Verizon confirms tiered bandwidth for July 7

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Verizon has confirmed its decision to transition away from unlimited data plans in favor of tiered pricing. The move comes as no surprise considering how many rumors we've heard in the last year, but many of you will surely be irked nonetheless. The most convincing rumor emerged less than a month ago in late June and (accurately) predicted that the restructuring would occur on July 7.

Speaking with FierceWireless, the company said that it would introduce four different mobile data options: 75MB for $10 a month, 2GB for $30, 5GB for $50, and 10GB for $80. That's precisely what was reported in June, albeit with the addition of a 75MB package, which is limited to folks using feature phones and not smartphones. Users who exceed those caps will be billed at $10 per gigabyte.

It's worth noting that only new customers will be forced into the metered bandwidth. According to Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney, existing subscribers will be allowed to keep their unlimited data plan after July 7 (hopefully indefinitely). Also, there doesn't appear to be any separation between 3G and 4G devices, so you shouldn't be hit with extra fees to tap into Verizon's LTE network.

Verizon is also adjusting its tethering policy. New customers with a compatible smartphone will have to pay $20 per month to use the company's LTE mobile hotspot service, which will also boost their bandwidth cap by 2GB. Existing customers will be able to keep their unlimited data cap, but will have to cough up $30 a month to use LTE mobile hotspot -- a feature that has been free until now.

Verizon's shift to the dark side leaves Sprint as the only major US carrier with an unlimited data plan, though we wouldn't be surprised if that changed in the near future. T-Mobile offers unlimited consumption but throttles speeds after a certain point. AT&T made the jump last summer, offering 200MB for $15 per month, 2GB for $25, 4GB with tethering for $45, and $10 per gigabyte overages.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/44553-verizon-confirms-tiered-bandwidth-for-july-7.html

 

[Guest]

Wow expensive, you guys got a cartel going on over in America?

 

[Muggs]

"Existing customers will be able to keep their unlimited data cap"

I was told that I get a new phone I have to get a new contract by my local verizon rep. So it is my understanding that any new phone comes with a new contract. If this is not true I will be amazingly happy but I doubt Verizon would let it be true.

 

[Jibberish18]

M**** said:
"Existing customers will be able to keep their unlimited data cap"

I was told that I get a new phone I have to get a new contract by my local verizon rep. So it is my understanding that any new phone comes with a new contract. If this is not true I will be amazingly happy but I doubt Verizon would let it be true.

Well if you want the cheaper subsidized pricing then YES you will need to opt for a new contract which means they will most likely **** you and put you on the new Data plan. If not you SHOULD be able to pay a higher price for the phone and stick to your unlimited plan....most likely unless you're a serious power user, it won't be worth it.

 

[NeoFryBoy]

Verizon is ending month to month plans after a contract ends so you'll be forced into the new money plan by next July.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

I hope VZW burns for this.... this is WORSE than what I was expecting when I heard tiered data plans. There is no reason why you can't put a $10 data plan on a smart phone. Show the user the VZ app to monitor data usage, tell them they shouldnt stream video or music, and let them be with their $10 month data plan. If they go over and know how to monitor their usage and know what eats it up, then thats their fault. I'm sick of this bullcrap VZ feeds us saying that the Smartphones won't work with a lower amount of bandwidth cap.

VZW can take their new tiered data plans and stick it where the sun don't shine.

 

[lawfer]

I thought AT&T was evil, but this just ridiculous....

 

[treetops]

Can't wait for my verizon plan to run out so I can go to cricket. Last month I had 50$ extra charged. They claimed 5 months ago I turned on my 3g hotspot. I told them there was no message saying anything about me being charged extra. They basically said to bad we don't have to tell you when you will be charged for a new service when you click on a app that comes with your phone. I said ok I guess all I can do is switch carriers in 2 years when my contract runs out... **** YOU VERIZON

This is what everyone should do, buy a smart phone new from ebay for 100-150$, go to cricket and get it flashed. Then pay 45$ a month for unlimmitted talk text and internet. Sure there internet is not as fast but with the crazy prices other phone companies charge... I mean come on verizon 20$ a month for text? I do that free through a app....

I want to get a ipod of some sort, pay 30$ a month for UNLIMITED high speed internet, plug in a head set, use magic jack as a phone through the internet for 5$ a year and a online free texting service such as text' em.

If they don't start reducing there prices very very soon a netflix equivalent of cell phones is going to rise up.

 

[gwailo247]

"What are you going to do, switch over to T-mobile? Ha ha ha ha ha." - Verizon customer service.

 

[Guest]

Pay $80 for 10 Gb to surf the web on a 3 inch screen while driving. No wonder half the people are flunking out of high school.

 

[Guest]

When this happens, Verizon will lose about 85% of its customers and will be forced to restore the unlimited data plans immediately to avoid total shutdown lol.

 

[yRaz]

lawfer said:
I thought AT&T was evil, but this just ridiculous....

I know, I get 200mb for $15/m. 75 is BS. All I do on my phone is surf and I do a lot of it. I end up using about 120mb a month with an hour a day of 3g usage on my phone. that 75mb plan is just cruel. It's like paying $5/m for 50 text messages. I think I may move to sprint... I also think it's funny that a few months back I had over 3000 texts in a month and got a letter from ATT saying that I was "abusing their unlimited text service." I bet I used less than 1/10th of a MB over all over those and I'm abusing a service I'm paying $30/ month for... Right... When ever my contract is up I may move to sprint.

 

[Guest]

Well, I'm for one getting sick of these tiered plans. Their network is not bogged down. What's the point of having 4g if you can't use it? I have a playlist on my phone from youtube that I listen to while working(I know I can do better with tinyshark etc) and last month I used 9GB of data. It's nice that this doesn't affect me, but it's still crap. Will this change if I upgrade to 4g when my contract is running out?

I was hoping for FIOS at some point in the future due to the upload being so high. I found out several months ago that Charter has a data cap (even on their most expensive plan) for the 20mb/s, I'm limited to 250GB/month. I quintupled that one month and Charter started blowing up my phone, which sucks because now I have to track my usage. FIOS as of now has no bandwith cap I've heard. Blah, starting to dislike Verizon and I left Sprint because of other crap.

 

[matrix86]

Sprint, here I come. ATT is taking over T-Mobile (come on, we all know it's going to happen, lol), Verizon is screwing customers...Sprint seems the best choice for me (might be moving to a new area where the smaller carriers don't have much ground).

 

[p51d007]

Ok, so Verizon takes away unlimited data.......fine go to at&t...oh wait...fine, go to Sprint, whoops...no coverage unless in a city or major highway...fine, go to t-mobile, oh wait, they will get gobbled up by at&t soon.
All the money we spent busting up at&t in the early 80's didn't do any good. Now we are left with pretty much TWO carriers. And of course we all no there will be no back room deals to unfairly set prices (wink wink nod nod)

 

[Guest]

This is how companies work, they try to make the most amount of money while providing the least amout of services. If they are starting something new, they use the drug model, give you a few hits for free and then rake you over the coals.