Verizon Clarifies Discontinuation of Grandfathered Unlimited Data: Applies to New Subsidized Devices

[rgravell]

Originally Posted by MattMJB0188

And in the end VERIZON customers loose!!! AT&T was the better choice from day one. Laughing at all of those who had unlimited data plans with AT&T and left for the Verizon iPhone. Hahahahaahha

not really...those that dont use high amounts of data will get a better deal with the subsidized phone by not having to pay for high data users. while those with high data usage (like myself) get a better deal by keeping our unlimited data and buying the phone outright and having unlimited lte data. id say that trumps at&t all around.

[kevinbomb123]

Originally Posted by Fainer

So all of this makes me really want to consider Sprint. Do they suck as bad as so many people seem to say they do?

No, at launch i was geting 0.5-0.8 for about a month. Now i've been getting 1.5-2.5 since,fast enough for skip free high quality audio pandora and lag free web browsing.

[Vizin]

.

[cvaldes]

Originally Posted by barkomatic

Since AT&T already throttles its unlimited users after they reach 3GB (5GB on LTE I understand) I feel like it hardly matters anyway. Metering data will just discourage use. Ultimately, I think this will hurt Apple and other handset manufacturers since metered data pretty much kills many of the advantages of cloud services. Sure, save space on your device by storing your movie in the cloud, but then pay $10 in overages to stream it back. Apple better roll out 256GB iPhones and iPads soon.

Other bandwidth hungry iCloud functions are WiFi only (iCloud Backup, Photo Stream). iCloud syncing of Documents and Data over cellular data can be turned off. Same with Automatic Downloads from the iTunes/App Store. You can toggle music, apps, and books individually and you can turn restrict it to WiFi only.

[rgravell]

Originally Posted by doctorossi

I don't understand the contention that buying at the unsubsidized rate is a workable solution here. If you buy the phone unsubsidized, you still have to pay the same plan rates that pay the carrier back (and then some) for the subsidy, so... a ~$500 premium just to keep your unlimited plan? How does that constitute the best deal for even the top data users?

Is there something wrong with my math?

i worked it out yesterday. with the way i eat data, i actually save $180 over two years if i buy my phone outright. a lot of people thats not the case. but if you use 5gb+ a month, its worth running through the math.

[baesterling]

Originally Posted by Vizin

A full retail iPhone is $450 more than a subsidized one. Verizon now charges a $30 "upgrade fee" for subsidized phones, so let's call the difference $420. (ignoring taxes since they vary)

420/24=17.5, so keeping your unlimited data plan will cost you an extra $17.50 a month over 24 months, assuming you choose buy a subsidized phone as soon as you're eligible. Effectively you'd be paying $47.50 a month for data. For $50 a month, you could get 10 gigs of data. Unless you use an enormous amount of data, there's no way that's worth it.

I signed up for Verizon shortly after they announced they'd be getting rid of unlimited data, so I asked if I'd be able to keep it when I bought a new phone. They told me I'd be grandfathered in as long as my Verizon account was active. They either lied to my face or decided to break their word. Corporations can't be trusted at all.

This was my situation exactly (I signed up shortly before they announced it) and they also told me that as long as my Verizon account was active, I could upgrade and keep the unlimited data. I believe they decided to break their word.

[SuperBrown]

Clarification to Verizon: I'm still moving to Sprint when my contract is up.

Dicks.

[Vizin]

.

[JasonR]

Saw this coming a long time ago. AT&T will follow suit. Sprint...on the other hand...not sure as their coverage and speeds are lacking.

The day will come where we will have data caps on our home connections too.

So now I think it might be time to switch my Verizon Unlimited Data to an ipad, switch my phone over to 2 GB of data, and use unlimited 4G/LTE indefinitely.

Damn wireless carriers!

[BtradI1]

Shopping for Android 4G devices now.
This is a hard one. Buy a used Razr/ (insert anything 4G here) off Craigslist or trade for my Dad's LG Revolution temporarily? They didn't say anything about transferring up 3G to 4G from my 4S to the new LTE iPhone sooooo. Time to nag my father? Better safe than sorry...

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by iforget

Is AT&T the next to fall? This is terrible, terrible news. Pretty soon we'll be paying for the megabyte again. Thanks, 1999 Verizon!

And the sooner the better! I'm sure it's grand for you to be living off of other peoples money, but I prefer to get what I deserve instead of leach off others.

[Vizin]

.

[unlimitedx]

Originally Posted by Vizin

Why would the resale value be higher if you bought it unsubsidized?

If you buy it for $300 and sell it two years later for $150, that's a net loss of $150 (ignoring taxes and inflation). If you buy it for $750 and sell it two years later for $150, that's a net loss $600. Either way, buying it unsubsidized costs you an extra $450.

You were talking about the cost of keeping unlimited. Your calculation is adding on the $450 extra for buying the phone at full price ($700). 1-2 years later, the iPhone is still worth $300-$500 in the market. I'm using my own experience of selling my family's iPhone 4 for $400 which we bought at the subsidized price of $199+tax with at&t in 2010.

All I'm saying is that you can sell the phone 1-2 years later so the true cost of keeping unlimited isn't $450, but rather $450 minus the cost you sell the phone later.

[Vizin]

.

[pullfocus]

I'm not a Verizon customer, but this annoys the hell out of me. How is it every westernized, first world nation doesn't have this bs with bandwidth, and we seem to be way behind in speed and capapcity.

No wonder this country is going to ******.

[iJon]

Originally Posted by pullfocus

I'm not a Verizon customer, but this annoys the hell out of me. How is it every westernized, first world nation doesn't have this bs with bandwidth, and we seem to be way behind in speed and capapcity.

No wonder this country is going to ******.

Maybe cause we are so spread out as a nation?

[unlimitedx]

Originally Posted by Vizin

Still, what's the difference? If you buy the phone unsubsidized for $750 and sell it for $500, you lose $250. If you buy for $300 and sell for $500, you gain $200. The difference is still $450.

You said:

"420/24=17.5, so keeping your unlimited data plan will cost you an extra $17.50 a month over 24 months, assuming you choose buy a subsidized phone as soon as you're eligible. Effectively you'd be paying $47.50 a month for data."

Your assumption was you're buying the iPhone at full price ($700), and the extra amount you pay to keep the unlimited is $420. Assume you can resell the iPhone for $400 2 years later. So your actual out of pocket cost for buying the iPhone is $700-$400 = $300 rather than $420. So divide $300/24 = $12.5 to get the true cost of keeping unlimited on top of $30/month = $42.5. get it?

[MortalDays]

Originally Posted by ajroller

So does this mean a person with an iphone and an unlimited 3g plan will be able to buy a new iphone at full retail price and use it on the 4g network with the same plan?

I would like to know this as well!

[StuddedLeather]

Lol! Verizon Clarifies "Yesterday we jumped the gun by saying we're taking your unlimited data away. That's partially true, we're taking it away WHEN you upgrade your phone. Unless of course you want to buy the iPhone, excuse us, a phone at $800, then you can keep your unlimited data. You will thank us later xoxo Verizon".

That's all I got from this "clarification" I hope (even though I'm sure) AT&T WON'T do this. Be the better man (company?) AT&T don't take away our grandfathered data plans! It's only a few of us.

[pullfocus]

Originally Posted by iJon

Maybe cause we are so spread out as a nation?

Regardless, the one thing we should be doing for the future is investing our infrastructure. Not only IT, but roads, waste systems, etc. We are so behind on many of those things, and it's only getting worse.

[BtradI1]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Saw this coming a long time ago. AT&T will follow suit. Sprint...on the other hand...not sure as their coverage and speeds are lacking.

The day will come where we will have data caps on our home connections too.

So now I think it might be time to switch my Verizon Unlimited Data to an ipad, switch my phone over to 2 GB of data, and use unlimited 4G/LTE indefinitely.

Damn wireless carriers!

Just remember that the unlimited data is attached to your phone number and you'll have to get a new number for your phone, as the iPad will now have your old phone number in it. You can forward calls but not sure about texts. And you'll need a friend with a 4G phone and a new LTE SIM (which you can order by phone for free) because the Verizon reps will fight you to the death saying you can't use the unlimited in the iPad.

[Vizin]

.

[Pared]

Originally Posted by ajroller

So does this mean a person with an iphone and an unlimited 3g plan will be able to buy a new iphone at full retail price and use it on the 4g network with the same plan?

All signs point to no. It really depends how the device communicates with the network and whether or not Verizon audits data based on how it was accessed.

Think about how this was handled with Edge and 3G: AT&T ultimately forced you on the 3G plan if you were found to be using that device.

[mdntcallr]

This is still Verizon screwing over their customers.

Cut it any way you want... they are raising prices.

[MortalDays]

So here is the price breakdown for the 2 possible options:

1) Buy the new iPhone (16gb) @ subsidized price losing unlimited data:

iPhone Price (16gb) = $200
Sell iPhone 2 years later = $250
---------------------------------
Total = -$50 (meaning $50 profit)

2) Buy the new iPhone (16gb) @ un-subsidized price keeping unlimited data:

iPhone Outright Price (16gb) = $700
iPhone Subsidized Price (16gb) = -$200
Sell iPhone 2 years later = $250
---------------------------------
Total = $250
(meaning $10.41 extra/ month to keep unlimited data and not to mention losing $50 profit)

Accounting losing the $50 profit, you are paying $12.5 extra for keeping unlimited data plan.

**Assuming you would be able to get Unlimited 4G data from Unlimited 3G data plan.