Verizon to drop Unlimited Data on 7/29, tiered pricing to follow?

[czerdrill]

Did anyone happen to realize the bigger picture in all of this? With a tiered plan offered now they can get MORE new people to sign up and get a smartphone without a cost worry. $30 a month may not seem like a lot to most of you but there are those that do things on a budget and an extra $30 may not be in their budget. With a tiered system they are now inviting those for a cheaper cost to experience what more smartphones have to offer than your standard phone. In turn you'll have more people upgrading and some new sign ups if the hardware is good.

I don't want to lose my unlimited, however when it comes time to upgrade my daughters phone I'll be more inclined to get her something she can go online with. Same with my son not too far later. Pricing plays a big part in how some people choose their phones and carrieers.

exactly. to the few people who use a ridiculous amount of data a month, they'll be upset, but a tiered plan helps the majority of customers and it helps verizon. it's a win-win for everyone...

the people who i really would feel sorry for are the ones who use their phone without tethering and without streaming and still get 11GBs+ a month (although, I think we can all agree that that percentage is probably less than half of half of one percent)

 

[SkullOne]

+1, GPS doesn't use a lot of data, nor does streaming pandora. i do it all the time and i have barely ever reached 1 gig. the killers are the tether-ers and the people who stream tv or movies...you're not going to go over your limit using apps that are downloadable in the market, especially not apps like GPS and pandora

While I agree that most of the worst bandwidth users are most likely those who are tethering there are people who legitimately use their phones and use a lot of bandwidth.

Flash is freely available on the market and it sucks up a lot of bandwidth with legit use. I'm sorry but VZN shouldn't brag that Android phones can use Flash and then restrict its usage based on bandwidth.

i used 8.2gb without tethering watching youtube (high quality) ,and using pandora , along with the other normal functions of the phone. so if vzw follows at&t in pricing I would have been stuck with a $90 data bill, that is complete BS

i'm sorry but i think you watch too many youtube videos...i assume you work because you're paying your bill, but how do you have time to stream and watch 8GB worth of video and radio in a month...

Who are you to say what somebody else can and can't do with their phone? I have an hour commute each way every day via DC Metro. I can easily watch 2 hours of HQ Youtube during that span of time. I have breached 5GB of data a few times but my average is probably closer to 4GB a month.

Like I said earlier though...tiered pricing is not the issue. If they remove unlimited data for a reasonable price then tiered pricing becomes an issue.

 

[jase]

verizon doesn't consider that many and that's why they'd make a change like this...because to them "many" would appreciate it, and no matter how you look at it 99% is "many" more than 1%, ambiguous terminology or not...

True. But nothing's stopping Verizon from adding cheaper tiers and keeping the unlimited plan, which would keep "many" customers happy by your definition, my definition, AND Verizon's definition. Although it may not keep Verizon itself happy.

"Many" doesn't have to mean "Majority". And tiered/unlimited doesn't have to be either/or.

Then again, it's all academic until the plans are eventually announced.

 

[czerdrill]

again...and i dont know how many times this has to be said. just because you use 5GB a month, doesn't mean 50% of the consumers do...doesn't mean 30% do...heck it doesn't even mean 10% do..you know what...it doesn't even mean 1% do...that's my point...verizon is a business. they're not a charity. they're going to try to make money.

no one is telling you how to use your phone (second person to say that). but the fact of the matter is, using 5GB a month is not "normal" usage as far as verizon is concerned and they have a right to charge.

it sucks for the legitimate users, but verizon is going to attempt to please 99% of their users, before they try to appease 1%. to expect anything more is odd...

 

[Yodes]

People do not forget that you can use your wi-fi in your phone.

I could in certain places, but I'd rather not use the battery anymore than I have to.

If you are connected to Wi-Fi you actually use less battery. Leaving Wi-Fi on however while not connected to a network will drain battery faster but wifi versus 3g, the wifi will save you battery.

 

[PhDCow]

Did anyone happen to realize the bigger picture in all of this? With a tiered plan offered now they can get MORE new people to sign up and get a smartphone without a cost worry. $30 a month may not seem like a lot to most of you but there are those that do things on a budget and an extra $30 may not be in their budget. With a tiered system they are now inviting those for a cheaper cost to experience what more smartphones have to offer than your standard phone. In turn you'll have more people upgrading and some new sign ups if the hardware is good.

I don't want to lose my unlimited, however when it comes time to upgrade my daughters phone I'll be more inclined to get her something she can go online with. Same with my son not too far later. Pricing plays a big part in how some people choose their phones and carrieers.

Absolutely. My old Droid is sitting in its box, waiting for my husband. But right now, we can't justify another $30 out of the budget each month. The only way we can justify my data plan is because I use it for work. Last billing cycle, I used just under 500 MB of data. If I could drop down to a lower tier, then there would be room for my husband as well.

 

[czerdrill]

verizon doesn't consider that many and that's why they'd make a change like this...because to them "many" would appreciate it, and no matter how you look at it 99% is "many" more than 1%, ambiguous terminology or not...

True. But nothing's stopping Verizon from adding cheaper tiers and keeping the unlimited plan, which would keep "many" customers happy by your definition, my definition, AND Verizon's definition. Although it may not keep Verizon itself happy.

"Many" doesn't have to mean "Majority". And tiered/unlimited doesn't have to be either/or.

Then again, it's all academic until the plans are eventually announced.

you're absolutely right. nothing could theoretically stop them, but again, if they do remove the unlimited plan its because they did research and figured out how to maximize their revenue. the decision to remove the plan would not have been made by some guy sitting in a cubicle. again, they're a business. they do what's right for them and the consumer. if they crunch numbers and figure out that they can maximize revenue by removing unlmited plans, they're going to do it. they have a right too, and while it sucks, there's not much anyone can do.

who knows, maybe we'll all get grandfathered in and not even have to worry about this

 

[pc747]

i think we will see this is more speculation from bits and pieces of info. I think they will go tiered but keep an unlimited plan. Its sort of how there texting and phone plan is right now.

 

[liquidzoo]

For those that are freaking out about this: Don't change your plan. Simple as that and, in theory, you will keep your unlimited data.

Nothing has been announced that would contradict that.

Those that were on the unlimited data plan on AT&T got to keep it.

Hell, my Mother is on a T-Mobile Blackberry plan that is unlimited for $15/mo. She has been told numerous times to never change it since that plan hasn't been offered for a really long time.

 

[jase]

who knows, maybe we'll all get grandfathered in and not even have to worry about this

I suspect we will, just like AT&T users. I don't think Verizon wants to risk breaking all those contracts for such a small change in monthly fees or data use.

I'm really curious if we'll be grandfathered in for the length of our contract, or until we upgrade to a new phone that requires the "new" data plan, or as long as we're Verizon customers. It's not hard to make a case for any of them being the logical choice.

 

[sos567656765]

This thred is crazy over 200 posts in less then 24 hours, you people need to slow down I can't keep up lol

 

[czerdrill]

who knows, maybe we'll all get grandfathered in and not even have to worry about this

I suspect we will, just like AT&T users. I don't think Verizon wants to risk breaking all those contracts for such a small change in monthly fees or data use.

I'm really curious if we'll be grandfathered in for the length of our contract, or until we upgrade to a new phone that requires the "new" data plan, or as long as we're Verizon customers. It's not hard to make a case for any of them being the logical choice.

i thought the grandfather becomes ineffective when you upgrade your phone, but someone else posted in this thread that that's not the case, so it may be fine for everyone who wants unlimited data. we won't know till we get an announcement. Damn you Verizon! lol

 

[SSHGuru]

This thread is ridiculous since nothing has been announced.

For those who are freaking because they are rooted and have been free tethering well I hope you pay more.

For the others use wi-fi, it's free and takes less battery.

 

[NeoandGeo]

People do not forget that you can use your wi-fi in your phone.

I could in certain places, but I'd rather not use the battery anymore than I have to.

If you are connected to Wi-Fi you actually use less battery. Leaving Wi-Fi on however while not connected to a network will drain battery faster but wifi versus 3g, the wifi will save you battery.

I haven't experienced that. Browsing with WiFi takes a bigger toll on my battery for whatever reason.

 

[LrdElderon]

This thread is ridiculous since nothing has been announced.

For those who are freaking because they are rooted and have been free tethering well I hope you pay more.

For the others use wi-fi, it's free and takes less battery.

I have never tethered and I agree, they should make people that are consuming large data amounts while tethered pay for it.

I don't tether though, and I use my phone. It's a droid, a data/smartphone. I prob avg 4-7 GB a month easy. web, email, text, we have flash now (well some of us, all will soon) and I stream music alot. I like to listen while I work, clean around the house, going to bed...etc. 128kb/s streaming music adds up fast. plus app downloads and all that stuff add up. oh and gmaps of course.

I don't have a problem with people who don't use their phone paying for just a few hundred MB or a GB or two, but I hate being painted like a bad guy because I actually use my phone to it's potential. I don't see how you can be using a phone like the droid and NOT use over 1GB a month min at least. unless you use it like a dumb phone (basically voice calls only). or only send text messages.

Do we know if this is even for all data networks or just the upcoming 4g / lte data plans? for all I've heard 3g could still be the same anyways.

If they truly wish to screw everyone and themselves, I mean the future is data and mobile computers that can make calls (aka smart phones)... doing this just hurts it I think. I want to hear from them what they think they would like to get out of this moving into the future. Do they want people to use wifi everywhere possible and only use their network when necessary? If that's the case I'm cool with that, but they better cough up a nice free wifi ap.

ahh well Grandfathered in ftw? Even upgrading phones just extends your already agreed contract time afaik. so just don't change plans I guess.