Why does everyone insist these two things must be mutually exclusive? If Verizon offered competively priced family data, couldn't that be appealing enough to lure customers from other carriers? That would benefit both Verizon and customers. And then when other carriers react with similar plans, the customers win again! (but we're all still paying ginormous sums of money for every little byte of data that flies through the air so carriers really don't ever lose)
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Shared Data Plans Likely Coming to Verizon in 2012
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If this goes through and other carriers adopt it as well, I could see Apple eventually streamlining the entire iPad lineup to just 3 sized "world tablet" models, all with 3G functionality built in. As it is, I think the iPad lineup is too complicated with all the 12 variations it has now.
Yea, I'd definitely dig a shared data plan!
Yea, I'd definitely dig a shared data plan!
Drop the phone and get an Ooma. Or even MagicJack if you don't use it much. Ooma does charge the taxes, but that's pretty minimal.
Hopefully this happens soon. Surely whatever they offer will be better than paying $90 a month for three different iPhones on your account. It also means that you will be able to get more people off of dumb phones as they will no longer require an extra $30 a month so long as someone on their plan already has a smartphone.
This is the next step towards the wireless age. Having separate data plans for each device was the infancy stage of the wireless boom. Just imagine if home ISP's made you buy an internet package for every computer in your household. And don't think that's a crazy idea. Back in '99 it was against the TOS for many ISP's to have a modem extension(router) running in your home.
They could solve the shared data pool problem and the problem of average-use pricing models (which most people don't understand) by dropping the tiered plans and simply moving to metered usage. Just pay for what you use.
Pay for what you use has been around since the dawn of the internet. The rates may be extremely outdated for US carriers($0.05 per KB), but it's there. So if you never touch the internet your monthly bill would be much smaller.
i just want to be able to tether my ipad to my iphone without having to jailbreak or pay the extra for tethering... is that so hard? it could be something built into iOS. It's not like i'd be using any more data than I already do. there's just times where it's easier to browse or work on apps on the big screen!
I might buy share in Verizon again if they let me tether my phone to my MacBook Pro easily. I did ask the store employee when I bought this iPhone if it was possible, and was told that there might be some app for that.
And I am on a family plan with 3 phones, each of us pays the data fee. It would be really nice if it could be shared.
And I am on a family plan with 3 phones, each of us pays the data fee. It would be really nice if it could be shared.
Well, I can tell you that if my family plan (two adults and three teenagers on it) allowed for shared data we would likely expand the number of devices with data allowed. I'm running at about 1GB of data per month on my 4S, and my wife at about 500MB on her Blackberry, so we could feasibly fit into 2GB for the two of us, but not when she gets her iPhone. We'd get the 5GB plan for $50/month, if we could share it. That's still less than the two 2GB/$30 plans (actually we're both on grandfathered-in Unlimited plans; mine is $30, hers is $45 but my company discount pays for $10 of her BB data plan so its really $35), so short term that's a loss for Verizon / savings for us.
Longer term, though, I'd love to get a smartphone for the kids to use. I know they'd love it. But, there's no way we're going to do that at $30/month each, and there's no political way for us to pay $30 a month more for one of the three kids' lines and not the other two. If it's a matter of just increasing the pool to 6 or 7GB, though? Then it makes sense. They win with the phone sale, and they win with the higher data plan.
So, I think that making things easier for your customers might actually increase their profits, without having to resort to trickery. Of course, they have better data on this than I do, and since they've been "thinking" about how to do this for years instead of just doing it I suspect their data is showing they'd lose more than they gained from existing customers, and that it would only be worth it in a competitive sense.
My wife still uses a dumb phone because she doesn't feel the added cost of a data plan is worth it (because her data use would be relatively low). A shared data plan for our family account would solve this problem, if implemented correctly.
I wish you could buy a set amount of data that didn't expire in 30 days. If it took you 2 months to use it, so be it. You pay for it and it is yours to use no matter how long it takes.
Ditto on the plan... but i use at least 1.5 GB just updating/occasional surfing/WordsWF
HDMI out + Netflix = close to 10GB
That massively compressed format would cost me an EXTRA $50 a month under the new Reich.
And people just throw away their unlimited plans laughing heartily??
Better and better phones/tablets/apps/games are gonna smuggle more and more data.
Be careful folks, or we'll be on the streets begging for change to check our email.
Well, it was a bit of rhetorical question to be honest. Carrier subsidy here is said to be about $300 or more for an iPhone. That alone explains about $15 per month of the fee over the lifetime of a 24 month contract. We do not pay roaming in neighboring states, so no hidden fees during vacations unless we travel internationally, but the US is quite large, so most people don't. There used to be cheaper options, albeit without iPhones, if you are not going to travel much and willing to pay roaming when you leave your state (or half of a state if it is a big one). I don't know if those options are still available though.
Besides, the population density around here is low, so just covering the suburbs and the major highways between population centers require a lot of towers compared to Europe. Same reason we rarely get reliable public transportation options.
I disagree. I think data plans will go the same way as every other voice service.... Decades ago it was very expensive to make calls on land lines. I remember if you got a long distance call it was because there was some big news. There are numerous plans that don't charge anything above the flat monthly rate for domestic calls now.
When the first cell phones came out it was VERY expensive per minute, now most carriers have very reasonable unlimited flat monthly fees. Even if you don't have an unlimited plan, free mobile to mobile is pretty common place.
Even though the price is still outrageous for what you get, text plans have gone to unlimited on most carriers.
Data will go the same way and Sprint seems to be leading the charge to driving the price down.
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AGREED 100%
Keep jacking up prices and reducing services...the new American way...
Except the reality is the opposite if you look back at what it used to cost to use a cell phone. Data is a pretty recent addition to the service provided, so is texting.
Family Data Plans on AT&T will probably be around $50 a month for 2GB. :-(
My wife and I still have unlimited on both of our iPhones, I do not want to lose that.
My wife and I still have unlimited on both of our iPhones, I do not want to lose that.
Not sure if someone else has touched on this already, but it just sounds like a way to lure people out of unlimited plans to a tiered plan. That may sound easy enough for most, but not everyone thinks to look at their usage, so they drop down to this plan, add a spouse or just another device and go over...Extra money for VZN.
Personally I would consider this since I do in fact watch my data, but my wife has shown no interest in smart phones, but i'm sure that will change at some point haha.
Personally I would consider this since I do in fact watch my data, but my wife has shown no interest in smart phones, but i'm sure that will change at some point haha.
It is simple really. It is all smoke and mirrors by Verizon. And comsumers follow them like sheep. Currently 2gb = $29.99. 2 phones * $29.99 will be $59.98. Verizon will allow shared data at $50 for up to two devices. We think we are getting a great deal, but we aren't. It may get some comsumers to switch carriers, but most of us are smarter than that. The way this might benefit a some consumers is if one person on the plan uses ALOT of data and the other just a tiny bit. For example, my wife uses a ton of data and I use very little on our iPhones. She could spill over into my data plan now and not get charged for going over. Other than that, don't assume any carrier has a goal of lowering you monthly bill.
Remember, Verizon had unlimited data for $29.99. Then they "pretended" to save you money by going to a teired plan for $29.99 for 2gb...wait, so I am paying the same for less? How does that help me? They will not be helping you here either.
Remember, Verizon had unlimited data for $29.99. Then they "pretended" to save you money by going to a teired plan for $29.99 for 2gb...wait, so I am paying the same for less? How does that help me? They will not be helping you here either.