Only if "most people" = "people not on VZW", as that report showed. VZW really ripped people off with the new tiered plans this year.
Tmobile has a family plan for $40, I believe. Would really love something like that on VZW.
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Shared Data Plans Likely Coming to Verizon in 2012
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Tmobile has a family plan for $40, I believe. Would really love something like that on VZW.
Until a carrier can beat:
$30/mo unlimited iPad data
$5/mo Skype service incl ph#
iTether free tethering
I'm sticking with what I've got.
...and lowly grumbling about AT&T's shoddy network coverage.
$30/mo unlimited iPad data
$5/mo Skype service incl ph#
iTether free tethering
I'm sticking with what I've got.
...and lowly grumbling about AT&T's shoddy network coverage.
Because they want to make money and have no incentive to charge you less. Just like Apple.
This is not a technical or accounting limitation. It is foot dragging on the part of carriers to preserve out sized revenue flows for as long as possible. What will happen is virtually all the carriers will shift to the same idea at about the same time. They all want to wait long as possible and shift all at once to prevent inter-carrier switching as a result of an obvious savings feature.
Same reason why we have not seen a 100% shift to IP network for all voice and text as well as data. Data is easier on the network by far, but voice is a reason to charge an entirely separate revenue stream for ALL accounts and represents the primary cash flow for both carriers and device discounters.
Once we have arrived, you will have to pay $600-800 for a phone/pad but only pay $30 a month for as much data and voice and text as you can choke on, and an additional $15 to support video streaming and tethering.
Just Rocketman
Same reason why we have not seen a 100% shift to IP network for all voice and text as well as data. Data is easier on the network by far, but voice is a reason to charge an entirely separate revenue stream for ALL accounts and represents the primary cash flow for both carriers and device discounters.
Once we have arrived, you will have to pay $600-800 for a phone/pad but only pay $30 a month for as much data and voice and text as you can choke on, and an additional $15 to support video streaming and tethering.
Just Rocketman
howbout att and verizon stop charging for tethering like euros? wtf, I pay for 2 gigs, why do they care what I do with it. That' like charging extra to be able to use speakerphone or a bluetooth headset for voice, it should be illegal!!!!!!
yeah right....they wont even allow iTethering.....same concept.
we wont see this happen because they are too greedy
we wont see this happen because they are too greedy
^^ This.
Personally, I'd be content with tiered caps that allow for multiple SIMs and tethering (e.g. you pay for 2/4/6/8 GB, but you do whatever you want with it).
OTOH even if it just worked out that AT&T's 4GB plan went from 4GB of tethered data to 4GB of tethered data and data on multiple SIMs for modems or tablets, I'd probably more seriously consider upgrading to the more expensive data plan.
I have to say about damn time they started offering this. It could be a great savings doing that.
for my family it could help out quite a bit at least with my dad, mom and sister all going under a shared plan. My brother and I abuse our unlimited data way to much to make it a good option with both us cracking 2gigs.
for my family it could help out quite a bit at least with my dad, mom and sister all going under a shared plan. My brother and I abuse our unlimited data way to much to make it a good option with both us cracking 2gigs.
The US seems to be behind Denmark (Europe) on all this smartphone-3G-Data stuff.
In Denmark every single carrier allows tethering. Several are offering multiple SIM cards on a single plan (at no extra cost). Around 5GB Data is included with most plans (even the cheap ones). 10GB only costs a little more. Almost all carriers offer data-unlimited plans. Several carriers are offering 4G now.
The monthly plan I'm on includes the following:
6 hours of talk
6 GB of data
Free/Unlimited SMS
Free/Unlimited MMS
Tethering
... and it's only 149 DDK. That's around $27.00
(11 hours of talk + 11 GB of data is around $32.50)
I pay on a monthly basis - and I can quit at any time.
In Denmark every single carrier allows tethering. Several are offering multiple SIM cards on a single plan (at no extra cost). Around 5GB Data is included with most plans (even the cheap ones). 10GB only costs a little more. Almost all carriers offer data-unlimited plans. Several carriers are offering 4G now.
The monthly plan I'm on includes the following:
6 hours of talk
6 GB of data
Free/Unlimited SMS
Free/Unlimited MMS
Tethering
... and it's only 149 DDK. That's around $27.00
(11 hours of talk + 11 GB of data is around $32.50)
I pay on a monthly basis - and I can quit at any time.
If they somehow kept the prices they have currently with 2gb or 4gb and allowed that to be shared that would be great!
Somehow I believe they will jump the price 50%, so $25 2gb plan for an individual would be $40 for that same amount of data to be shared(probably between the same max as the unlimited texting does, limit 5)
Still money saver, but not as good as it could be.
Somehow I believe they will jump the price 50%, so $25 2gb plan for an individual would be $40 for that same amount of data to be shared(probably between the same max as the unlimited texting does, limit 5)
Still money saver, but not as good as it could be.
That's not just a notion you have, in order for this paradigm shift to occur, it would HAVE to increase their bottom line. Why else would a for-profit corporation do this of it wasn't going to make them more money?
Now, I suppose the carriers would save on administrative and overhead costs if they consolidated multiple bills into one. But, I see these savings as only a small fraction of the increased profits they would reap.
I can see a situation where they would double the amount of data allowed per person to use on 5 devices. They would also double the price too. Exactly how much data consuming damage could a single person do if they doubled the max data? They really can't use their iPad and iPhone's data simultaneously? Wouldn't seem comfortable to me. But, they would double their revenue. Kinda sneaky, but I wouldn't expect anything less from these snakes.
The cell phone industry is weird in the United States - especially the carriers. This practice has been normal for quite a while where I'm from.
Do they subsidize the phone purchase or do you pay full price for your phone? Do you pay roaming charges if you use your phone at a neighboring country?
This would be great since most all of my data goes over Wi-Fi. Except while driving, there's free Wi-Fi most everywhere, and I shouldn't be using data while driving anyway. My wife and I have used less than 1GB since we bought our iPhone4s over 6 months ago. That's very expensive data the way we're setup now with Verison.
BTW, if a business I visit doesn't have free Wi-Fi, I let their management know before I leave that I'm only visiting their competitors that do have Wi-Fi in the future.
BTW, if a business I visit doesn't have free Wi-Fi, I let their management know before I leave that I'm only visiting their competitors that do have Wi-Fi in the future.
Make no mistake, this will be in an effort to increase profits for the company, not to save the consumer money. It actually could and might save individual households money which of course is a good thing, but I believe the carrier will offset that by gaining more people signing up for smartphone/tablet plans, and possibly not subsidizing the devices as much. I love Verizon's service and have been happy with them, but they really do nickel and dime you to death.
Bout freakin' time
These guys are getting on my last nerve. There is no reason for tiered plans other than to soak every penny out of a customer. Granted, kiddies that use the crap out of bandwidth make it hard for the normal users by creating a revenue stream for VZW and by straining services (ha) but seriously, tiered is nothing but a money maker and they know it. I think we should have unlimited data on all devices with one rate but I'll take the sharing if that's what I can get. I was close to closing down my side accounts until I read this, now I'll wait and see what happens.
These guys are getting on my last nerve. There is no reason for tiered plans other than to soak every penny out of a customer. Granted, kiddies that use the crap out of bandwidth make it hard for the normal users by creating a revenue stream for VZW and by straining services (ha) but seriously, tiered is nothing but a money maker and they know it. I think we should have unlimited data on all devices with one rate but I'll take the sharing if that's what I can get. I was close to closing down my side accounts until I read this, now I'll wait and see what happens.
I wish they would offer more choices and Shared together. Everyone on this board I am sure have their own needs for data amounts and yet we are only offered but a few choices that seldom "fit" everyones needs.
Get rid of 200 MB! Start with one GB and go from there... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 GB and price reasonably. Lite users will tend to be on the lower spectrum, family plans on the higher spectrum and multiple devices fall somewhere along the mid range spectrum... If unlimited is a no starter for whatever reason, at least give options to suit individual needs and again, price it reasonably.
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I see your point, but it's slightly naive. Changing voice over to the IP network will not prevent them from still charging for a voice plan. My ISP, Insight, provides me with broadband and telephone service. Funny thing is, the "telephone service" is actually VOIP which I'm already paying for via the broadband plan. Not only that, the government can't tell either because they're still charging me all the surcharges and taxes as if I had a phone line.
The government will never step-in and protect the consumer to save them money because the US economy is dependent on consumer (over)spending.
- If you are asking generally about Denmark, here's how it is:
You can choose either to pay full price up front or to purchase it subsidized. Traditionally, if you buy a subsidized phone in Denmark, you sign a 6 month contract with the carrier. 6 months is the maximum allowed by law. Furthermore, the costumer can break the contract and leave his carrier at any time in the 6 months against a small fee, if he wishes.
Whether or not you pay roaming charges depends on your carrier and the country you are traveling to. But the norm is that you do pay the, if you ask me, quite excessive roaming charges.
