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July 7th VZW goes tiered data! Currented 4G LTE unlimited customers grandfathered in!

ap3604 said:
I think Verizon probably just has side investments in companies that produce:
1) Vasoline
2) Headache pills
3) Slimmer wallets
;)
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OK, number (2) and (3) -- I can see that.

But I'm still pondering the expansion interests of Verizon's business plans into Vaseline distribution. :D
 
barkingDog said:
OK, number (2) and (3) -- I can see that.

But I'm still pondering the expansion interests of Verizon's business plans into Vaseline distribution. :D
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Well... after july 7th alot more people will have to purchase vasoline before getting in bed with Verizon since "it" will prolly hurt like hell without some lubrication ;)
 
ap3604 said:
Well... after july 7th alot more people will have to purchase vasoline before getting in bed with Verizon since "it" will prolly hurt like hell without some lubrication ;)
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Ah ha -- well put, my friend.

So after thinking about these 3 "extracurricular" ventures on Verizon's part, would it not be prudent to diversify my portfolio to include a substantial portion of VZ?

OK, I think I'm taking this thread way OT.
 
only one answer I'm looking for

and other people seem to be wondering as well:

if you are currently on a unlimited 3G plan, come July 7, if you buy a 4G phone, will your unlimited data plan carry over or will it be considered a different data plan because it includes 4G data.

if 4G phones are on a different plan than 3G phones and then if you are not on a 4G unlimited plan (and have a 4G phone) prior to July 7, then you can ONLY get a tiered plan. if this is the case, I will have to consider a Samsung Charge.

if 4G phones are on the SAME plan as 3G phones, and you are on an unlimited 3G data plan, then you can purchase a 4G phone and keep your unlimited data plan. if this is the case, then that's great, I can just wait and upgrade to the next iphone come 2012.


just one thought about the speculated new data plans - even though you may not use 2GB of data RIGHT NOW on 3G speeds, it is very likely that you will break that 2GB barrier when/if you use a 4G LTE phone. For that reason, it's not really a fair comparison to say that currently you only use XX MB of data, so the 2GB plan will be sufficient for you later.
 
I am pretty sure I want to get the next iPhone when it comes out, and I had been planning on getting it with my current carrier, Verizon.

But I am thinking of jumping ship to ATT, yet I don't know if their service is better now. Other than service quality, the mobile to mobile, lower data prices, rollover, GSM (surf and talk) all sound good. Since I don't know how much data I would use with a smart phone, I like the idea of being able to possibly pay for the $15 plan if it turns out I don't use a lot, whereas it seems like Verizon is going in the opposite direction of ATT with a base rate of $30.

Right now I am on my parents' family plan with Verizon and our family up until now has only had feature phones. If I want a smartphone, they'll continue paying the base rate and I'll pay for the phone and the data. I am eligible for an upgrade now (actually have been for a long time). I am thinking if I stick with Verizon, I wonder if I could add a data plan to my current feature phone (which I realize would be a waste of money for a few months), and then transfer it to the new iPhone when it comes out. Probably not a smart idea, but again, I don't know how much data I would use on a smart phone, and if I end up using more than 2 GB frequently, it could be worthwhile to get grandfathered into the unlimited plan (again, if that's even possible when switching devices).

I could also get the new iPhone from ATT as I am out of the 2 year contract right now with Verizon (we're paying month to month on my line), but then I would have to pay my own way (my family will only pay the base rate on Verizon, not ATT). I wish my family had considered jumping ship to ATT, but my sister just impulsively bought an iPhone from Verizon and re-upped the contract for another two years for the family plan (although, as I understand, I individually since I haven't upgraded my phone can still get out with no penalty).

It seems like switching to ATT is such a huge gamble. It could save money and be a good decision, but say I had gotten my whole family to switch, we wouldn't have known how our four new phones and brand new 2 year contract would work out until we actually left the store and used them. I've experienced that thing where you get perfect reception in store and no reception a mile away from it (back when I had service from Suncom). Verizon is at least a known entity. Where I live ATT has been known to be spotty, but I don't know if they've improved.

So confusing . . . what would you do?
 
swingerofbirch said:
So confusing . . . what would you do?
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I would stay with Verizon. Opinions vary on this, but I'll tell you mine: I had AT&T for 3 years (I came over from Sprint, which was actually pretty decent) and the reception & dropped calls were sub-standard. Clearly this will depend on where you live, work and travel, but my experience was a poor one.

I moved from an iPhone 4 with AT&T, to the same device (iPhone 4) on Verizon, and the difference is like night and day. It really surprised me as I thought that perhaps my poor experience was due to the phone itself. I travel for both work and play, so I've had a chance to try out the iPhone 4 on both services, in quite a few different states.

Again, a lot of this depends on where you spend your time etc, but I found that the stereotype for both AT&T and Verizon generally rang true, AT&T usually had significantly faster data speeds, where as Verizon had noticeably better signal/reception, fewer dropped calls and a more extensive area in which I could get (albeit slower) 3G data service.

Experiences and opinions will vary about this sort of thing, but those were mine and I hope it is helpful.
 
kleinias said:
I would stay with Verizon. Opinions vary on this, but I'll tell you mine: I had AT&T for 3 years (I came over from Sprint, which was actually pretty decent) and the reception & dropped calls were sub-standard. Clearly this will depend on where you live, work and travel, but my experience was a poor one.

I moved from an iPhone 4 with AT&T, to the same device (iPhone 4) on Verizon, and the difference is like night and day. It really surprised me as I thought that perhaps my poor experience was due to the phone itself. I travel for both work and play, so I've had a chance to try out the iPhone 4 on both services, in quite a few different states.

Again, a lot of this depends on where you spend your time etc, but I found that the stereotype for both AT&T and Verizon generally rang true, AT&T usually had significantly faster data speeds, where as Verizon had noticeably better signal/reception, fewer dropped calls and a more extensive area in which I could get (albeit slower) 3G data service.

Experiences and opinions will vary about this sort of thing, but those were mine and I hope it is helpful.
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Thank you, both for the advice, and presumably having read what I now see was a monstrously long post on my part. It does help to have opinions like that and reminded of why Verizon does have its staying power and lure. My family certainly thinks the world of Verizon, so maybe it is better to stick with something reliable, if only they weren't sticking it to their customers!
 
ItouchMe said:
http://iosdroid.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/impending-doom-noo-just-tiered-data/
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Thanks for the link, especially regarding "*Note 1" --

*Note 1 – We have also been told that this is for both 3G and 4G smartphones and that there are not separate plans depending on device. So if you are under contract currently, you should be fine and don’t need to run out and buy a 4G phone just to lock in as we’ve seen other sites seem to want to suggest.
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Save for this being anecdotal Internet content, it's probably as good of info as we can expect to garner ATM.
 
This is beyond idiotic. Technology gets cheaper, so why are they taking the plans away? Are they taking them away because of the top 1% of people who use 10 GB of data a month? They can't manage that anymore? What are they doing with the +5 billion they get EVERY SINGLE MONTH? Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm really curious as to why we're moving to a world where in the somewhat near future we'll have to pay for every single megabyte we use. And every single day, we all use more and more.
 
1) Voice service used to pay for the infrastructure. That's no longer the case.
2) Every day more and more data hungry smartphones are added to the network. Bandwidth requirements are much higher than they were just a year ago.
3) Because they are a profit driven corporation with stockholders that expect them to make money.

I don't like it either, but to ignore the facts and just complain about it makes no sense and will just piss you off further. You have to look at it with some objectivity.
 
I understand that, I've thought about this many times (I have no cable at home, but have 4G connectivity since I am by headquarters, but am limited to what I can use due to data caps, anyway that is about my USB thing anyway). But I just feel that if they are receiving 5 billion dollars, probably more, every single month, that's 60 billion a year. It's unbelievable that they "use" all of that to build more infrastructure, but then what is the infrastructure being used for if they just limit everything you can use?
 
You can assume and guess all day long, but I'm fairly certain the infrastructure is being used quite thoroughly. Also, they have to pay for the rollout of LTE.
 
Okay, fine, last argument. Once 4G is rolled out and everything is running smoothly, I still don't think they have a reason to take away unlimited plans. Now, I'm not exactly sure if this makes sense, but here you go: If 4G is 10x faster than 3G, then their network should be MUCH MORE capable of handling huge data loads, similar to what they are faced with today, especially when 4G is all over the place. And that's just a couple years away. Unless we all start eating 10x the amount of data we use today, their network should be nearly invincible to handle all of that data, and still be able to keep within their meager budget of +5 billion.
 
Less competition = less prices my ass. One carrier starts choking the consumer and the other carrier follows. This, my friends, is almost cartel like.
 
omicron said:
Less competition = less prices my ass. One carrier starts choking the consumer and the other carrier follows. This, my friends, is almost cartel like.
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If you dont like it go to T-Mobile. AT&T will certainly jump on this opportunity to compete, just wait. We certainly don't need government setting prices. That would be a disaster and give them carte blanche to regulate the industry to death.
 
turtlebud said:
and other people seem to be wondering as well:

if you are currently on a unlimited 3G plan, come July 7, if you buy a 4G phone, will your unlimited data plan carry over or will it be considered a different data plan because it includes 4G data.
Click to expand...

I haven't asked anyone from Verizon this but I am pretty sure that you would have to move to tiered data in this scenario.

If you plan on getting a 4g phone now or anytime in the future, I would definitely get one before July 7 so you will be grandfathered into 4g for the future. I'm mulling over adding a line and getting one just for this reason alone. I definitely want to have unlimited 4g when the iPhone 4g LTE comes out in 2012.
 
The fact is that Verizon has better 3G coverage, better voice coverage, period. ATT may have faster speeds, but the coverage isn't as good as Verizon. That my friends is the reason why people jump ship from ATT to Verizon. You might save a few bucks in the lower data option on ATT, but in the end, is it worth it if the coverage isn't as good? I moved 3 lines from ATT to Verizon because of this. With ATT I liked the speed, the phone selection and dual voice and data connection.

I would like to be able to move to sprint, as this seems the only other option for me, but it's not really an option. What the hell good does it do if you are sacrificing service for price? So, I don't know what I am going to do. This whole tiered data is only good if the price for data and the amount of data are reasonable. And right now, according to what we are hearing, they are not favorable.

I don't consider myself to be a data consuming machine, I am in the 2-3 gig range per month. If what we are hearing holds true, my data portion of my cell bill will be $40 a month. That's more than I pay for voice service. Not acceptable. $35 a month for 3-4 gigs would be a sweet spot for me.

I hope Verizon has more options for tiered data up their sleeve when July 7th comes around. Where's this family share data we all keep hearing about?
 
the way to go is att for ipad data and verizon for iphone coverage. although att has gotten so much better lately I rarely have an issue with their phone coverage anymore, but I dont talk on phone much. tethering is useless on verizon 3g as well, you need att for any usable tethering speed. so its pretty much att ftw unless you have the ipad fwiw.

question: so if you currently have verizon 3g will you be able to upgrade to 4g unlimited after they change pricing plans? or will you be stuck with their archaic 3g if you want unlimited?

If the latter is the case its probably time to get unlimited 4g now while its still possible. Whats the best LTE 4g capable phone on verizon right now?
 
TheXFactor said:
<snip> my data portion of my cell bill will be $40 a month. That's more than I pay for voice service. Not acceptable.
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I agree with most of your post, but keep in mind that these devices are becoming more and more data-centric. Voice will eventually be rolled into the data. I believe that eventually we will no longer have a voice portion of our plan.

einmusiker said:
tethering is useless on verizon 3g as well, you need att for any usable tethering speed.
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And how did you come to this conclusion?
 
Article also says "At the same time though, they only gave you one more New Every 2 after it was cancelled, so let’s not get too invested into forever."
 
How is this an update? You're talking about changing devices, not plan features. AT&T does things this way as well.
 
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