Verizon bringing back unlimited data (sort of)

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GR 'Scott' Cundiff

GR 'Scott' Cundiff

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Joined
Nov 21, 2011
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247
Verizon has a new pricing structure:
1. Prices are going up and so is data.  For instance, the "L" plan will now cost $70 (up $10) and data will increase from 6GB to 8GB.  For heavy users the "XXL" plan will now cost $110 (up $10) and data will increase from 18GB to 24GB
2. Unused data minutes will be added onto the next month, but data won't accumulate beyond that.
3. The "unlimited" part is that once you hit the data you've paid for your data speed will be considerably throttled for the rest of the month unless you pay for more data.
Read more, including all the pricing tiers here: http://www.cnet.com/news/verizon-to-hike-prices-on-its-plans-but-offer-more-data/
 
GR 'Scott' Cundiff said:
Verizon has a new pricing structure:
1. Prices are going up and so is data.  For instance, the "L" plan will now cost $70 (up $10) and data will increase from 6GB to 8GB.  For heavy users the "XXL" plan will now cost $110 (up $10) and data will increase from 18GB to 24GB
2. Unused data minutes will be added onto the next month, but data won't accumulate beyond that.
3. The "unlimited" part is that once you hit the data you've paid for your data speed will be considerably throttled for the rest of the month unless you pay for more data.
Read more, including all the pricing tiers here: http://www.cnet.com/news/verizon-to-hike-prices-on-its-plans-but-offer-more-data/
Click to expand...
Well, that is welcome news for us.

I recently switched from AT&T to Verizon because I thought they had better fringe coverage where we go camping and I selected the same 3GB data plan I had with AT&T. While we are at home we use almost all of our data through our cable internet system and our normal cell data usage is almost always less than 1 GB but, of course, we use quite a bit when we are camping in our RV. This means that our cell data need goes from almost 0 to between 3 and 6 GB, depending on how long our camping trip is. My biggest complaint about Verizon is that they had no carryover data like AT&T did so this is very good news for us and will probably save us money in that I will no longer need to switch data plans back and forth when we are traveling. Our low normal usage will effectively double our camping usage.

I will keep an eye on the Verizon website to see if these changes show up later today. Thanks for the information.



 
Thanks for the heads up, GR. I'm due to upgrade my phone and need more data. My cell is my only web access so I use a lot. This should actually get me more data and cost less than I am paying now. Yay!
 
2. Unused data minutes will be added onto the next month, but data won't accumulate beyond that.
Click to expand...

Just for the record, it's "data gigabytes", not "data minutes". VZW doesn't count minutes for data, just the amount of data.

Throttling when going over the contracted limit is part of the optional Safety Feature and does not seem to apply otherwise. Won't know for sure until the official plan is released later today. Stay tuned...
 
".... the customer would see his connection severely slowed down for the remainder of the billing cycle."

Will be interesting to see what their definition of "severely" is
 
I would hope it would be really "severe", cause that subscriber is getting extra data service he did not pay for. If I pay for more gigabytes and he does not, I surely hope he gets far worse service than I do! Otherwise, why would I pay for more gigabytes?
 
Sun2Retire said:
".... the customer would see his connection severely slowed down for the remainder of the billing cycle."

Will be interesting to see what their definition of "severely" is
Click to expand...

Good question.  I've been in a few places where I was limited to 1X - it was only good for poor quality phone calls and texting.  I don't think it would even qualify as "data" at all, so I'm thinking 3G range.

Edit to add: Looks like the throttling will be down in the 2X range.  Here's the USA Today write up on the official announcement. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/07/06/amid-growing-competition-verizon-revamps-data-plans/86755334/
 
Apparently it is supposed to start tomorrow, Thursday, July 7.

I tried "chatting" with a Verizon rep today and the only response I got was "I can not discuss that. Just wait for an announcement later this week". I pointed out that the announcement had already been made and was told "I can not discuss that yet. Just wait for an announcement later this week".

OK. Gotcha. Wait until they are ready to talk about it officially. I do have some questions:

1) If I move up to a larger data plan for one month (say 4 to 8 GB) does the unused from the larger plan carry over to the next month?
2) Is there a charge for changing plans? There has not been up until now.
3) Are the overage charges still the same?
 
Apparently the throttling will be 2G, so not much better than 1x. It's not intended to be more than minimally usable - just a way to get you through to the end of the month without paying more $. If you want good speeds, buy more Gigabytes, either one time on a per GB basis, or by upgrading your plan for that month.

The nice thing about Verizon plans is that you can change the data mount easily, either on the VZW website or via the new My VZW app.  I adjust mine often during the summer, when my needs go up and down all the time. As the end of my month comes near, I check on actual use and adjust the plan GB to cover it. Either up or down, as needed.
 
this is really annoying, I just switched to sprint for more data, 30gb for 110, I was paying 100 for 15gb with verizon and, my wife's phone was payed free and clear with 3gb. Would have stayed for the 110 for 24gb. Really don't understand why Verizon won't match Sprint's prices to keep their customers
 
Because Verizon has has a lot more coverage than Sprint, and they know it.
 
I'm lucky in this respect.  I still have an Unlimited Plan for $20/Month that I get thanks to a discount program they offer thru my employer.  Two phones, only one with the data plan and my monthly bill is less than $100.

The only problem with it is that they block tethering so I have to go thru some contortions (FoxFi/Bluetooth) to get internet access to my laptop, but it still works as I'm typing on it right now as I sit in a NF Campground.

If they ever take that away I'm not sure what I'll be forced to do.  Sprint looks good until you look at the coverage... it's crap in my neck of the woods.
 
As I post this, I'm using a $35/month unlimited data 4G/LTE MiFi plan that uses a discounted SimpleMobile plan on T-Mobile from Mobile Solutions. I also have their $5/month unlimited data Verizon 3G Jetpack service that works well as a fill in when T-Mobile has poor or no coverage in a given area. I also still have a $100/mo 20GB/mo Verizon Jetpack plan, but I'm putting that on suspension for a few months until I'm confident the other two will take care of our data needs as we travel before I drop it. I understand he's working on a $99/month unlimited 4G/LTE data Verizon plan as well, but I don't know any details on that yet.

One caveat when dealing with Mobile Solutions; It is a one man shop, and he does have a "day job" as well, so shipping times can be, to put it kindly, erratic. Each order requires individual programming/activation, so expect delays depending on how heavy the order volume is at the time. The best I can say is that he has shipped me everything I've ordered and it all works just as expected. And he will work with you if there are any problems. My best advice would be; Be patient, it's worth it in the end for low cost unlimited data.
 
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