There's a storm brewing...

[eloverton2]

To be completely honest, I'm not afraid of the tier. I think they will want to remain competitive with ATT and Sprint. I'm thinking we might see something like this:

$25 for 2(or2.5) GB
$35 for 5GB
$45 for 8GB

This accomplishes a few things. It saves a LOT of us money. I use 2-2.5GB a month.

It gets them an extra $5 a month for their "unlimited" plan (which has a 5GB soft cap)

It gets them $15 more a month for "heavy" users who are paying $30 now and quite often go over 5GB.

Bennnnn, could you tell us if this is close, or if we're getting fleeced instead?

depends on what the overage rate is. if its outrageous for every kb you go over, it could be a killer. plus downloading/uploading pics/videos/games really adds up.

 

[m00nshake]

I'm not going to answer questions on tiered pricing because I'm not 100% certain of which ones will be used. We've created price models from unlimited 4G to heavily tiered, so before we all start speculating, it's best to just wait till you hear from Verizon directly. Ultimately its the CFO's decision.

Great to see you back, Bennnnn.


Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Bennnnn]

Fair enough. Thanks. I'm going to lean towards the Unlimited to fairly tiered... I don't think they're going to slap us with $50 for 3GB, thus not only turning us away, but turning those anticipating the Bionic or Revolution away to other carriers also.

Oh yes, prices would be must less significant than 4G LTE broadband cards.

 

[canesfan44]

I'm not going to answer questions on tiered pricing because I'm not 100% certain of which ones will be used. We've created price models from unlimited 4G to heavily tiered, so before we all start speculating, it's best to just wait till you hear from Verizon directly. Ultimately its the CFO's decision.

I hope they go the cheap unlimited route just for this phone. Even if it's just for people that get it on the release day. If not, I'm not a heavy user, so my bill might get cheaper. Anyway, Bennnnn, you (and BMX) have been the life support of this thread. I (I'm sure we all feel the same way) can't thank you enough for what you've done for us. The fact that you remained level headed and patient through the barrage of attacks you've received is a good example for a lot of us to try and follow.

 

[SUB-dawg]

what about the actual price of the thunderbolt?

 

[Romanrevenge]

So have the phones shipped yet ?

 

[Bigdaddy1207]

So Ben are you more certain of the 17th now then before, I mean I would think an announcement would have to come in 2 or 3 days, seems kind of pushing it.

 

[eloverton2]

So Ben are you more certain of the 17th now then before, I mean I would think an announcement would have to come in 2 or 3 days, seems kind of pushing it.

why pushing it? the device has been advertised, people know it exists, all they need to know is when they can get it. news travels fast.

 

[leehblanc]

Oh yes, prices would be must less significant than 4G LTE broadband cards.

That's pretty much where I was going with my example. Thanks for the great info. I have to admit I was skeptical of you at first, and I still reserve the right to a bit of "healthy" skepticism, but if I had to bet on one or the other, I think you're on the level.

 

[deltwalrus]

For the 4G aircards, they charge $50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB, plus $10/GB overage.

If someone told me I had to pay an extra $50 per month on top of hardware and on top of airtime rates for the privilege of using a smartphone, I'd tell them to go get bent. $30 per month is bad enough, but at least that's unlimited, grandfathered in on my AT&T iPhone.

 

[Raiders Fan 223]

Bennnnn, in your PERSONAL opinion, what is the percent chance that the Thunderbolt is released on the 17th of March?

 

[Bennnnn]

So Ben are you more certain of the 17th now then before, I mean I would think an announcement would have to come in 2 or 3 days, seems kind of pushing it.

I am a bit more certain due to three reasons:

1) I was told the 17th a a week ago.

2) The HTC Regional Rep tweeted the 17th yesterday.

3) It's up to HTC now to finalize everything so it's their call whether it makes it or not.

Everything is just starting to match up and become clearer IMO.

I'll be back on later guys. Gotta walk the dogs.

 

[deltwalrus]

For reference:
AT&T charges $15-200MB, $25-2GB, $45-4GB
Sprint's charges are tougher to gauge, since they have their "everything" plans
T-Mobile... well, whatever

 

[Romanrevenge]

HTC needs to hurry their ass up !:/

 

[jayishere]

be5n you scamp

 

[panitsos]

i'm a little bit confused , so if its up to HTC now to finalize everything does that mean the phones arent even in the states yet? whats there to finalize on there end? i thought they were all set on there end? if the phones arent even here or in some storage area in the states can they even distribute them fast enough to bb and the verizon stores by the 17th?

 

[Tonnected]

Somebody help me out with Tiered

Tiered pricing will tick me off and it doesn?t make any sense either. Forget the amount of data that you download ? that doesn?t matter. What matters is the length of time of your data transfer.

If I download for 3 minutes on a 3G connection or on a 4G connection I have the same effect on the network. The 3G network gave me 10MB of data and the 4G network gave me 100 MB of data (just round numbers for arguments sake) because the network transfers data at the speed it transfers data. I eat up bandwidth while I am using it. Since I will get my data faster, I will actually be connected less and use less of their bandwidth.

In fact, from what I understand of LTE (and I am no expert) my bandwidth usage has less effect on other users than CDMA did. So why should I pay by the amount of data downloaded? I could understand paying more for being connected longer but not for how much data is transferred.

I just don't want to get buried with ridiculous overage fees.

 

[Romanrevenge]

i thought the phones shipped on the 21 of feb. Cause when i went to BB on 21 they had them in stock. and The Presidant of HTC said that the phones would be shipping that week.

 

[eloverton2]

i'm a little bit confused , so if its up to HTC now to finalize everything does that mean the phones arent even in the states yet? whats there to finalize on there end? i thought they were all set on there end? if the phones arent even here or in some storage area in the states can they even distribute them fast enough to bb and the verizon stores by the 17th?

HTC and VZW made an agreement to release the phones. The conditions around the release changed on VZW's end and they had to work out the kinks (pricing, plans, etc) After revisions were made, VZW has to resubmit the changes the HTC for review to make sure they are cool with the changes to the agreement. Then the phone will be released. Think of it as a joint business venture.

 

[panitsos]

i went to my bb store the other day where i pre-ordered the phone and they didnt have them in stock yet. who knows