Unlimited is just a word, it doesn't really mean anything.

[Captian4Phones]

Quote from Verizon CFO Fran Shammo.

http://m.androidcentral.com/verizon...ean-anything?utm_source=ac&utm_medium=twitter

What a joke. Your thoughts?

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Android Central Forums

 

[Notrega]

No surprise there

Sent from my XT907 Scorpion_Mini

 

[Mooncatt]

Didn't carriers once try to claim "unlimited" didn't mean bandwidth, but meant they wouldn't block access to sites and such?

 

[Eclipse2K]

From a business stand point he is right. But to us customers its not acceptable. I have unlimited data and don't know if I would ever let it go unless forced to. I'd have to delete all streaming applications such as Netflix because 2GB isn't nearly enough to stream anything.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ry]

Anytone actually read the terms they agreed to?

Unlimited access vs. unlimited bandwidth.

 

[fofjjsr]

You would be amazed how many people are holding on to unlimited data, only to find out they barely use a gig or 2 between all 3 smartphones on there account. You want unlimited? Go with Sprint or Tmobile, but enjoy their horribad speeds. The unlimited was offered during the launch phase of 4G and 4G LTE. If you really though they were going to offer unlimited forever, especially with Smartphones becoming more and more the norm, then I don't know what to say to you.

 

[Mooncatt]

Sprint was pretty good for me on 3G (booted off before going 4G/wimax), but the problem with them is you may as well never roam with how restrictive that amount is. That's why I got kicked off, despite their site saying roaming was unlimited on my usage calculator. When I was on their unlimited, I was pulling down nearly 10 gigs a month with streaming music. So it's really not that hard to use a lot if you don't have wifi access.

 

[Captian4Phones]

I'm on AT&T with unlimited data and I guess their pilocy about throttling after 2gbs doesn't affect me where I live. I'm currently at 17.39 gbs and with speed test apps I'm still pulling down 25-30 in the middle of the day.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Android Central Forums

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

If it was just a word, why did Verizon drop unlimited data? They did share all plans to make more money, Verizon does not do anything unless they can make more money. And I understand a company has to make money, but don't come out saying crap like this was in the best interest of the customer, Verizon does what is good for them only. I have 2 years on my contract, I like several others will have to decide to buy phones at full retail, switch to shared plans, or move to new carrier. In 2 years Verizon will know if they made the right call today. Verizon better hope another carrier don't grow big in coverage in the next 2 years when contracts start ending.

 

[Mooncatt]

We got in under the wire before share was rolled out. When looking at putting our two phones on it, it was an extra $20/mo for less data total. Sure it would jump from 750 minutes to unlimited, but we barely use half of what we have now.

 

[diesteldorf]

I agree that all decisions made by a corporation are driven to make more money, whether directly or indirectly. Verizon got rid of unlimited data to preserve the integrity of their network but also to increase revenue, since more and more people are using more data and less minutes and texting.

Anyone that pays full buys a phone at full retail to keep their unlimited data is saving Verizon money on the phone subsidy and increasing the profit they make on the contract. Those that buy used phones through Craigslist or Ebay to keep unlimited will, in theory, save Verizon money by reducing technical support and warranty replacement costs.
Sprint, on the other hand, is keeping unlimited data with the hope that it will increase their customer base and, in turn, make more money for the company.

I am definitely not an expert on cellular evolution or history, but I would have to assume that in the beginning, unlimited data plans were a good deal for Verizon since smartphones were severely limited in what they could do and Verizon was able to charge everyone the same fee for usage that would seem negligible by today's standards. I still know some Blackberry users that only check email and browse the web and use less than 20 megabytes per month.

I have an unlimited plan and there are times, when traveling with limited access to wifi that I use it as such. I plan to keep my home internet as well, especially when I've successfully played cellular data technology against them, as a legitimate competitor to get them to lower the cost, so most of the time my cellular data usage is 0.05-2 GB per month, but I truly think data people's data usage will go up as cellular phones continue to advance, so I'll do what I have to to keep unlimited data.

 

[Lodingi]

I agree that all decisions made by a corporation are driven to make more money, whether directly or indirectly. Verizon got rid of unlimited data to preserve the integrity of their network but also to increase revenue, since more and more people are using more data and less minutes and texting.

Anyone that pays full buys a phone at full retail to keep their unlimited data is saving Verizon money on the phone subsidy and increasing the profit they make on the contract. Those that buy used phones through Craigslist or Ebay to keep unlimited will, in theory, save Verizon money by reducing technical support and warranty replacement costs.
Sprint, on the other hand, is keeping unlimited data with the hope that it will increase their customer base and, in turn, make more money for the company.

I am definitely not an expert on cellular evolution or history, but I would have to assume that in the beginning, unlimited data plans were a good deal for Verizon since smartphones were severely limited in what they could do and Verizon was able to charge everyone the same fee for usage that would seem negligible by today's standards. I still know some Blackberry users that only check email and browse the web and use less than 20 megabytes per month.

I have an unlimited plan and there are times, when traveling with limited access to wifi that I use it as such. I plan to keep my home internet as well, especially when I've successfully played cellular data technology against them, as a legitimate competitor to get them to lower the cost, so most of the time my cellular data usage is 0.05-2 GB per month, but I truly think data people's data usage will go up as cellular phones continue to advance, so I'll do what I have to to keep unlimited data.

Definately a Catch 22. If you pay full retail, you pay much more for your device, while at the same time give them an extra $400 per upgrade to keep your unlimited data. The $400 being what Verizon claims to subsidize their devices. Sucks either way.

 

[Eclipse2K]

Definately a Catch 22. If you pay full retail, you pay much more for your device, while at the same time give them an extra $400 per upgrade to keep your unlimited data. The $400 being what Verizon claims to subsidize their devices. Sucks either way.

True, you either pay the fee up front of in installments.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

 

[diesteldorf]

I understand why some people criticize others for what they consider to be extremely high usage. If someone has Unlimited Data and wants to use it as such, within the terms of their contract, I see no problem.

If all I wanted or needed to do with my phone was to make or receive calls, I'd have stuck with prepaid. I never even considered a smartphone till 2010, when the screens got bigger and the capabilities began allowing them to be legitimate alternatives to laptops and netbooks for certain tasks.
At&T had already canned unlimited data and I deliberately didn't consider them because of it. Verizon was still marketing unlimited data and even using it as a selling point to choose them over AT&T, so, to a certain extent, I feel entitled to use my phone as I see fit, although I probably use it as a phone 25% of the time and a PDA/Netbook 75% of the time.

I hate to use the word entitled because I would like to be a responsible citizen as well, spectrum is limited, and I don't want to deliberately place my needs ahead of the entire group, when my behavior could negatively impact others.

However, it is rapidly becoming a slippery slope. In the past, I paid money for a minute plan and only used a small fraction of the minutes. However, I did it so I could have a smartphone. If I had never used any mobile data, I'd feel like I was wasting money since I was already wasting money on my minute plan.

Last time I went on a trip, I added 4g mobile hotspot to my account, even though I was rooted, custom rommed, and didn't really have to since those features were already enabled. However, I decided to take full advantage and tether as needed, since I was paying for it.

Now, if I want to keep unlimited data, I'll potentially have to pay $400 more for my phone in order to keep it. For those that criticize those with unlimited data for excessive usage, does it make any difference now if I pay an extra $400 to keep unlimited data and an additional fee to add tethering. Am I entitled to gobble as much data as I want? Just curious.

 

[johnriii]

I'm guessing that the "average" smartphone owner has no idea WHAT uses data. if they knew what actually uses it, then they could easily determine how much we are really getting screwed by losing unlimited data. I can no longer use GPS to find locations I'm not familiar with. I can no longer watch a random episode of "raising hope" without taking healthy bite out of my data pie (98mb for a 22 min episode). the Sprint TV ad has it correct: families with teens will literally be fighting over how to "share" data. I don't believe Verizon offered Unlimited data as a "test phase", I believe they wanted to get us hooked on it, knowing that eventually, we would pay just about anything to keep it. 2GB a month to share is an absolute joke for a couple who moderately streams videos of any kind. 2GB would be just enough for a couple who checked email, surfed the web (without video) and updated facebook daily. homes with pre-teens and teens are doomed at 2GB of data to share, and Verizon knows this.

 

[eshropshire]

If it was just a word, why did Verizon drop unlimited data? They did share all plans to make more money, Verizon does not do anything unless they can make more money. And I understand a company has to make money, but don't come out saying crap like this was in the best interest of the customer, Verizon does what is good for them only. I have 2 years on my contract, I like several others will have to decide to buy phones at full retail, switch to shared plans, or move to new carrier. In 2 years Verizon will know if they made the right call today. Verizon better hope another carrier don't grow big in coverage in the next 2 years when contracts start ending.

No competition allows Verizon to run their network like they wish. I am on Verizon for one reason - their Network reliability. I have been a Sprint and an AT&T customer. Sprint was not bad where I use to live, but completely useless where I live now. Lucky if I could ever connect to make a phone call. Moved to Verizon, had great coverage, and after two years moved to AT&T and now two years later back on Verizon. The service and quality of signal I get is fantastic for both voice and data. I have about 14 months left on our family contract and will decide then what to do. I may move back to AT&T - why? not service quality or any anger at Verizon, but simply because phone companies treat new customers much nicer than existing customers. Generally get much better deals on phones and fees are often waived. Very easy to change companies and keep your old numbers. This is the main reason I don't add lines in the middle of my contract, I want the freedom to leave at the end of my contract and have no ETFs.

I don't see any competition on the horizon for either Verizon or AT&T. Sprint is spending $2.2 billion on their 'Vision' network upgrade. They had to borrow the money to get this much for the upgrade. This is a 10th of the amount AT&T is spending this year and a fraction of the amount Verizon is spending this year to upgrade their network. Will be interesting to see how this new Sprint network handles all the thousands of LTE iPhones and Android devices that will start hitting it soon. Easy to post good numbers when maybe 100 people at most hit a tower, lets see how it performs with a substantial load. T-Mobile's future, who knows. Their parent company has made no secret of the fact they want out of the US market. Hopefully both of these networks succeed and and challenge AT&T and Verizon, but I would love to see the competition, but I am not hopeful. My mobile phone is a key part of my business and I would not gamble with an unproven network.

 

[Ry]

I understand why some people criticize others for what they consider to be extremely high usage. If someone has Unlimited Data and wants to use it as such, within the terms of their contract, I see no problem.

That's the key point there. Most people assume they can do whatever they want. It's "unlimited". But do they really understand with what they've agreed to when they signed their contracts?

No competition allows Verizon to run their network like they wish. I am on Verizon for one reason - their Network reliability. I have been a Sprint and an AT&T customer. Sprint was not bad where I use to live, but completely useless where I live now. Lucky if I could ever connect to make a phone call. Moved to Verizon, had great coverage, and after two years moved to AT&T and now two years later back on Verizon. The service and quality of signal I get is fantastic for both voice and data. I have about 14 months left on our family contract and will decide then what to do. I may move back to AT&T - why? not service quality or any anger at Verizon, but simply because phone companies treat new customers much nicer than existing customers. Generally get much better deals on phones and fees are often waived. Very easy to change companies and keep your old numbers. This is the main reason I don't add lines in the middle of my contract, I want the freedom to leave at the end of my contract and have no ETFs.

I don't see any competition on the horizon for either Verizon or AT&T. Sprint is spending $2.2 billion on their 'Vision' network upgrade. They had to borrow the money to get this much for the upgrade. This is a 10th of the amount AT&T is spending this year and a fraction of the amount Verizon is spending this year to upgrade their network. Will be interesting to see how this new Sprint network handles all the thousands of LTE iPhones and Android devices that will start hitting it soon. Easy to post good numbers when maybe 100 people at most hit a tower, lets see how it performs with a substantial load. T-Mobile's future, who knows. Their parent company has made no secret of the fact they want out of the US market. Hopefully both of these networks succeed and and challenge AT&T and Verizon, but I would love to see the competition, but I am not hopeful. My mobile phone is a key part of my business and I would not gamble with an unproven network.

Just because they're supposedly not as good in your area doesn't mean that Sprint and AT&T aren't competition for Verizon.

 

[eshropshire]

I did not mean to say that AT&T is not competitive to Verizon. I may have said this wrong - my main point is that there really is no nationwide competition to AT&T and Verizon. In fact, all the regional mobile companies and Sprint and T-Mobile just met in Las Vegas and issued a statement calling on the Federal Government to keep AT&T and Verizon from forming a complete duopoly. Alliance of rival carriers bashes AT&T-Verizon 'duopoly' | Mobile - CNET News

Personally I would not choose any mobile company other that Verizon or AT&T. We have a small company and we need to travel but also be in contact. Saves a lot of time when you know you will be able to reach each other very quickly and reliably.