yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Thunderbolt General] watt9493:
I could care less.

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] bpyazel:
No kidding! I go through about 3gb a month with pandora running all the time in my car, lots of web browsing, three email accounts, i use navigation a lot and i watch netflix on my phone. Talk about abuse. Why would somebody using 24gb think they should be paying the same as people who use 1/8 the bandwidth?
[Thunderbolt General] watt9493:
They should only make the people in the 5% or whatever pay more

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] mmarcz:
Good News Folks:

As we have stated publicly, Verizon Wireless has been evaluating its pricing structure for some time. Customers have told us that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. We are working on plans to provide customers with that option and will introduce new plans later this year.

When the new options are introduced, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to our customers purchasing handsets and signing a new contract. Customers who choose to purchase phones at full retail price and are currently on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan. The same pricing and policies will apply to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.

We will share specific details of the plans well in advance of their introduction so customers will have time to evaluate the plans and make the best decisions for their wireless service. It is our goal and commitment to continue to provide customers with the same high value service they have come to expect from Verizon Wireless.

Full price for a new phone keeps unlimited! :)

mmarcz
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
So if we are on an unlimited plan and don't get a new phone(unless we pay full price) we get to keep the unlimited data.
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
What about buying a used phone? I got the tbolt late in the game, i dont need latest n greatest. Just a thought.
[Thunderbolt General] mmarcz:


As I can understand it, yes. You are only subjugated to tiered data if you take advantage of a phone subsidy from Verizon.

Used phone? You're fine.
[Thunderbolt General] donc113:
You lose unlimited ONLY if you buy a subsidized phone. If you buy at full retail, you WILL KEEP your unlimited data plan.

Considering the subsidy on a smartphone is $300 - $400 then over 24 months, that's about $15 a month.

It'll be interesting to see how they handle the mobile hotspot feature under the new pricing.

If hotspot is included in your "bucket," you may actually save money as it currently costs $30/mo for unlimited hotspot.
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
Okay I'm not so worried about it anymore now.
[Thunderbolt General] markalyea2:
don't know if this was mentioned, but sprint got LTE... and they still have unlimited and more 4G coverage so it looks like I'll be switching to them this December.

Edit, ok just realized they need to build separate LTE towers so less coverage and not in my city :(

---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 PM ----------

Ummmm... Sprint is CDMA... Your 4G is GSM. SIM card = GSM.
[Thunderbolt General] flooritnfly:
You and I both know VZW's network is beyond strong enough for what I pull from it....

---------- Post added at 10:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------

Thank God!! I have no problem paying the full retail! :)

---------- Post added at 10:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

http://gizmodo.com/5911254/verizon-unlimited-data-not-quite-dead-but-theres-no-point-in-keeping-it

3rd Bullet. Last Sentence. (Only 2 sentences that apply to me) :D
[Thunderbolt General] Devil_07:
If Verizon didn't want me using 25+ GB a month, they shouldn't have sold me a phone that I can connect up to 8 devices to and an unlimited tethering package to go with it. Nashville is like Apple fan-boi central anyway. Everywhere you look, you see iPhones. I pretty much have the LTE network here to myself.

As far as keeping this, I'm perfectly alright with paying full price for a phone from here on out.
[Thunderbolt General] sasquatch080:
Exactly!
[Thunderbolt General] dewgong:
I am ready to leave Verizon as soon as my contract is up. 4G in Minneapolis is about 2-3 Mbps during the day. It is as slow as it can get.
[Thunderbolt General] flooritnfly:
+179 man!
[Thunderbolt General] motoryder:
I spoke with a Verizon Rep to fix some things with my plan and asked when my plan was done cuz I was thinking ok switching because of this. He said that if you already upgraded to a 4g device this will not effect you. He said it is meant for people who will switch once they impliment the shared data.
[Thunderbolt General] PhillyCheez:
so no more buying new phones for me!

thank god for craigslist. jeez.

Verizon knows all those 3g iphoners are gonna switch to 4g eventually so I am sure the plan switch will happen before the next iphone comes out.
[Thunderbolt General] neoonyx:
Actually, there is an easy workaround...just buy the phone outright. I'm damn fortunate to be able to do so.
[Thunderbolt General] veladem:
Or, there is another workaround... Move to sprint, truly unlimited data, only thing that is limited is LAN line calls, 400 minutes a month, not bad. I can use 100+ GB a month and never have to worry. And my speeds are around 10 mbps. Fast enough to tether to a video game console and still be able to use the Web on a laptop for work.

Just my opinion. I'd never move to another carrier cause I wouldn't have the unlimited data. Unless I had been grandfathered.
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
Sprint doesn't have 4g in my area so that's out of the question. Plus they cost more than verizon don't they.
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
Sprints not an option. Their rural service is almost zero. I rely on coverage everywhere more than 4g and unlimited data. When my agents ride with me out in rural areas, tmobile, sprint, and att are almost completely dead.
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
I work in a lot of rural areas too and I get good reception in almost every location. People with sprint and at&t get nothing. Verizon pretty much cornered the 4g market where I live because they cover a very broad area. Even some low population towns (around 2000 people) get 4g.
[Thunderbolt General] dtoye:
So coming from a Verizon Rep 2 sure ways to stay under unlimited data is to upgrade before your contract ends or buy a phone at full retail price other than that bye bye unlimited data
[Thunderbolt General] Lyondellic:
I called Verizon yesterday afternoon and asked if I could receive an early upgrade. I was honest and explained that if I waited until January to upgrade my device that it would entail me having to pay full price in order to keep unlimited data. The first representative told me that she could not offer an early upgrade, but connected me to her supervisor when I asked her to do so. The supervisor was sympathetic to my situation, but stated that she could not offer me an upgrade either because the tiered data plans had not been officially rolled out yet. She also told me that she had placed a note on my account, which supposedly will make it easier to receive an early upgrade when the tiered data plans become official.

One option is to pay full price for a new phone, or continue to use my Thunderbolt until my contract ends in June 2013. Another option may be to end my contract early by claiming a Material Adverse Change. I guess that the April 22 fee of $30 to upgrade devices could be used to allow early termination of my contract without penalty as well (until 6/20/12). I would give up unlimited data by doing so, but Simple Mobile has 4G coverage in my area under their $60/month unlimited everything plan. This may be a decent option, but I do not know much about the quality of their network.
[Thunderbolt General] brandogg:
Simple Mobile is a prepaid T-Mobile reseller. Their coverage is more or less the same as T-Mobile prepaid. If you live in a spot where they have *very* good coverage, you'll be fine, but T-mobile in general is pretty terrible. You often have to stand next to a window to be able to use your phone (they will even tell you this if you complain about reception), and you can literally go from 4 bars to no service just by walking 5 feet in a certain direction. I am a Simple Mobile dealer, and their "unlimited" plan is *not* unlimited. They will say it's "unlimited but not unreasonable" which basically means once you hit 2GB, they shut you off.

If you are considering Simple Mobile, you'd be much better off paying another $10 for T-mobile's plan where you get 5GB at 4G (HSPA+), and after that they just cut you down to 2G (EDGE).

---------- Post added at 09:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 AM ----------

Wrong. SIM card on Verizon =/= GSM. It is LTE, which is an evolution is GSM technology, but it not GSM. Verizon is CDMA as well...
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
I wouldn't switch to sprint at all. They are having to slow the spread of their 4GLTE coverage because of the deal they made with Apple to get the iphone which cost them 1.8 billion.
[Thunderbolt General] geoff5093:
Unfortunately even though we don't want to stay with Verizon for what they are doing, most major and some regional carriers are already doing this, so it's nothing new. It's too bad Verizon has the best coverage around here, and with my discount is actually cheaper then AT&T and US Cellular.
[Thunderbolt General] teddyastuffed:
Ya Verizon is the best for me too, when all other carriers get little to no service at my home or work (I live and work in the hilly area near the coast lol). But honestly, I don't blame them. It's business that they r losing money in currently when they could b gaining a lot more money instead. Because I'm sure their sales trend analysts will predict for how many people will leave, there will be that many more opting for the higher GB plans and new contract customers. I'm honestly surprised they r even allowing the unlimited to continue only if u buy full retail cost phones. But again, maybe they see more money coming in by doing it that way. I'm sure after the first year or two of doing it that way, they will cut everyone off from unlimited all together. Not saying I like it, but I fully understand it.
[Thunderbolt General] ATHORNFAM2:
Why Verizon now I gotta switch to sprint
[Thunderbolt General] mmarcz:
For everyone cutting bait at the idea of paying full price for a phone to keep unlimited.

Starting 5/31, Virgin Mobile is rolling out their new plans and phone. Base $35/month for unlimited 4G data, messaging, and 350minutes. Replacing their $25 plan. They are going to bump up their $25/month users to move up if they purchase a new phone. The phone is an EVO with ICS. No word on phone cost.

Just remember VM is a sprint MVNO.

The grass isn't always greener, the dog just hasn't peed on it yet.

I'm sticking with Verizon (former longtime sprint customer)

mmarcz
[Thunderbolt General] mobitote:
VZW are bastards.... If they are going to do that then then they oughta let us opt out of the data plan.
[Thunderbolt General] reddtessa:
I have my teen on VM and it is not true unlimited...after 2g of usage they slow his connection to nothing, that started about 4 months ago, hes crying about it all the time and only uses his phone for youtube and texting, thankfully he's on the $25 plan. He manages it, but drives me nuts with complaining about it.

I've been with Verizon since my husband got on with DOD in 2004 as they gave him a phone so I took over his account and was a move from Nextel. I am interested to see what DOD will do with this change though as they are with Verizon.

I hate the thought of having to purchase a phone out right once my upgrade comes around in Nov 2013 but I am one of the ones that use just a tade over 2g/mon but that is if my home internet goes down, or if I am traveling, some months lucky to use 1g so I won't nor can complain. I love Verizon's service well minus the fios part of it as they are complete idiots on getting our home phone/tv/internet to stay online, but I am sure soon enough Sprint will even be following this same direction within a year or 2.

But it would be nice if they would give us little guys that use just a bit a break hehe.
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
On most forums that ive read, the people complaining the most are the heavy abusers. If thats the main issue, then good for verizon. I to can afford full price, do im not sweatin it.
[Thunderbolt General] TheBeardedMann:
Some people have kinda/sorta mentioned the real problem that lies ahead. Netflix and now DirecTV Everywhere, HBO Go, etc. Those things are becoming more popular and that drains the data pool the fastest. And Netflix HD will become a standard on phones which will suck that data down even faster than before. For those that are on the cusp of 2GB, your next 4G phone with an HD display and HD video apps, you'll see that 2GB climb up quicker. HD is going to be the straw that breaks the 2GB Plan's back. That's my thought.
[Thunderbolt General] mmarcz:
And you're 100% correct.

In my opinion, paying full price for a brand new phone is worth keeping unlimited.

Or do this, just wait 5-6 months after a phones comes out, you'll get it at a cheaper price on flebay, CL, or cowboom.

Bottom line is, if you're a penny pincher, VZ is not the carrier for you.
[Thunderbolt General] donc113:
You can opt out of data, as long as you give up your smartphone and just go with a plain old phone.
[Thunderbolt General] scshadow:
Here's a thought , If you have more then one line and the person has an upgrade couldn't you use that persons upgrade and still keep unlimited? When your upgrade is up I believe you can transfer upgrades to the other person so you keep unlimited along with a new phone, wonder if that would work
[Thunderbolt General] mad96:
+1
[Thunderbolt General] Tess89:
So glad I opted for the one-year contract last March. At the time I was afraid Verizon would drop unlimited before my contract ended. But as it turns out the timing couldn't have been better. Gotta say it's nice to have more options to work with. Might take a look at the Razr Maxx.
[Thunderbolt General] smerfherder:
rant

if that is not what it is for then why did they sell it as that?

dont get me wrong i pay for the tether just for that reason

i want to use it as my ISP, the market in my area being controlled by a phone company that still lives in the dark ages and the cable company that will never get another dollar out of me makes verizon a no-brainer when looking for internet service.

so yes i do blame VZW first off you cannot get a phone without paying for internet access in the first place then they go from unlimited to 2GB plans, which forces you to be on wi-fi all the time anyways.

why in the world would i want to pay for internet twice?
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
What you're saying doesn't make sense. The internet that is provided for your cell phone was never intended to be used as heavily as some people do. That is why the 5% that get throttled are only throttled until they move to a different cell tower. You may check your contract and see if there is a clause about what they consider proper usage. I know they have a clause that the terms are subject to change so they have every right to end unlimited. I can bet you though that they won't keep a data cap forever. I see them making a ton of money to extend the 4G network to almost every area and then uncapping the data limit once they have the capitol to cover the cost of the upgrade.
[Thunderbolt General] smerfherder:
so what your saying is my phone isn't meant to be the same thing that they sell separately i.e. wireless hotspot devices? or that the $30 dollars extra i pay a month for the hotspot is just a convenience charge for being able to use a service that should be a feature of my phone anyway?

who's not making sense now

the wireless hotspot and 4g network is capable of being an ISP, and is sold as such with other devices, what this equates to for me is the same thing as paying for minutes still, just another way to artificially inflate prices for their services.
[Thunderbolt General] supern0va:
No. All gsm uses sim cards, but not all sim cards are gsm. Although lte is backwards compatible w/ gsm its not the same technology.

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] supern0va:
I use aaverage 10 Gb of data on my home internet, and I'm on my phone more than that. There's no such thing as abuse when you claim to be 'unlimited' also to the people that say your abusing the hotspot..this is like your cable company saying your unlimited..unless you use a wireless router. In that case you have to pay more. More bs. Android is supposed to natively support tethering for free anyway. So who is actually abusing who?

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
Gsm is a totally different radio band than LTE. Also, they don't call it mobile broadband because it was intended to be setup at your house to play ps3 or stream hd movies. That's the problem Verizon has right now. People are using loads of bandwidth in one area and it slows the network down for everybody. If you have mobile hotspot kudos to you. Don't get mad at others that aren't using a lot of bandwidth and are pissed when others are. Verizon is the fastest and most reliable around and it would be nice for it to stay that way.
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
Android is supposed to be native tether, not verizon. I dont think you should have to pay for tethering, but you do. If you pay the $30 for tethering, then use all you want. Its those who root, dont pay, and use their phone for all their devices like torrents, online gaming, streaming and such that are forcing vzw this way. The guy who uses 24 gig a month, if he is paying for hotspot, i have no issue and neither should vzw. But he is in the minority i would wager.
[Thunderbolt General] disconnecktie:
Yea I can agree that the we shouldn't have to pay extra for the hotspot but the usage should still fall under the persons data plan. So if a person that has unlimited data then the hotspot should be as well but that still doesn't negate the fact that people abuse the hell out of it.
[Thunderbolt General] watt9493:
I'm going to go back to T-Mobile. I know I've probably said it before in this thread, but Verizon is killing themselves with this. You can't just change the rules mid game. It's like that one kid in elementary school that makes up rules that suit him as he plays his made up game, that he ends up winning. Plus T-Mobile is faster in my town then lte anyway.

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
No way in hell id go to them, we even have their call center here, their coverage nationwide just sucks
[Thunderbolt General] emptyshell:
Or sold me a LTE modem for my house. With my 2 LTE unlimited plans I run 100+GB a month easy. Netflix, VUDU, Hulu, 24/7 torrents, normal internet traffic and tethering with my Thunderbolt almost all day every day.
[Thunderbolt General] mad96:
I USE typically 10g on average w/O using tether at all I don't need it . So all my data is using my phone ligit So for all you haters that say that's abuse is full of BS or jealousy. If u only use or think that 4gig is more than enuff is just Facebook or twitter jucky
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
I dont see how they can change your home plan. I have cox, use 300 gb a month, and im in one of 2 states cox will throttle, ive seen it. I abuse their service, atleast in the past. Vzw feels the need to change, ill just keep my tbolt and old alltel plan. All other carriers flat out suck on coverage compared to vzw.
[Thunderbolt General] TheBeardedMann:
Two things....the abusers aren't ruining it. They are a small small percentage of the total users. Also the coverage is killing a lot of us. I'd rather have 650 coverage areas and half of those get two towers spread out over the dense population rather than 1000 coverage areas with equal towers. Make sense?
[Thunderbolt General] mmarcz:
I think this. If Verizon sells you "unlimited", that's free reign. Period. Done. Doesn't matter if you use 2, 5, or 50gb a month, that's unlimited.

I agree with the line about the kindergarten kid who changes the rules halfway through the game.

Verizon needs to pump up the bandwidth, LTE Gen 2 is already claiming 50mbit.

Love my Thunderbolt

Mmarcz
[Thunderbolt General] watt9493:
What alternative do I have? Sprint that gets 512 k up and down? Att thats the same price for less? T-Mobile gets a steady 7-9 megs down where I live. That's fine for me.

Sent from my ADR6400L
[Thunderbolt General] mad96:
I just got off the phone with Verizon, I asked about going from a 3g to 4g phone for my wife and they garantied me it would have no effect on my unlimited plan. As far as using my upgrade for my phone they said it is not in effect to loose your unlimited for a discounted phone and should not be for some time. I made her mark my account with the info she provided, but could not say when the exact date it would be in effect.
[Thunderbolt General] robnez:
Yeah they haven't said when but you know that axe is going to fall soon. I've been with Verizon for years now. They're going to lose customers over this, including me if they enforce this before the new phones come out.

- I have a small blog about tech, check it out at techreviewblogs.com
[Thunderbolt General] brandogg:
They probably won't lose anyone over this, and if they do, it will probably be less than 5% of the 1-2% of people that use more than 4GB/month anyway.
[Thunderbolt General] nrfitchett4:
Which is why they dumped unlimited. I totally expect them to dump unlimited hotspot when people's contracts run out and if those few people walk, so be it.

agree with this. If people are paying, then use what you want. But when they change the rules, you can't get pissed unless they do it mid-contract. Once your contract is up, nothing is a given.

Good luck with t-mobile. Worked great as long as I didn't walk inside any buildings, then it would be no signal... Lucky I was able to complain enough during my 2 years that they let me out of my contracts without etf fees.

And verizon is not changing the rules mid game. Why do people keep saying that? They are allowing those on unlimited to keep it. It will only change when you try to renew your contract. New contract, new rules.

which is why NO ONE offers unlimited wireless modems or hotspots anymore. Too much traffic for mobile data. I'm keeping my TWC 3g/4g hotspot as long as possible because of this.

Of course they said that. No changes have been made yet and they will be announced before the changes happen. Personally, I'm waiting to see what the final say is. I have 2 kids on 3g phones so I'm definitely paying attn.
[Thunderbolt General] trott33:
My 2 cents, work pays for my phone, and I average 4gb/mnth, but that is using a lot of wireless while at home. I aslo have a plan for the wife and 2 kids, that is my complaint, as someone said earlier they are just Twitter and facebook users, but I have to pay $30 month data plan for each phone. Has anyone heard if they are going to do a family plan for data? That would be ideal for me. Say $45 for 5gb for whole family? $30 for each phone is stupid.
[Thunderbolt General] Koramchad:
Right now you can get 4gb for $30, so I hope the family data plans have more competitive prices than that...
[Thunderbolt General] nrfitchett4:
Yes there will be shared data plans but not sure how cost effective they will be. Sounds like you will have different tiers to choose from and then each phone will have have a 9.99 a month fee to share it. Honestly doesn't sound too promising.
[Thunderbolt General] brandogg:
4GB for $30 is actually the best (tiered) plan from any provider...can't get much more competitive than that.
[Thunderbolt General] donnyp1:
So im down in galveston for the weekend with family. Several have tmobile, but, uh oh, they cant use their phone because no signal. Just another reason id never switch to them. The sprint an att sporadically work. No problems with vzw any where on island. This is my biggest concrn, having a phone that works everywhere since i travel every week. Not how much data.