VZW Killing Unlimited Plans (Finally)

[MrSmith317]

Reposting what I said in another thread like this since its relevant and multi threads are going for this:

Reading the text of the press release it only looks like this is affecting those on 3G unlimited trying to go to 4G unlimited. Didn't read that those already on 4G are on the chopping block just yet but those on the 3G bandwagon are in for a shock if they aren't on 4G by the time this hits. I'm not going to freak out just yet being on 4G unlimited already but my wife who is on 3G unlimited I may need to keep an eye on what happens for her. Luckily she isn't a power user so I doubt it would be that painful for her.

The part that freaks people out is that most if not all of us are 3G to 4G converts and therefore could fall under the scrutiny of this same act. I know that I'm not part of the GN community but I am a Verizon customer and we should all be yelling from the rooftops(or into the nearest Verizon reps face) that we won't stand for this.. If we can't make Verizon rethink this(which we all know they won't) that we'll take our collective business elsewhere. It's the only thing they'll listen to.

 

[rcpa]

I'm trying to figure out why people think its a good thing. I work construction and some months while I'm at home I won't use a gig of data, when I'm away for work, I use up to 40 gigs. And before a smartas$ says to use Wi-Fi, there isn't wifi at a construction site or most RV parks.

The flip side is that my family has three smart phones and we're paying a total of $90 for unlimited data on all three devices. However, we typically use less than 2.5 gigs of Verizon data between the three phones. We use more than that via WiFi. So basically, we're paying $90 dollars for less than 3 gigs of data. If we were to add two 4G enabled tablets, we would have to pay another $60 to provide them data, even if they are used infrequently away from WiFi. So now we're up to about $150 for 3 gigs of data. I would rather pay $40-$50 for 5 gigs of data shared between all of our devices.

I would bet more people are in my situation than are in yours, so a shared data plan makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. $30 a device adds up quickly when you have multiple devices.

 

[dcastillo]

The flip side is that my family has three smart phones and we're paying a total of $90 for unlimited data on all three devices. However, we typically use less than 2.5 gigs of Verizon data between the three phones. We use more than that via WiFi. So basically, we're paying $90 dollars for less than 3 gigs of data. If we were to add two 4G enabled tablets, we would have to pay another $60 to provide them data, even if they are used infrequently away from WiFi. So now we're up to about $150 for 3 gigs of data. I would rather pay $40-$50 for 5 gigs of data shared between all of our devices.

I would bet more people are in my situation than are in yours, so a shared data plan makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. $30 a device adds up quickly when you have multiple devices.

agreed....

If i got forced to a shared plan, I may actually get a 4G tablet

 

[Mordecaidrake]

The flip side is that my family has three smart phones and we're paying a total of $90 for unlimited data on all three devices. However, we typically use less than 2.5 gigs of Verizon data between the three phones. We use more than that via WiFi. So basically, we're paying $90 dollars for less than 3 gigs of data. If we were to add two 4G enabled tablets, we would have to pay another $60 to provide them data, even if they are used infrequently away from WiFi. So now we're up to about $150 for 3 gigs of data. I would rather pay $40-$50 for 5 gigs of data shared between all of our devices.

I would bet more people are in my situation than are in yours, so a shared data plan makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. $30 a device adds up quickly when you have multiple devices.

If that's the case, then they still need to offer a unlimited plan for those that use it more heavily. There's no way in hell it costs them more money to offer unlimited. It all boils down to greed. I used this moth 8.7gb, granted I download a lot of things on my phone(tv shows) which I'll need to stop but I'll kill my data allotment via pandora/google music alone.

 

[trailblazen]

Yes but you're on a family plan so if she gets put on it you're going to get forced into it as well. It's a shared family data plan. It's a completely insane policy and if they do this they're going to lose A LOT of customers. I mean whats the point of using a data connect phone if 90% of the features make you have to spend more. I mean if say it equals out to 2gb per person, one netflix movie stream would kill your monthly allotment.

For calling yes we are on a family share plan for minutes but we are on two completely different data plans. Explain to me how they can put a 4G phone and a 3G (only) phone together on the same data plan. It doesn't work unless she is forced into a 4G phone if she wants to change her current phone. If we both had 3G or we both had 4G it would be different but we are currently on two completely separate data plans due to the phones we own.

 

[Mordecaidrake]

For calling yes we are on a family share plan for minutes but we are on two completely different data plans. Explain to me how they can put a 4G phone and a 3G (only) phone together on the same data plan. It doesn't work unless she is forced into a 4G phone if she wants to change her current phone. If we both had 3G or we both had 4G it would be different but we are currently on two completely separate data plans due to the phones we own.

No clue, nothing Verizon does makes any sense.

 

[JoeNM84]

For calling yes we are on a family share plan for minutes but we are on two completely different data plans. Explain to me how they can put a 4G phone and a 3G (only) phone together on the same data plan. It doesn't work unless she is forced into a 4G phone if she wants to change her current phone. If we both had 3G or we both had 4G it would be different but we are currently on two completely separate data plans due to the phones we own.

When is she due up for her next upgrade? All new smartphones on Verizon will be 4G, including the next iPhone. It's likely that the choices for 3G only devices will be very slim... if they aren't already. Do they still sell any 3G only smart phones other than the iPhone 4 and 4S?
So most likely you will both be 4G on the same plan when she upgrades, and they will probably pull something out of their butts and force you into a single shared data plan.

 

[trailblazen]

When is she due up for her next upgrade? All new smartphones on Verizon will be 4G, including the next iPhone. It's likely that the choices for 3G only devices will be very slim... if they aren't already. Do they still sell any 3G only smart phones other than the iPhone 4 and 4S?
So most likely you will both be 4G on the same plan when she upgrades, and they will probably pull something out of their butts and force you into a single shared data plan.

Pickings are slim but she likes her D3 qrty keyboard so unsure if she even wants to change phones. will probably have to wait and see. I want to say we both have a solid year left each before next upgrade.

 

[Moonbase0ne]

Well, this is certainly interesting. I am with ATT and have unlimited Data and I just happened to call them earlier today to see if I would be able to keep my Unlimited Data if i were to eliminate my current Family Plan and go back to a single account. I was told I would be able to keep my Unlimited Data as long the phone number/account that has it never gets rid of the plan in the first place, meaning I can upgrade, change my plan, etc... whenever I wanted.

I was thinking that Verizon had the same thing going. You got to keep your Unlimited Data as long as you had it but once you removed it, you could never get it back. Even if you chenged plans.

Did verizon originally have something like this or no? If no, what exactly does grandfathered mean as far as they are concerned?

 

[greydarrah]

So who has a GSM network with unlimited data that's worth a crap?

 

[asmallchild]

Well, this is certainly interesting. I am with ATT and have unlimited Data and I just happened to call them earlier today to see if I would be able to keep my Unlimited Data if i were to eliminate my current Family Plan and go back to a single account. I was told I would be able to keep my Unlimited Data as long the phone number/account that has it never gets rid of the plan in the first place, meaning I can upgrade, change my plan, etc... whenever I wanted.

I was thinking that Verizon had the same thing going. You got to keep your Unlimited Data as long as you had it but once you removed it, you could never get it back. Even if you chenged plans.

Did verizon originally have something like this or no? If no, what exactly does grandfathered mean as far as they are concerned?

Is this true? I was under the impression all plans are being converted to a tiered system

 

[mlbyanks11]

Honestly I spoke with Verizon earlier and I told them what was on the Internet they said it's just a rumor and not to worry about it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Android Central Forums

 

[g1toevo678]

Honestly I spoke with Verizon earlier and I told them what was on the Internet they said it's just a rumor and not to worry about it

I hope that's true but the answer is probably above their pay grade.

 

[NorCalStorm]

Totally false. I use to work for VZW. Its an option. They tell you that so they can commission on the sale. They lock you in a 2 year making you think that's the only way. Its a scam and managers encourage this behavior to make sales quota. I never did it. it is ethically wrong. Its why I left. If you ever want to activate equipment you bought at retail price or off some other place like Craigslist make sure to have the sales rep show you he has selected "month to month" which is activation with no two year. you are just paying monthly on a contract plan without the two year contract. I hope people read this because I hate when reps prey on the unsavy consumer.

From what Verizon has told me, that isn't correct. I was told that even if I purchased a phone off contract and paid the full retail price I would still need a service agreement before I could activate it.

I purchased my Nexus off contract because I wanted it but didn't have an upgrade. My contract end date did not change. But say my contract was over and I purchased a full retail Nexus and went to activate it they would at that time require me to enter a new 2 year agreement.

They do not activate phones without a service agreement. Ever, it can be an existing agreement or a new one, but there has to be one before you can get service.

Who knows if that is true or not though. It is just what a rep told me. When I lose my unlimited data, VZW will lose me as a customer.

 

[Channan]

Totally false. I use to work for VZW. Its an option. They tell you that so they can commission on the sale. They lock you in a 2 year making you think that's the only way. Its a scam and managers encourage this behavior to make sales quota. I never did it. it is ethically wrong. Its why I left. If you ever want to activate equipment you bought at retail price or off some other place like Craigslist make sure to have the sales rep show you he has selected "month to month" which is activation with no two year. you are just paying monthly on a contract plan without the two year contract. I hope people read this because I hate when reps prey on the unsavy consumer.

Thanks for that information. I always believed you had to sign a contract as well.

 

[mikebear]

Update

Okay, here we go again. Verizon said it’s killing unlimited data plans when users upgrade, then said it would be nice enough to give you a warning first. Then hours later, the company clarified that it will provide an out for current customers with grandfathered unlimited data plans – you can keep operating under a meter-free model, but you’ll no longer get phone subsidies.

The New York Times Bits blog reports that Verizon issued this statement when questioned about how it would transition customers to 4G.

Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so.
When we introduce our new shared data plans, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing.
Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.
The same pricing and policies will be applied to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.
Sounds like a fair trade. The key point to take away from this is that Verizon isn’t taking away unlimited data plans. If customers want to continue watching videos, browsing the web, and video chatting without eyeing restrictive data caps, they can. The downside is that they’ll have to pay full price for phone upgrades, but that might be in their best interest. S

 

[PJnc284]

That's for now. There's nothing stopping them from introducing a phone down the road that requires a data switch or new plan regardless of how you purchase it. i.e. once verizon rolls out voLTE and phones supporting it, they could require a change. That statement was pretty much just a CYA and temporary bandaid fix to appease the masses.

 

[anon(596177)]

Update

Okay, here we go again. Verizon said it?s killing unlimited data plans when users upgrade, then said it would be nice enough to give you a warning first. Then hours later, the company clarified that it will provide an out for current customers with grandfathered unlimited data plans ? you can keep operating under a meter-free model, but you?ll no longer get phone subsidies.

The New York Times Bits blog reports that Verizon issued this statement when questioned about how it would transition customers to 4G.

Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so.
When we introduce our new shared data plans, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing.
Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.
The same pricing and policies will be applied to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.
Sounds like a fair trade. The key point to take away from this is that Verizon isn?t taking away unlimited data plans. If customers want to continue watching videos, browsing the web, and video chatting without eyeing restrictive data caps, they can. The downside is that they?ll have to pay full price for phone upgrades, but that might be in their best interest. S

So, I'll be buying my phones off of ebay from now on and adding them to an unlimited plan that I will be able to back out of at any time because my contract will be up by the time I go for a new phone. Sounds good to me.

 

[asmallchild]

Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.

Worth it.

I'll do it.

So basically my Nexus has to last me a good 36 months starting from now, because that is how long it'll take me to save up for a full retail price phone

 

[mlbyanks11]

Alright from reading all of this...Verizon told me directly this is all speculation...and noting is going to change right now..and to buy a phone off ebay at full price is ridiculous?...Im not spending hundreds of dollars just to keep my plan..I have a RAZR MAXX and this can last me forever if I need it too...and it doesn't make any sense if Verizon does this to grandfathered users because don't ya think they will lose customers?...They can't force you to change your data plan even when upgrading to a new device...thats insane..plus EBAY is a joke..I would never buy a phone from them..I'd go with amazon wireless..the problems I have had with ebay in the past and my girlfriend as well..you can keep it..just giving my input on the situation..