Verizon says unlimited data plans are on the way out!

[Tidbits]

Would you like me to make videos on how well YouTube works on my phone? I mean come one really? Have you ever thought if someone isn't have a problem in your area and you are... it could be your phone and not the network? Then that would be a manufacturer problem and people love to blame the carriers for that...

[babyblue1962]

I work for a local retail store & just heard about this the other day. Quite frankly I am outraged by this and am also seriously considering changing my carrier. I have been with Verizon for many years & have a plan which has unlimited data, which is the contract that I signed. We also have 3 phones on our plan and the other two are simple phones as well. I too am the only data user. I cannot upgrade until next Feb. and from what they are telling me I will have to CHANGE the plan that I signed up for just because I want to upgrade to a newer phone. I have even looked at buying a phone outright as this would STILL be cheaper than the limited data. I use my navigation and it wouldn't take long to use up data on an 8 hr trip. All I can say is they better be looking at loyalty from their long time customers because I'm hearing a LOT of this where I work. What is this worth?

[Tidbits]

babyblue1962 wrote:

I work for a local retail store & just heard about this the other day. Quite frankly I am outraged by this and am also seriously considering changing my carrier. I have been with Verizon for many years & have a plan which has unlimited data, which is the contract that I signed. We also have 3 phones on our plan and the other two are simple phones as well. I too am the only data user. I cannot upgrade until next Feb. and from what they are telling me I will have to CHANGE the plan that I signed up for just because I want to upgrade to a newer phone. I have even looked at buying a phone outright as this would STILL be cheaper than the limited data. I use my navigation and it wouldn't take long to use up data on an 8 hr trip. All I can say is they better be looking at loyalty from their long time customers because I'm hearing a LOT of this where I work. What is this worth?

When you sign a new contract it's a new ball game.  New terms and everything...  If you don't like the terms that what you should do.  Change carriers...  all the crying isn't going to change this...  This is HOW it is supposed to be done...

[babyblue1962]

Obviously you work for them...It hasn't been a new ballgame for MANY years...somethings I still have the same...it's not a matter of "crying" as you put it..it's what I signed up for. I went many years with the same contract & was told I would be grandfathered in on those contracts. Then when I got my smartphone it was with the understanding that it would remain at that. I don't want to change my plan...just my phone & that is as it should be. Maybe you don't mind shelling money out..I on the other hand choose to save where I can...I don't feel I should be forced to change the plan that I agreed to. Like I said..don't want to change the plan, just the phone

[Tidbits]

babyblue1962 wrote:

Obviously you work for them...It hasn't been a new ballgame for MANY years...somethings I still have the same...it's not a matter of "crying" as you put it..it's what I signed up for. I went many years with the same contract & was told I would be grandfathered in on those contracts. Then when I got my smartphone it was with the understanding that it would remain at that. I don't want to change my plan...just my phone & that is as it should be. Maybe you don't mind shelling money out..I on the other hand choose to save where I can...I don't feel I should be forced to change the plan that I agreed to. Like I said..don't want to change the plan, just the phone

It always was a new ball game.  They CHOSE to allow you to keep what you have.  They could have changed it at any time as there is NOTHING to stop them from changing it, and there is nothing from you leaving.  They chose to allow you to keep the plan so they could keep you.  They are now moving in another direction and believe more people will come than people will leave.  So they are changing it.

Also I do not work for Verizon.  Just because someone says something honestly COMPLETELY rational and something you don't like to hear... Well...  It doesn't mean that person works for said company...

You are NOT being forced for anything... Once that contract is up YOU are free to do as you please.  You can agree to the new terms or move elsewhere...  I think the sports industry would love their players to have your train of thought...  They'd be getting paid less than they are right now...  Verizon isn't holding a gun to your head to accept their new terms.

[JimDandy]

I must say blaming any phone problems on the manufacturers is crazy since

Verizon changes the ways your phone works before putting their names on them

( and raises their prices) . The biggest problem I have had with my phone is

BECAUSE verizon changed it. The manufacture will not even cover their phones

under warranty if their Verizon phones because of that and thats why you

have to buy your phones from Verizon at a marked up price. So you can not

blame phone manufacturers at all.

[Tidbits]

Really?  Verizon doesn't manufacturer these devices.  People like you is what gives carriers buying power and control on the bloatware.  Like with ANY carrier they have an agreement with the manufacturer to send out refurbished units form the manufacturer.  It's much cheaper to have this done this way for the consumer, and manufacturer.  Apple doesn't have this deal per say.  They do allow carriers to send out refurbished units, but prefer people to walk into an Apple Store and replace it there to get the "experience" of Apple.

[21stNow]

Change has to come at some point in time.  Let's start off with saying that I don't care for the Share Everything plans.  However, I do realize that there is no way that things can't stay the same over long periods of time.  I was with VZW for phone service back in 2004.  Mobile Web w/100 alerts was $6.95/month.  I can't remember exactly what the 100 alerts were, but I think that it was emails that came through as text messages.  There is no way that the phones of today could use these plans.  Would I want those plans to stay the same and not have access to the technological advances that we have seen in phones today?  Absolutely not.

[JimDandy]

Maybe not but the changes they made will cost me more in the long run and still pay $30.00 for the upgrades even when getting a " free " phone all so Verizon can let people pay more to add more devices to their plan, right. Its the saying take it or leave strategy that can hurt them. I can get a better plan through Sprint right not that will INCLUDE using my phone as a hotspot for cheaper then Verizons new plan and can add up to five wifi spots . I have no need to add my tablet or either of my laptops to any data plan since everywhere I have gone to in the last four or five years has free wifi around. How many people really needs a data plan for a device when its out there for free. Every McDonalds has free wifi. I have plans to change in August and the only phone that will still be on my plan will close early. After running the numbers between what I will save on my plan, phones and smart phones I will get new I will save over $3,000.00 in the two years I will sign up for, now thats alot of money.

GOD loves YOU and there is NOTHING you can do about it!

[curtterp]

I find that some of the people posting here are very funny, all because they are passionate about the unlimited plans that they now have. (which I am one, I have 2 smart phones and 2 dumb phones on my account, both smart phones have unlimited data), and that will be taken away (which I also do not like)

But apply a little logic to it.

Leaving for another carrier because Verizon is doing away with unlimited plans. - we need to compare unlimited to unlimited carriers here for, otherwise its a failed argument. Right now, only two other carriers have 'unlimited'  plans, Sprint and T Mobile.

• T Mobile doesn't have TRUE unlimited plans because they throttle after using X amount of data. SO if you hit that moving target in less than 3 weeks, you will have slow crappy data service for the remainder of the month. True you do not get charged more for going over X amount of data, but the slow speeds will make you pull your hair out.
• Sprint has true unlimited data (FOR NOW), but the coverage for 4g sucks. Customer service is also is terrible. So you want to get into that to make a point to Verizon? Your choice here.

Verizon is doing this to make more money -  Of course Verizon is looking for increased revenue, that is what being in business is about. Business is about supply and demand. Right now, the demand is for more data by the customers, so Verizon is looking to increase revenues by eliminating the unlimited plan. What doesn't cost more money in the past 1 year, the past 5 years, or the past 10 years? It is rare that a product or an industry has not raised prices in any time frame. Computers are about the only industry where you get more bang for your buck in any past time frame.

Verizon has now put numbers on the new shared plan. Now is the time to actually do a little research to see EXACTLY how each of you are affected should you get put on the new Shared Plans.

• Get your bill out. Break down your phone bill by line.You can throw out all the regulatory fees because they cancel out on each plan. See what each line costs you, both in access fees and data packages.
• While in My Verizon, check out the past history of your data consumption per line. You can see how much data each line uses in a month, you can either average it out, or take the highest values from the past 3-4 months per line. I personally checked out the peaks of the past 6 months on my lines. Add them up and now you have an actual usage value.
• Go to the pricing page, and find the data plan that you would fit in. Put that cost in a future cost column. Check out the costs per phone type., and put them in the same future cost column. Add them all up and you will get the cost of the Shared Plan
• Compare the future costs to what you are paying now. This will tell you if you would be paying more/less/about the same.

Looking into this myself, I found that with 4 lines, 2 smart phones with unlimited data, 2 feature/dumb phones with no data, using  less than 4 gigs/month total, that I will paying about $30 more (depending on how the employee discount would be applied, if at all) I did estimate that if the employee discount would apply to the data plan and the main line phone, that I would be paying about $15-20 more than what I pay now. If I didn't have the last 2 lines for the adult kids, I would be paying about $20 less per month on a shared plan.  My data plan for my main line has the corporate kicker data plan cost.

My biggest gripe is the $30/month access charge for the feature phones. Why is that cost so much higher than a netbook or tablet? the dumb phones do NOT STRESS the pipeline at all, so why the much higher cost? Its a mystery to me.

I am not a Verizon employee or a Verizon fanboy. I do like their service, even with all the failures at times of the network connection on 4g. My data connection has stabilized somewhat since the latest update to my Galaxy Nexus. I do not have reliable 4g connection in my house, but I live in a 4g extended area, which means the towers near me do not have 4g, but I do have towers close enough to get 4g once in a while at home.

I do respect all of your opinions, but if you apply some logic, you might find that you may get out with a lower cost bill. Of course, some people will get a much higher cost, and I feel sorry for you.