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bull3964 posted:Quite being apologetic to Verizon. This is a money grab plain and simple. A money grab by a company already making 10 billion in profit annually, mind.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:13
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bull3964 posted:If verizon was actually concerned about spectrum use and congestion on towers they would be moving to a cap and throttle scheme rather than a cap and overage. bull3964 posted:Above all, this stuff should not be getting more expensive as time goes on, it should be getting less expensive. You might argue that the per-subscriber rate should decrease as many more folks subscribe to data plans, except they're going to have to upgrade radios and backhaul in far out locations to an extent they never did even with EVDO. I can understand the cost of doing so exceeding the revenue they'd get from the relatively-few data subscribers they pick up who are home-located in those markets. Now, once LTE is up and running everywhere, operating costs should gown down and that would, ideally, be reflected in decreasing plan costs or increased data quotas. We'll see if that happens though. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 18:17
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bull3964 posted:Realize that a half hour of streaming netflix a day will exhaust the 2gb data cap before the month is over. Where exactly was I "quite being apologetic" to Verizon? All I wrote is what I use my phone for on a daily basis, and compared it to the other people I know. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky bastards who upgraded to a new 4G phone at the best possible time... these are just the hazards of the cell phone tech cycle.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:19
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nickhimself posted:At least you've got 4G access. My thunderbolt is still running 3G until Verizon unlocks it in my area. =[ I don't actually have a 4g phone, but my girlfriend does. But now I'm staring at having to get together enough cash to buy a crappy phone in the hopes of selling it in just a handful of months for a better one losing out on a ton of cash I really shouldn't be wasting because I am way too into technology.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:22
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ExcessBLarg! posted:While I personally prefer throttling, this isn't something entirely new. Voice plans have always been about buckets and charging obscene rates for overages. There's an argument that if you're at your limit and you need more high-bandwidth data, you'd be far more willing to pay overages than to suffer a throttle. But as we all know, in reality, it's to send four-figure bills to oblivious parents of Netflixing teens or something. I would argue though that nothing new has exactly come to the art of general conversation that would cause people to spend double to 3 times the amount of time on the phone over the next year. Also, use of voice minutes is explicit. I have to either make a call or decide to pick up a call. My phone's use of data is not. Short of forcing it into airplane mode whenever I'm not using it, any number of things can fire off in the background to make me passively consume data. Even putting the phone on wifi when avaliable isn't a solution because android hasn't exactly been great at not falling back to a cell signal when the phone is sleeping even if you tell it not to. quote:Actually I'm not sure this follows, at least, not right now. Verizon is dumping a lot of capital into a nationwide LTE network. That takes some serious funding. So does the rollout of FIOS, but my bandwidth has increased a few times in the 3 past years I've had the service with nary a mention of capping and no real increase in price.. In fact, they've gone so far as to say they never plan on implementing capping. The thing is, Verizon beat out a ton of other interests to secure that LTE spectrum from the government because they have deep pockets. There should be some consumer protection in place to prevent them from turning around and using that spectrum as a club to shake us down for more money. Not that I have any hope of that happening, but it is frustrating. Endor posted:Where exactly was I "quite being apologetic" to Verizon? All I wrote is what I use my phone for on a daily basis, and compared it to the other people I know. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky bastards who upgraded to a new 4G phone at the best possible time... these are just the hazards of the cell phone tech cycle. I didn't mean to sound confrontational, but just because you don't personally use that much data doesn't mean it's gooney to use more than the 2GB cap. 2GB for the same price that we've been paying since the dawn of time for "unlimited" is entirely unreasonable. I wouldn't be nearly as pissed if the cap was something like 5GB, but as I stated before, there is no use case for 2GB. People like you use less than a GB, people who do even casual streaming will top 2GB easily. There is no middle ground. It exists purely to get people to try out these advanced services that the phones were designed for and to hook them into going over. If all I wanted to do on my smartphone was check email and browse a few webpages, I would go back to a featurephone because they are more than capable at this point. In all, cap and overage is going to hold back technology as people are going to be afraid to actually USE their smartphones for anything without being charged out the rear end.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:40
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Teh z0rceror posted:i read that the tier would be per plan. so if I have a family plan and decide to get the 2GB @ $30. That would cover both smart phones? Did I read that right? Would love to know the answer, because if so then I don't mind the tiered plans at all and can wait until after 7/7 to come to VZW.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:46
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Anyone eligible for a work discount ever purchased from Amazon wireless? I've built up enough gift cards where I could go for the thunderbolt for like $20 but I'm aware of their clause where they'll charge you $250 if you change your plan within 180 days. I know I won't change the plan, but I do want to take advantage of the 20% off I can get due to my job. Will applying the discount trigger the fee?
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Jun 22, 2011 19:29
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A few more newbie questions: 1) Could I do month-to-month (but not prepaid) with the unlimited data plan if I sign up before 7/7 or do I have to have a contract in order to lock it in? 2) If the answer to 1 is yes then I'd like to know if you can just walk in with a used, current Verizon phone and set up a plan on it as a new customer?
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Jun 22, 2011 19:54
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I have a question akin to the previous post. All of the lines on my family plan are running month to month and 3 of them are smartphones. Do I need to sign contracts to keep my unlimited data?
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Jun 22, 2011 20:02
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Here are the full screen shots of all the known verizon information. http://www.androidcentral.com/veriz...roid+Central%29 The 3G -> 4G question is still ambiguous, but the language of what's written there implies that it should be grandfathered in as they do not call out this specifically as an exclusion. "Existing customers can keep their current pricing when renewing or upgrading." Also, it looks like everything is being referred to as "per line" so there's not going to be any pooling for family plans, at least not from this information.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:03
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Ryokurin posted:Anyone eligible for a work discount ever purchased from Amazon wireless? I've built up enough gift cards where I could go for the thunderbolt for like $20 but I'm aware of their clause where they'll charge you $250 if you change your plan within 180 days. quote:When you purchase your device with service from AmazonWireless.com, we automatically pass along an instant discount from the carrier to you. This discount has been provided to you based on your agreement to (a) activate a new, or extend an existing, line of service for this device with the carrier, and (b) maintain this service in good standing for a minimum of 181 consecutive days. If you do not activate or extend a line of service in connection with this device, or if your service is canceled/disconnected before 181 consecutive days, AmazonWireless.com will charge you $250 per device, plus applicable taxes. WithoutTheFezOn fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 20:10
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bull3964 posted:The 3G -> 4G question is still ambiguous, but the language of what's written there implies that it should be grandfathered in as they do not call out this specifically as an exclusion. Thank christ. Now I can get back to waiting for a phone that is what I want.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:16
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bull3964 posted:Here are the full screen shots of all the known verizon information. This is bothering me the most. I want an iPhone 4, but I sure as gently caress don't want to be stuck using 3g the rest of my life.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:28
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Kyrosiris posted:Thank christ. Now I can get back to waiting for a phone that is what I want. Same here. While I still think there is a chance that they will make 4G an "upgrade", I'm willing to take the chance at this point. I just received an Incredible 2 as a replacement for a Droid X, so I don't see the point in upgrading to a similar phone when 4G isn't even available in my area yet (it is coming on July 21st to the town I work, but it won't reach my home for probably another year). Something tells me that even if they break up the 4G and 3G groups, you can probably complain enough to Verizon and get them to let you keep unlimited if they are following through with allowing people to keep their current data plan. Acrolos fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 20:31
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bull3964 posted:I didn't mean to sound confrontational, but just because you don't personally use that much data doesn't mean it's gooney to use more than the 2GB cap. 2GB for the same price that we've been paying since the dawn of time for "unlimited" is entirely unreasonable. I wouldn't be nearly as pissed if the cap was something like 5GB, but as I stated before, there is no use case for 2GB. It's cool, I guess it's just a case of agreeing to disagree. From your own data, you can stream a 22-minute Netflix video every workday during lunch and barely come out over ~1 GB, with tons of data left over for streaming radio and apps and email and web browsing. So if using nearly an hour of streaming cellular video per day is considered "casual", what exactly would be considered "hardcore"? I watched a few NCAA basketball games during march madness and anything else I had the time to get my hands on, but came nowhere near averaging ~30 minutes per day of cellular data. And from your own stats, it would take nearly 4-5 hours of streaming video per day to approach the 10GB highest-end limit. All I stated is that I don't personally know anyone who streams 30 minutes of video per day on their mobile phone, whether it's via 3G, 4G, or WiFi. I'm sure some people do that -- maybe some of them are "goony", and maybe some of them are just regular dudes wanting to get the most out of their phones while they're riding the bus or being bored at work or are too cool to own a Television at home, but they're not lucky enough to have WiFi access wherever they happen to spend most of their time. It just sounds like the majority of Verizon smartphone users will see their data plans stay at $30/month, it will just go from unlimited to 2GB limits for new users. If anyone can show some stats proving me wrong that most Verizon smartphone users consume less than 2GB cellular data per month, I'd be happy to see them! I understand how it's annoying for the power users to be forced to upgrade to an $80/month plan when they were used to paying $30, but I guess that's just the trend these days -- you pay for what you use.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:32
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No, we actually don't, because otherwise those 300mb per month users wouldn't be saddled with a $30 plan. I'm all for pay per use rather than buckets! Lets let all those overcharged casual users shed themselves of that data they will never use. $10 /GB prorated down to the MB. I'm game. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 20:38
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Endor posted:It's cool, I guess it's just a case of agreeing to disagree. From your own data, you can stream a 22-minute Netflix video every workday during lunch and barely come out over ~1 GB, with tons of data left over for streaming radio and apps and email and web browsing. I wouldn't really consider myself a power user, but I consistently go over 2gb, usually in the 2.5-4gb area. With this, I'm basically forced to go with the $50 plan. My data usage is as follows... 1-2 hours of Rhapsody or Sirius per work day (5 days a week) General web browsing, facebook, etc. for maybe 30 minutes a day That's pretty much it. I wouldn't consider this to be excessive or even out of the ordinary, but because I stream music for an hour or two a day, I would have to pay $50 per month.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:38
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Endor posted:I understand how it's annoying for the power users to be forced to upgrade to an $80/month plan when they were used to paying $30, but I guess that's just the trend these days -- you pay for what you use. I'm already paying for what I use. That's the point. I'm now having what I'm paying for what I use jacked up by a factor of three almost for no reason whatsoever AND getting less for it. (30/unlimited vs 80/10GB). It's literally indefensible.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:45
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Haha, this gets even more comically bad. Are you one of the lucky people that gets a business (employer) "feature" discount -- usually 20%? It will no longer apply to the $30 data plan. Congratulations, next month your bill will go up by $5.99/mo.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:47
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bull3964 posted:The 3G -> 4G question is still ambiguous, but the language of what's written there implies that it should be grandfathered in as they do not call out this specifically as an exclusion. OK, so I guess here are my 2 big questions: 1) Going from a single plan to a family plan - if I were to do this after 7/7, would I be stuck on the new tiered plan? 2) On a family plan, does everybody have to upgrade their phone at the same time? Can I wait until September to upgrade mine? WithoutTheFezOn posted:Haha, this gets even more comically bad. Ugh, this gets more ridiculous by the hour.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:47
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Going from single to family would be a new line on the family plan (I would think) which would mean tiered. Here's something to mull over. If Verizon realistically thought that the majority of their users were going to stay under 2GB for the next two years, why would they have made these changes? If that data usage is going to see little growth, they would have been much better off tacking on a $10 "4G fee" on LTE phones and leaving things as they were. You can see the language in those documents and they are all about upselling. It seems clear that Verizon expects median data usage surpass 3GB in the next two years as the overage makes it very attractive to move to the $50 plan if you exceed 3GB.
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Jun 22, 2011 20:56
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Haha, this gets even more comically bad. Hmm... I'm wondering if that qualifies under the "Materially adverse" stuff. If they do that, and it does, I'd definitely be willing to investigate jumping. I'll take my $200/month back to Sprint and sell my Fascinates for $175/ea, turning a $125/ea profit (we got them for $50/ea at signup).
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Jun 22, 2011 20:58
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Haha, this gets even more comically bad. So for those of us that get an overall corporate discount (I get 20% off of my bill, plus all accessories that I purchase), does this affect everything, or just the data? Regardless, with a Family plan, this will bring my bill up $12 a month. Everytime I think I'm at a point where I'll just live with what Verizon is deciding to change, they add more on top of it. AT&T is just as bad as Verizon, and Sprint service in this area is terrible...but I may be forced to go with the poor service. One person leaving may not matter to Verizon, but if a large number of people do the same thing, hopefully it will. Or at least it will help Sprint grow to a level where there are three major competitors that can get involved in price wars. Do you have a news source on this, by the way? I can't seem to find anything. I work in an office building of about 2,000 people who mostly use Verizon. I'd like to forward the article to some of my fellow employees. Acrolos fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 21:06
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Man this kinda blows. I'm holding an ancient Samsung Omnia which was eligible for upgrade 1/14/11. It looks like my paltry $30 loyalty discount (i got $100 NE2 for years and years, had this account since 2002) expires on June 30th. I've already got the $30 unlimited data plan so i'm grandfathered in on that. I've been waiting (and complaining to the poor folks over at verizon online instant chat) for a dual core 4g phone. Don't really have much to contribute to this discussion beyond the fact that im worried about losing my grandfathered unlimited data if i upgrade to 4g after July 7th. I'm contemplating sucking it up and getting a Charge (kinda lame imo) just to make 100% sure my unlimited data is grandfathered for 4g. Oh yeah and i could utilize my amazing $30 loyalty discount!  Has anyone tried walking into a Verizon store and asking about the post 7/7 3g unlimited to 4g unlimited switch?
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Jun 22, 2011 21:11
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Note: I'm not a Verizon employee, just a customer.Acrolos posted:So for those of us that get an overall corporate discount (I get 20% off of my bill, plus all accessories that I purchase), does this affect everything, or just the data? quote:Do you have a news source on this, by the way? I can't seem to find anything. I work in an office building of about 2,000 people who mostly use Verizon. I'd like to forward the article to some of my fellow employees.
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Jun 22, 2011 21:14
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HondaCivet posted:A few more newbie questions: 1. If you have unlimited now, you'll have unlimited after 7/7 whether you're on contract or not. EvilMoFo posted:I have a question akin to the previous post. No. What you have now is what you have until you sign a new contract i.e. upgrade a phone. And the newest leaked memo may let you keep it anyway when you upgrade later. The Human Cow posted:OK, so I guess here are my 2 big questions: 1. Probably not. Merging plans has generally left plan features intact. Not always though, last page people were talking about how new every 2 discounts disappear. 2. Phone upgrades are per line and can be used at different times. EDIT: Striking out bad info. Sorry for the confusion. Aurium fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Jun 23, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 21:17
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What? The discount is going away? Sprint here I come.
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Jun 22, 2011 21:18
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Note: I'm not a Verizon employee, just a customer. Thanks. I just checked my bill and the "Access Discount" is 20% on my primary line, but it doesn't affect the second line on my family plan. The access discount is the big helper, because it's 26% and saves me about $30 a month. Even so, that's still another $6 Verizon is planning to take from me.
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Jun 22, 2011 21:27
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Droid-Life is reporting that there will be no difference between 3G and 4G as it relates to being grandfathered. It's hard to tell if there is something specifically written (I can't open the pictures that he has posted because of a block at work...so maybe someone can verify), or if he is simply interpreting the same information we all have seen...quote:3G vs. 4G data: http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...you/#more-37689
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Jun 22, 2011 21:53
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Aurium posted:1. If you have unlimited now, you'll have unlimited after 7/7 whether you're on contract or not. Is month-to-month only available for prepaid/people whose contracts have run out? Also if you sign a 2-year contract you can change your plan right? I can live with signing up for it as long as I can drop to a cheap plan and sell the iPhone if I lose my job or something.
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Jun 22, 2011 22:17
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Quick question... Is there no way to remove insurance from my plan on the website? It isn't listed in the change features section.
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Jun 22, 2011 22:36
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HondaCivet posted:Is month-to-month only available for prepaid/people whose contracts have run out? Yes and yes. EDIT: VVVVVVVVVVVVVV Grinnblade posted:So basically if I want to have unlimited data I need to get my rear end into a Verizon store before July 7th, right? I've been on the fence about getting back into a smartphone for the last few months but if the pricing's really gonna change that drastically I might consider pulling the trigger now instead of in August like I was planning on. Also yes. Aurium fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 22:37
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So basically if I want to have unlimited data I need to get my rear end into a Verizon store before July 7th, right? I've been on the fence about getting back into a smartphone for the last few months but if the pricing's really gonna change that drastically I might consider pulling the trigger now instead of in August like I was planning on. edit: ^^^^^^^ Right then. Thanks. Grinnblade fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Jun 22, 2011 |
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Jun 22, 2011 22:42
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Note: I'm not a Verizon employee, just a customer. It's debatable right now. I read this line... Engadget.com posted:These changes also apply to employee plans as well (personal accounts w/work discounts applied) This could reference VZW employees or any employee plans, which means those of us with a feature discount could keep it as long as we don't change our data plan. That said, if they touch my discount in the middle of my contract I probably will terminate, go to T-Mobile or Sprint, and sell my Thunderbolt to pay for a new phone. Although, based on an Ebay check, it looks like the TB isn't worth much.
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Jun 22, 2011 22:44
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Aurium posted:Yes and yes. OK, then this post is kinda confusing me then. Does it just depend on the carrier whether or not new customers can not sign a contract?
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Jun 22, 2011 22:58
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HondaCivet posted:OK, then this post is kinda confusing me then. Does it just depend on the carrier whether or not new customers can not sign a contract? He's wrong. You can start a new Verizon account without a contract. They just will not subsidize the cost of your phone, so you pay full price or activate a used (but not blacklisted) phone. Just make sure they don't accidentally (or on purpose) sign you to one anyway.
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Jun 23, 2011 00:06
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HondaCivet posted:OK, then this post is kinda confusing me then. Does it just depend on the carrier whether or not new customers can not sign a contract? T-mobile, as well as many of the regional carriers do allow you to join up with no contract. This is not the way it works globally either, the USA is easily the most carrier fractured cellular market. You can sign up for prepaid, which is a different set of plans, and a different set of phones. On verizon, they cost more and do less. EDIT: WeaselWeaz posted:He's wrong. You can start a new Verizon account without a contract. They just will not subsidize the cost of your phone, so you pay full price or activate a used (but not blacklisted) phone. Just make sure they don't accidentally (or on purpose) sign you to one anyway. I very well could be wrong. I know that many sellers refuse to let you walk out the door with service without a contract, regardless of whether you brought your own phone. It could be a training issue. I also know that it is official policy for some companies but perhaps not Verizon's. That said, when I told I was wrong, I just went out and did some research; rather than going by memory. Sure enough I did fine something relevant: from 2008. If you don't want to read it, the short of it all is that it's a press release saying that if you bring in a compatible phone, you in fact can sign up for month to month. The opposite of what I said. It is old information, and there is little further information out there though, but it's a good sign for you. EDIT 2: Striking out bad info. Sorry for the confusion. Aurium fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Jun 23, 2011 |
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Jun 23, 2011 00:08
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Haha, this gets even more comically bad. This may change things, although if I'm recalling correctly, there was already some restriction I had to deal with due to only needing a 450 minute plan. The only reason I'm really considering is because as it is, it's the same price I pay for AT&T for 450m and 200 texts with data. Granted it's only six dollars but $60 is like my mental limit on what I want to pay for phone service. Oh well, I'll calculate it out tomorrow at work.
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Jun 23, 2011 00:15
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Haha thanks verizon for sending me a replacement incredible that is stuck in a boot loop as soon as i activated it.
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Jun 23, 2011 00:31
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If Verizon drops my employee discount (it's like 26%) I'm officially jumping ship. Which makes me wonder...if I bought a new phone today, signed a 2 year contract, and then in July they increase my bill (due to dropping my employee discount) can't I get out of my contract?
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Jun 23, 2011 01:03
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