Verizon Wireless Blocks The Updating Of Apps They Feel Are Unauthorized

[czerdrill]

Please tell me what the appropriate price for phone service and internet access in a portable form factor should be. Just curious seeing as I pay nearly $100 a month for a land line and internet access in my house that is useless as soon as I get in my vehicle.

This goes to my point that there will always be someone who thinks pricing is unfair no matter what the pricing is. We want companies to create customized packages for each individual user and obviously that's a ridiculous suggestion.

You pose a good question. Exactly what would the people here consider fair for a cell phone line with a data plan?

 

[jseah]

Precisely. Same data, through the same data channel and plan, through the same gateway, same user, same content, I just want to display it on a larger screen.

Actually, it really isn't the same. If you go to the Best Buy website using the browser on your Android phone, it pulls up the mobile site. If you go to the Best Buy website using the browser on your computer, it pulls up the full site. And obviously the full site will require much more data.

They used to do this in the old days with cable, where you paid for cable and a box and they charged you for how many TV's you had hooked up. Even sending people out to check and make sure you were not on any "unauthorized TV's" and all that. That got shot down. Now you pay for the service, and for the tuner boxes in order to get PPV, DVR and the extended features, but if you have cable-ready TV's you can plug one in for free so that you have basic channels in your guest bedroom.

I have Time Warner cable. When I first signed up for service with them about 9 years ago and the technician came out to hook up my TV's and cable modem, I got one digital tuner and they put in splitters for the two TV's I had at the time plus the cable modem. My house has cable lines in all 4 bedrooms plus two rooms downstairs for a total of 6 cable lines outside. I added additional splitters so all the bedroom would have live connections (should I ever want to put TV's into the other bedrooms). About a year or so later, the cable guy had to come out for service, and when he saw the extra "non-company" splitter that was providing service to the other bedrooms, he removed it and took it with him. I had to go out and buy another splitter to hook the rooms back up.

 

[NeoPhoenixTE]

Touching back on the original topic, I suspect this block will go away November 20th due to the new Net Neutrality laws going into effect.

Gizmodo article about the new laws: Net Neutrality Goes Into Effect Nov 20th (Will Get Sued on the 21st) (three guesses where I found the link )

Long and short is that no mobile carrier will be allowed to block an app that directly competes with it's own services. This likely means any VZW blocking of tethering apps will be removed.

However, this only seems to cover apps, and not the act of tethering itself. Still makes an interesting legal avenue in the battle for tethering.

Just figured i'd throw this out there amidst this crusade everyone's on about tethering.

 

[sb1831]

Touching back on the original topic, I suspect this block will go away November 20th due to the new Net Neutrality laws going into effect.

Gizmodo article about the new laws: Net Neutrality Goes Into Effect Nov 20th (Will Get Sued on the 21st) (three guesses where I found the link )

Long and short is that no mobile carrier will be allowed to block an app that directly competes with it's own services. This likely means any VZW blocking of tethering apps will be removed.

However, this only seems to cover apps, and not the act of tethering itself. Still makes an interesting legal avenue in the battle for tethering.

Just figured i'd throw this out there amidst this crusade everyone's on about tethering.

They're not permitted to block applications which an app which competes with their voice or videotelephony services. They still do whatever they want more or less with tethering apps because the don't compete with either service. At the same time if this becomes an issue they'll just say that use 0f tethering apps without mobile hotsport, is there would constitute theft of service and use that as their justification.

 

[SquireSCA]

Please tell me what the appropriate price for phone service and internet access in a portable form factor should be. Just curious seeing as I pay nearly $100 a month for a land line and internet access in my house that is useless as soon as I get in my vehicle.

I don't mind paying $130 a month. But I don't want to pay another $20 so that I can pay for the same data twice.

 

[dimmer_is_a_DJ]

You can trust Verizon to do what is in the best interest of... Verizon. Nothing to see here folks, move along...

Exactly. Business is business otherwise it wouldn't be business. Verizon is still a better carrier than just about every other network out there and while I don't agree with them placing restrictions on such small aspects of communication as wi-fi tethering, I can definitely say that from a strictly professional stand-point they are not in the wrong and fully justified.

That said, I disagree with this wholeheartedly! Everything inside me is screaming at this news. I love the Android OS and Droid devices for the exact reason that you are not restricted to one corporations software and infrastructure and anyone that knows how- can generate code and create applications, themes and even entire ROMs built from the ground up to run on these amazing machines. Verizon is the most expensive carrier out there and while their network is fully worth the extra monthly financial drain, they should also realize that people that pay extra should receive some sort of added bonus, like not being restricted to the ridiculous $20 a month to use the 3G hotspot service that Verizon offers. They are already getting the highest percentage of the mobile market, already turning a massive profit with home services and already charging the highest data rates. Why do they feel that these wi-fi tethering apps are such a threat. Either way, the end-user is putting money into their pocket by being under a service contract. The apps use their 3G/4G networks to allow for connectivity. These apps aren't being used by the majority of end-users, most of whom are content to use the software provided, who do system updates as prescribed by Verizon and who have no clue what the terms: root, SBF, flash, ROM, bootloader, recovery, etc... are in relation to their cellular telephones. I myself was one of those people until just a few months ago. Sure I've heard of something called jailbreaking but never once thought about actually trying something that would void my precious warranty. Being able to have more control over my the devices I paid several hundred dollars for just felt like it was the right thing to do.

I know this post or any others like it aren't going to change anything. Verizon Wireless is a global superpower in the telecommunication industry as well as other industries dealing with data/cellular/cable services. They didn't become as such by giving away free use of data. As a 30 year old adult living in a modern society I completely understand how and why companies have contracts, guidelines and policies in place. I just don't understand why a company with such a strong backbone of devoted end-users can't "look the other way" on some insignificant issues. It's not like someone with a wifi tether app on his rooted droid is going to set up and maintain a network of computers and rely entirely on that droid to absolutely handle their network bandwidth requirements. People are using this almost as LAST RESORT when no better choice or any other choice of internet access is available and like I said earlier, THE DATA IS STILL BEING TRANSFERRED THROUGH VERIZON WIRELESS SERVERS and people are STILL PAYING EVERY MONTH to be able to use their precious smartphones. Until someone finds a way to completely bypass any and all global network infrastructure Verizon and the rest of the multi-billion dollar mega-corporations need to keep in mind their rates, fees and the fact that an average smartphone costs at minimum $200 dollars without contract.

Dear, Verizon Wireless please let people enjoy their well deserved and well paid-for freedom from closed source programming and specified, single infrastructure device connectivity such as your competitors use, stop trying to charge them for every aspect of communication, and stop trying to control and limit how they use the technology after their money went and continues to flow endlessly into your pockets!!

This is my two cents. I know I said nothing original or creatively thoughtful.

 

[LocoRon]

Precisely. Same data, through the same data channel and plan, through the same gateway, same user, same content, I just want to display it on a larger screen.

Actually, it really isn't the same. If you go to the Best Buy website using the browser on your Android phone, it pulls up the mobile site. If you go to the Best Buy website using the browser on your computer, it pulls up the full site. And obviously the full site will require much more data.

That's only using the default browser. Install a different browser on your phone, and you can change the useragent to also default to the full website. Also, I don't think the data usage between "full" and "mobile" websites will be all that different. The main difference is just in the layout, but will probably still include all the same text and images. Anyway, a website is so small, even if there is a "large" difference between the two, that I doubt any amount of websurfing (on either version) would make much of an impact on total data usage. The main data hogs are streaming video and online gaming (well, torrenting, too), all of which can be done on phone.

 

[dimmer_is_a_DJ]

That's only using the default browser. Install a different browser on your phone, and you can change the useragent to also default to the full website. Also, I don't think the data usage between "full" and "mobile" websites will be all that different. The main difference is just in the layout, but will probably still include all the same text and images. Anyway, a website is so small, even if there is a "large" difference between the two, that I doubt any amount of websurfing (on either version) would make much of an impact on total data usage. The main data hogs are streaming video and online gaming (well, torrenting, too), all of which can be done on phone.

"Most Web sites have full and mobile versions. The differences between the two are their layouts and amount of content. Generally, the mobile version has far fewer page elements to load and is optimized for viewing on a smaller screen. This translates into less data usage for you."

Those aren't my words, hence the quotation marks. Just thought I'd comment regarding data usage.

 

[rbw62]

Any one heard of Clear, they use 4g also. Check the website out. They have an office in douglasville, where I reside, it is suburban here.


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[vernondraper]

Clear (offered by Clearwire) is WiMAX instead of LTE technology. Both are 4G but I think Clear offers data only and not voice service directly. Sprint uses Clearwire for their data in some areas. If it is different in your location, I am curious to know.

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[blacksoxing]

All I know is this....

For years I've been hearing folk say that since they have unlimited data, they can do what they please with it.

So why hasn't anyone taken a cell company to court over this??????

Seems like the perfect class action suit ever. Folks upset that a wireless company is telling them what to do within their contract.

Makes me think that there really is a 5GB cap on unlimited data & that you CAN'T do whatever you want to with it....or someone would have been a hero by now!!!

 

[cb2000a]

The end result is tiered data, unlimited will go away eventually and with tiered data it should not matter how it is used.

 

[Byakushiki]

Exactly! While most may not agree, i owned the first i phone and loved it! However what i didnt love was the (o u think just because you paid full retail that makes it yours... Nope its still our phone.. not yours) and while vast, the limits of having to use itunes for everything. But if verizon is doing the same things now (locking bootloaders, not releasing sorce, and trying controll market) i see less n less people jumping ship from iphone to android... Even worse maybee a few going back to iphone. And while yes its true that the advanced user, and even a brave enough novice can walk around most of this and achieve their goals, i feel that it should be available to every user! I think android and verizon have pulled the trigger on a slow moving bullet.. heading strait for their foot.
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I'd say somewhere more vital than just the foot. Any decent suggestions we throw at this point, goes in one ear, out the other. Blocking apps never did anyone any good, and the way they're trying to close off Android, iPhone is probably starting to appear as more and more of an alternative(for the uninformed consumer). My one conception though, if I were considering one, is iPhone can't play lossless music. Otherwise, it'd be nice to not get into arguments on what phone is better; I'll just say a very certain girl was bent on the iPhone being the best. But, I'm already far too addicted to android to go back to i-devices. :laugh:

 

[sb1831]

All I know is this....

For years I've been hearing folk say that since they have unlimited data, they can do what they please with it.

So why hasn't anyone taken a cell company to court over this??????

Seems like the perfect class action suit ever. Folks upset that a wireless company is telling them what to do within their contract.

Makes me think that there really is a 5GB cap on unlimited data & that you CAN'T do whatever you want to with it....or someone would have been a hero by now!!!

Probably becausde they're young immature and have a sense of entitlement they're no to in the slightest. The teens and 20s kids go to college for a few semesters and all of a sudden they have a JD and the man is out to get them

 

[SquireSCA]

All I know is this....

For years I've been hearing folk say that since they have unlimited data, they can do what they please with it.

So why hasn't anyone taken a cell company to court over this??????

Seems like the perfect class action suit ever. Folks upset that a wireless company is telling them what to do within their contract.

Makes me think that there really is a 5GB cap on unlimited data & that you CAN'T do whatever you want to with it....or someone would have been a hero by now!!!

Because "unlimited" is not really unlimited. They call it that for marketing purposes but in reality it is very limited.

The only carrier that is unlimited, is Sprint.