast tries to force me into it by charging me extra for cable internet.

one time I called and said to comcast "I cannot pay 75 a month for your cable internet" I was told they had a promotion for 99 a month to add phone and TV... I started calmly explaining that I couldn't afford 75 how the hell could I afford 99, stupid A-hole kept trying, so I escalated... I finally ended up at customer retention who cut my bill in half for being a customer for the past four years.

my point is vzw could give a flying... well you get the picture, and unless AT&T's new 4g LTE is the same as vzw we still won't see anything that's comparable within the next few years. big red knows this and are banking on us staying just because of it.

I don't even want to go into how much I pay for my cell phone, as I'm sure you know

 

[SquireSCA]

I wonder what it would take to get a class action suit for tactics like this... honestly.

since I've been an "adult" I've never had a house phone, the whole idea of not needing a cell phone is something from the 20th century... honestly, I've been moved all over the states by the army, and in 6 years I've kept the same phone number, you can't do that with a house phone... I've never paid for a house phone and I never will... even when comcast tries to force me into it by charging me extra for cable internet.

one time I called and said to comcast "I cannot pay 75 a month for your cable internet" I was told they had a promotion for 99 a month to add phone and TV... I started calmly explaining that I couldn't afford 75 how the hell could I afford 99, stupid A-hole kept trying, so I escalated... I finally ended up at customer retention who cut my bill in half for being a customer for the past four years.

my point is vzw could give a flying... well you get the picture, and unless AT&T's new 4g LTE is the same as vzw we still won't see anything that's comparable within the next few years. big red knows this and are banking on us staying just because of it.

I don't even want to go into how much I pay for my cell phone, as I'm sure you know

It is just one of these things where I agree with Capitalism and making money and all that good stuff. I see the Occupy Protesters and see them as utter morons and the police should brake out the tasers and tear gas and send those idiots packing... so I am not one of these anti-corporate types...

However, I do think that some of the things that corps do is crappy, and this is one of them. I don't agree with price-gouging. I don't agree with entering into a contract under one set of rules, and then having them keep changing after the fact.

If your mortgage company did that, would it be right? They claim that times are tough, so they are going to take your 5.5% 30 year fixed mortgage, and bump it up to a 6.5%?

What if your landlord were to say, Hey, I know you signed a 2 year lease, but I just "invested" in a new Lexus, and I need the money so I am raising your rent by $50 a month... I mean, if at the end of the lease he wants to raise it and you can choose to either renew or move out, that is fine, but what if he just decided to change it halfway through the lease?

Would anyone accept that, saying, "Well, that's business" or "all is fair in love and capitlism"...? I doubt it.

We do have consumer protection laws in place. Whether it is on the credit card companies, the food we grow, the drugs we buy(FDA), etc... Cars have to conform to safety standards. Lenders have tons of laws they have to abide by. The list goes on. While we have a free market, it is not completely unbridled, there are limits, restrictions and things in place to keep things in check. I just don't know why this isn't one of them.

 

[Trusstopher]

I wonder what it would take to get a class action suit for tactics like this... honestly.

since I've been an "adult" I've never had a house phone, the whole idea of not needing a cell phone is something from the 20th century... honestly, I've been moved all over the states by the army, and in 6 years I've kept the same phone number, you can't do that with a house phone... I've never paid for a house phone and I never will... even when comcast tries to force me into it by charging me extra for cable internet.

one time I called and said to comcast "I cannot pay 75 a month for your cable internet" I was told they had a promotion for 99 a month to add phone and TV... I started calmly explaining that I couldn't afford 75 how the hell could I afford 99, stupid A-hole kept trying, so I escalated... I finally ended up at customer retention who cut my bill in half for being a customer for the past four years.

my point is vzw could give a flying... well you get the picture, and unless AT&T's new 4g LTE is the same as vzw we still won't see anything that's comparable within the next few years. big red knows this and are banking on us staying just because of it.

I don't even want to go into how much I pay for my cell phone, as I'm sure you know

I don't think a class action suit is anywhere in the near future because they haven't done anything wrong legally speaking. Now ethically I would say is a different story but unfortunately, US law and ethics don't always go hand and hand.

 

[SquireSCA]

I don't think a class action suit is anywhere in the near future because they haven't done anything wrong legally speaking. Now ethically I would say is a different story but unfortunately, US law and ethics don't always go hand and hand.

Agreed, unfortunately. What they are doing is shady and not very ethical, but I am sure that they had a team of lawyers run through all of this to make sure that they could screw us without actually breaking any laws.

Anybody who thinks that this is about preserving the network and reliability is in need of having their head checked.

If using only 2GB a month puts you in the top 2%, all that means to me is that the other 98% are using less than what they paid for. Meaning, that VZW is overcharging 98% of their unlimited customers, and now looking to justify overcharging the 2% by forcing them into a higher tier. That to me is BS.

There are clearly people who abuse their unlimited plans. But they should be pretty obvious when they burn up 10GB a month... 2GB in this day and age, isn't nearly as much data as most people think, and they are relying on that general ignorance to get people to go along with this stuff...

 

[screaminz2002]

If they have done anything illegal it would be a federal antitrust in which VZW and AT&T have co conspired to set plans and pricing together. They do oddly look similar and both have gone to tiered data plans. It was really sad to see Sprint following suit. I think if they could have held out they would start getting the lions share of fed up customers.

 

[liftedplane]

It is just one of these things where I agree with Capitalism and making money and all that good stuff. I see the Occupy Protesters and see them as utter morons and the police should brake out the tasers and tear gas and send those idiots packing... so I am not one of these anti-corporate types...

However, I do think that some of the things that corps do is crappy, and this is one of them. I don't agree with price-gouging. I don't agree with entering into a contract under one set of rules, and then having them keep changing after the fact.

If your mortgage company did that, would it be right? They claim that times are tough, so they are going to take your 5.5% 30 year fixed mortgage, and bump it up to a 6.5%?

What if your landlord were to say, Hey, I know you signed a 2 year lease, but I just "invested" in a new Lexus, and I need the money so I am raising your rent by $50 a month... I mean, if at the end of the lease he wants to raise it and you can choose to either renew or move out, that is fine, but what if he just decided to change it halfway through the lease?

Would anyone accept that, saying, "Well, that's business" or "all is fair in love and capitlism"...? I doubt it.

We do have consumer protection laws in place. Whether it is on the credit card companies, the food we grow, the drugs we buy(FDA), etc... Cars have to conform to safety standards. Lenders have tons of laws they have to abide by. The list goes on. While we have a free market, it is not completely unbridled, there are limits, restrictions and things in place to keep things in check. I just don't know why this isn't one of them.

I think capitalism is great, I'm going to ignore your comment on the ows people simply because what they want isn't that bad, limited federal government. how they are doing it... well people in groups have the mentality of a second grader (figuratively speaking)

as you said what they are doing is wrong and shady,

If they have done anything illegal it would be a federal antitrust in which VZW and AT&T have co conspired to set plans and pricing together. They do oddly look similar and both have gone to tiered data plans. It was really sad to see Sprint following suit. I think if they could have held out they would start getting the lions share of fed up customers.

didn't samsung and a a bunch of other LCD manufacturers get into trouble for something like this.. artificially keeping the cost of them higher than they really were just to line their pockets. got into loads of trouble.

it's possible these companies are doing the same thing... the hard part is proving it.

if sprint could get better cell service I'd of moved to them a long time ago... with them dropping unlimited there isn't much else now. boost? which is sprint, or vzw prepaid... but you can't get the phone you want

 

[SquireSCA]

I think capitalism is great, I'm going to ignore your comment on the ows people simply because what they want isn't that bad, limited federal government. how they are doing it... well people in groups have the mentality of a second grader (figuratively speaking)

as you said what they are doing is wrong and shady,



didn't samsung and a a bunch of other LCD manufacturers get into trouble for something like this.. artificially keeping the cost of them higher than they really were just to line their pockets. got into loads of trouble.

it's possible these companies are doing the same thing... the hard part is proving it.

if sprint could get better cell service I'd of moved to them a long time ago... with them dropping unlimited there isn't much else now. boost? which is sprint, or vzw prepaid... but you can't get the phone you want

I believe that Samsung did. Same thing as the diamond industry. Diamonds are the most common and abundant precious stone on the planet, literally. But because one cartel owns most of the diamond mines, they can control how many actually hit the market each year, thus keeping demand artificially thousands of percent higher than the supply, and keeping the prices 10x where they should be.

Different things at work, but both shady. I don't support either practice.

 

[liftedplane]

I believe that Samsung did. Same thing as the diamond industry. Diamonds are the most common and abundant precious stone on the planet, literally. But because one cartel owns most of the diamond mines, they can control how many actually hit the market each year, thus keeping demand artificially thousands of percent higher than the supply, and keeping the prices 10x where they should be.

Different things at work, but both shady. I don't support either practice.

let's occupy verizon!!! :icon_ lala: