Verizon Moving Closer to Shared Data Plans?

[Airforcekid]

If I can keep my grandfathered att unlimited data ill buy an iPad 3 for sure and even pay an extra $10 a month. If I have limits ill stick to wifi.

[Consultant]

Jailbreak and tether. Just don't abuse it and you won't get caught.

[tasset]

Originally Posted by littyboy

Those who are thinking they are going to charge the extra $9.99/per line to use the shared data are completely wrong.

The $9.99 you pay is for the additional line/number that you are holding. So now that you already have the additional lines, your data is shared without fees.

It's just as if you added family texting into your plan. You are not charged additionally per line to use it since its one charge only.

So don't think you'll get charged extra for additional phones to use the data you already "paid" for.

However, don't assume that the price will be the same for a 2GB data on a single line vs a 2GB on a shared line.

We shall see. I suspect this is also to turn iPad buyers into data consumers. And they aren't going to let you add those to your shared data plan without paying SOMETHING. If you have an additional line phone it will be $9.99 voice/text + $9.99 data, and for adding a tablet it will be $9.99 for data. Just watch.

[Sedulous]

... or why not just allow simple tethering without absurd double charging and/or requiring the MOST expensive plan?

[tasset]

And one more thing: there is no way AT&T or Verizon are going to let you get a subsidized device like an iPhone and not pay something extra for that line's data! If you're only paying $9.99 for the voice line that's $240 for 2 years, not even enough to cover the subsidy.

[redscull]

I'd pay for family data at $10 per 1 GB and $10 per subsized device which accesses that shared data, as long as the minimum was no more than 2 or 3 GB.

Unsubsidized devices, like 3G iPads, should not have to pay $10 to access that data, though. That's ridiculous. There is the cost of the data ($10 per 1 GB), and then there's the per-line fee ($10) which exists purely to offset the subsidy. That fee simply doesn't apply in any logical way to other devices.

Without "unlimited" data, tethering should be free, and tablets should access that shared data without a fee. Now, if there is a concern that Joe would then just share his data plan with 50 tablet-owning friends who almost always use wifi but might occassionally need 3G (and thus 2-3GB remains adequate), maybe charge $5 for non-subsized device access. But $10 is just too much for these. And really, that data still gets paid for, so it just shouldn't matter.

[chrmjenkins]

As long as it's cheaper. They have no incentive to do that on its own, though. However, this is a great way to get people to buy tablets to share data with, which I'm guessing is their motivation. It may also get people in that are fine with the device purchase price, but not ok with an extra $30 a month data (parents with teenagers potentially).

[voonyx]

Originally Posted by daxomni

Is this not true everywhere? Why does Europe continue to pay less than America? Why hasn't "the market" corrected the situation as consumers clamor for more choices at lower rates? Instead the American market just keeps making things worse by lowering data allotments and raising fees as the phones they offer and the apps they run continue to use more and more bandwidth.

Well i don't know why europe is cheaper. Maybe it's a cost of living thing? I have no clue. Are europeans happy with their plans or do they complain too?

I believe these plans are overpriced as well, but the company is just looking for money. That's capitalism and that's what it's always been. The customers feelings are irrelevant. You can only vote with your wallet but if no one is willing to do that there's no reason for a company to help them out

[840quadra]

I am still amazed that companies have not done this yet. The technology exists to account for the usage, it is just some useless firewall between accounting and the tech department preventing this.

Shame on whoever is last to market with this, as IMO it is years too late.

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by mcfrazieriv

These companies post record profits every single year. Why not lower the data rates????

Ironic that this is posted on an Apple website, no?

[Xgm541]

Now if only I could share my unlimited data plan with my whole family...

[segfaultdotorg]

Other than greed, there is no reason for separate versions of the iPhone and iPad to exist for each carrier.

I had been switching between AT&T's 200 MB plan and the 2 GB plan, depending on how much data I used that particular month. I currently have the 200 MB plan, and the next time I need additional data, I will have to go to the more expensive 3 GB plan, and then I assume I won't be able to go back to the 200 MB plan, and will have to pay $5 extra per month for the 300 MB plan. Bunch of greedy jerks.

Also, I don't think slower 2G data usage should count against your data allowance.

[cfedu]

Originally Posted by wordoflife

I completely agree with you, but not sure how I'd feel on a 3 year term.

I think I've given up on US carriers though. Not really expecting anything out of this. They'll probably end up screwing us one way or another through this plan.

3 years contract is not that bad with some of the newer terms of service. 450$ or 490$ subsidy divided by 36 months. After 1.5 years you owe 213$ plus the upfront cost is 160$ or $100 on sale. After 24 months it would cost as little as $80 to cancel. After 24 months savining $20 a month on your plan would give you $480 savings on the plan.

Il take that 480$ over an $80 cancelation any day.

3 year contracts suck but AT&T sucks 10 times more

[j3yq]

I'm curious to see where this goes, I would totally get an iPad 3G if it happens.... But otherwise it's my iPhone with MyWi til then.

[WatchTheThrone]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Jailbreak+Tethering app=problem solved....well only for a phone or tablet nearby!!
I think whoever does the data sharing first and does it right with a good price then it will motivate people to sign up!!

[Xenomorph]

I'm in.

If AT&T lets me get a data plan for myself (such as 3GB or 5GB) then lets me add my daughter for $10, and my wife for $10, then I guess I'll be finally dropping my "Unlimited".

I'll be paying $50-$70 a month for data instead of the $90-$110 I'd pay now if we all had our own data plans.

[ECUpirate44]

But doesn't a plan like this make perfect sense for a family with 4 smartphones?

[Tilpots]

Originally Posted by ECUpirate44

But doesn't a plan like this make perfect sense for a family with 4 smartphones?

Yes it does.

It also makes sense for couples who don't use that much data outside of their home and office. Seriously, 2GB is a ****ton for most people, splitting it for a family is the most logical thing to do. The data plans are what scares people away from smartphones anyway. If you're VZ or AT&T, $9.99 is a whole lot more than $0.

[AustinIllini]

Originally Posted by Xgm541

Now if only I could share my unlimited data plan with my whole family...

Sounds like Throttle city.

[seeharrison]

Originally Posted by littyboy

Those who are thinking they are going to charge the extra $9.99/per line to use the shared data are completely wrong.

The $9.99 you pay is for the additional line/number that you are holding. So now that you already have the additional lines, your data is shared without fees.

It's just as if you added family texting into your plan. You are not charged additionally per line to use it since its one charge only.

So don't think you'll get charged extra for additional phones to use the data you already "paid" for.

However, don't assume that the price will be the same for a 2GB data on a single line vs a 2GB on a shared line.

I think you've got it right on this one. I don't think there will be an additional per line charge for the data. It will be similar to the family text plan.

[tasset]

Originally Posted by seeharrison

I think you've got it right on this one. I don't think there will be an additional per line charge for the data. It will be similar to the family text plan.

So let me see if my math is straight:
Verizon buys a $600 iPhone from Apple. They in turn sell it to customer for $200, needing to recoup $400+ over 2 years let alone the cost of providing service. This line in question is being repaid at $9.99 for voice service and nothing additional for data, totaling $240 over the term. Sound like something Verizon or AT&T would do?

[Spectrum Abuser]

Isn't this basically tethering with no distance limits? For me I tether my phone to my WiFi tablet so that way instead of paying for two data plans I just use the one unlimited plan for both devices.

[rmhop81]

Originally Posted by tasset

So let me see if my math is straight:
Verizon buys a $600 iPhone from Apple. They in turn sell it to customer for $200, needing to recoup $400+ over 2 years let alone the cost of providing service. This line in question is being repaid at $9.99 for voice service and nothing additional for data, totaling $240 over the term. Sound like something Verizon or AT&T would do?

things are a little more expensive when you are on a family plan.

base plan for 1 user is $39.99
base plan for 2 users is $59.99. so you are paying an extra $10 plus another $9.99 for the extra line just to share a family plan.

base text for 1 user is $20
base plan for 2 users is $30(more value when you have 3 or more people)

judging by the trend here...they aren't going to just let u share a $30 3gb data plan and not pay an extra to make it a family data plan. It's probably an extra $10 fee making it $40 to share.

so you're $9.99 line is not just $9.99 on top of the main line. Everything has to be bumped up to a family share which is more money.

$10 to share voice extra
$10 to share text extra
$10 to share data extra
PLUS you're $9.99 add a line=$40/month
$40x24 months=$960, plus you already paid $199 for the cost of the phone

[tasset]

Originally Posted by rmhop81

things are a little more expensive when you are on a family plan.

base plan for 1 user is $39.99
base plan for 2 users is $59.99. so you are paying an extra $10 plus another $9.99 for the extra line just to share a family plan.

base text for 1 user is $20
base plan for 2 users is $30(more value when you have 3 or more people)

judging by the trend here...they aren't going to just let u share a $30 3gb data plan and not pay an extra to make it a family data plan. It's probably an extra $10 fee making it $40 to share.

so you're $9.99 line is not just $9.99 on top of the main line. Everything has to be bumped up to a family share which is more money.

$10 to share voice extra
$10 to share text extra
$10 to share data extra
PLUS you're $9.99 add a line=$40/month
$40x24 months=$960, plus you already paid $199 for the cost of the phone

Yes that I agree with. It's a way of charging higher rates for the same amount of data, and additional complexity for a family to calculate their bills. Shocking from a telco.

[diane143]

Originally Posted by Tilpots

Yes it does.

It also makes sense for couples who don't use that much data outside of their home and office. Seriously, 2GB is a ****ton for most people, splitting it for a family is the most logical thing to do. The data plans are what scares people away from smartphones anyway. If you're VZ or AT&T, $9.99 is a whole lot more than $0.

I got my Verizon phone in early November. I have the 2gb plan and have yet to come close to using even a 1gb and I use the phone a lot. BUT no radio streaming, no tv, no movies. My house and 3 of my clients have wifi so I stay on that when I can.

I would so love to be able to buy 2gb and use it till it's gone and then buy another block. Especially as I'm looking at an iPad this year. I won't need data on it all the time but when I do the extra $30/mo is going to stink.

Diane