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

[jsh1120]

All in all, a HUGE waste of money for us. We are the buyers, subscribers, and enthusiasts who chose Verizon as our carrier. We should NOT have to foot the bill for something they provided us with. They gave us the Unlimited option, and they gave us the phones that would make good use of that plan. Why should we be the ones who have to "change" just because Verizon wants to free bandwidth? There is another way to free bandwidth, but of course, Verizon is too much of a money-hog to do anything about it but charge US more.

"We should not have to foot the bill for something they provided us with?" As far as I know, VZW did not offer "unlimited data" for life, only for the period of a particular contract. And no one has maintained that VZW plans to (or legally could) change the features of your current contract.

Personally, I see no reason I should have to pay a premium both in $$ and in terms of bandwidth contention so a teenager can download a movie every day on his phone.

 

[Cyberpolice]

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

 

[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.

 

[tpipher]

2 Points

First off I am now starting to miss my Alltel. They were a great company that kicked Verizon's A$$! (hence they had to buy them to kill them!) I said I would give them a chance and I did, but if indeed they go through with this I will force my company to change carriers (all 1250ish Phones). I am the CIO.

Second, Sprint may be wise enough to just keep their unlimited data as this could be a way of differentiation. Verizon is forgetting who has the money and just like we helped make Android because we love it we can indeed make Verizon "Pay" for there greedy thinking!

 

[NeoandGeo]

I may be wrong in my thinking. But I still believe that AT&T did the tiered pricing mainly to defect new/existing customers, since they really aren't capable of handling what they have already. I feel that Verizon is doing the same.

Since the release of the original Droid, I have seen a steady decline in network performance. With my old WinMo phones I was limited by the device itself for browsing the internet. Now I am limited by the actual network.

 

[tpipher]

I can't as my networks SSID is not broadcast and is hidden and Android still does not know how to deal with this! So no I can not use WIFI.

 

[Backnblack]

I can't as my networks SSID is not broadcast and is hidden...

That's an easy fix. A hidden SSID does not slow anyone down that actually is looking..

 

[zMd113]

#1 Even if it is legal for Verison to change existing customers contracts it would NOT be good business, so I doubt they will.
#2 Sprint will do the same I'm sure, however this is a great opportunity for them to make a statement and say we stand alone. I know I would join.
#3 Me and many others don't have access to WiFi, the whole reason I bought my Droid is because I live in the middle of nowhere so dial-up is my only option. No satalite internet doesn't count, it way too expensive and not fast enough anyway.

 

[Aximtreo]

They're. ****ing crazy and stupid to make a move like that! I'll be one of the few protesting! AT&T has been sending me offers for 6yrs now! And I just might take them over Verizon! I've had verizon for 7yrs now and I'm not going to throw away anymore money! I do everything from my droid from sun up to sun down, and now I have to carry a netbook with me!?!? The usage doesn't affect them, its just now they want make more money off of those who live on their phones!

Maybe the new models of netbook will have phone capability and cut back to one unit to carry. Sorry, a bit of sarcasm. I just checked my data useage online and I have use less than 400 mbytes this month and have averaged less than 600 for the past 9 months. I don't do streaming but I do a lot of surfing and emailing. :icon_ banana:

 

[JCo352]

I just want to add that this would almost make maps unusable if going on a road trip, imagine how data that takes.

 

[sos567656765]

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

You must remember that some of us do not have access to wifi. I drive truck for a living and thus my droid is my only access to family friends and the rest of the world.

 

[New2u]

I think in the overall grand scheme of things, tiered pricing is good for most, but i think that it has to offer a unlimited option. For most people yes, they may only use 1GB or less of data and should be charged for that only, but for those who use it for alot of different things, i do believe they should offer an alternative. Whether that be an extra 10$ a month for truly unlimited data or not. I do understand where verizon is coming from with people abusing their networks, using it for things it probably shouldn't be.

I think if people want to tether their device to their computer and want to use their computer to watch youtube videos, and look at email, and stuff like that, they should be allowed to, reason being... because you can do it on your phone. But when you start doing alot of things that aren't abilities on your phone, i start to agree with verizon.

The problem that verizon and the other companies with tiered data is going to be when newer devices come out. I mean i can already easily go over 5GB with the current plan, and that's doing stuff that is allowed. Listening to webcasts, watching youtube videos, coming on DF, getting email (private and corporate). But when you start adding in things like blockbuster, and all these other people that are trying to target people on smart phones, they've effectively cut these people off because most people aren't going to want to pay for their internet on their phone and have it sky high and then worry about paying for their normal internet.

 

[Parrothead]

I just want to add that this would almost make maps unusable if going on a road trip, imagine how data that takes.

didn't even think of that... :icon_evil:

 

[jsh1120]

I think if people want to tether their device to their computer and want to use their computer to watch youtube videos, and look at email, and stuff like that, they should be allowed to, reason being... because you can do it on your phone. But when you start doing alot of things that aren't abilities on your phone, i start to agree with verizon.

The problem that verizon and the other companies with tiered data is going to be when newer devices come out. I mean i can already easily go over 5GB with the current plan, and that's doing stuff that is allowed. Listening to webcasts, watching youtube videos, coming on DF, getting email (private and corporate). But when you start adding in things like blockbuster, and all these other people that are trying to target people on smart phones, they've effectively cut these people off because most people aren't going to want to pay for their internet on their phone and have it sky high and then worry about paying for their normal internet.

No one claims that you won't be "allowed to" use your phone to watch movies if that's what you want to do. But from a network standpoint, there is a huge difference between the aggregate demand placed on the network by millions of phones and millions of computers simply because consumers are far more likely to watch movies on a 13-28 inch screen than on a 4 inch screen. Thus, the premium attached to tethering.

Look, the only activity we're talking about here is watching live video and playing video games. You simply cannot use a large number of gigabytes per month with email, messaging, web browsing, or even streaming audio. And if you are, you should either pay for it or find something else to do in your life...like sleeping and communicating in real time with a real person sitting next to you.

 

[johnomaz]

Wow, tiered data was one of the reasons I left AT&T for Verizon a couple weeks ago. Luckily I am on the unlimited plan. However, if they attempt to force me to change my contract, they're going to get a **** storm outta me. They can't force me to change my contract. Thats the point of a contract. I have 2 years with them and have no intention of changing my data plan. If anything, they should offer the $29.99 unlimited plan but also cheaper plans that have limits. Some people don't use much and shouldn't have to pay for unlimited. But I for one do use a lot of data.