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Verizon Planning to End Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans With LTE Switch

Russell L said:
No surprise at all. I'm expecting ATT to follow suit. I'm still on an unlimited data plan with ATT on my iP4 because I got the original iPhone with unlimited and was grandfathered in to the unlimited plan when I got the iP4. When I get the iP5 later this year I'm fully expecting ATT to drop my unlimited plan. :mad:
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AT&T throttles you after 3GB on 3G and 5GB on LTE anyway. If Sprint gets their LTE network up and running *and* maintains unlimited then I'm jumping to them.
 
Ok, I am a little confused, maybe someone could help me out? I have a Verizon iPhone 4 which I purchased when it first came out, so u have unlimited data. Does this mean that mid-summer when the switch happens I will a family plan and not unlimited data? My wife also has an iPhone, but she got it about three months ago and has the 2 gig plan.
 
Epic Xbox Revie said:
How does this work with existing plans? How're they going to stop me from just activating the phone without changing my plan?
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Unlike GSM phones, where it's a simple matter of pulling the SIM card out of the old phone and inserting it in the new phone, with Verizon there isn't any (domestic) card you can pull out of the old Verizon phone and pop into your replacement.

Your current Verizon plan is tied to the your CDMA-based phone by its built-in electornic serial number. If you want to switch to a new phone, you must inform Verizon about the change and they must take actions on their end to approve the change and implement it inside their system.

At the point where you submit your request, they will probably just inform you that your existing contract isn't compatible with the new phone, so you'll have to change it.
 
Vell843 said:
Ok, I am a little confused, maybe someone could help me out? I have a Verizon iPhone 4 which I purchased when it first came out, so u have unlimited data. Does this mean that mid-summer when the switch happens I will a family plan and not unlimited data? My wife also has an iPhone, but she got it about three months ago and has the 2 gig plan.
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It means that if you ever switch to a 4G device... like maybe the next iPhone (iPhone 5/6whateveritscalled) you will lose unlimited!
 
techiegirl said:
Except the Verizon iPhone is currently 3G and does not use sim card. You would have to use your Android LTE phone until the LTE iPhone comes out.
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That detail makes me sad. It's like telling me "keep eating your steak and lobster dinners for the time being, but if you want to keep eating them past 2012, you'll have to eat ramen from now til October-ish!"

No offense to android users, but let's be honest here, anyone trying to pull this loophole off is going to get the cheapest LTE capable android possible, off-contract. To even get a decent android experience, it would have to be one of the newer, subsidized phones. For this plan, any android phone that can be had for less than $100 off contract is probably not going to be a nice experience.
 
samcraig said:
As someone else pointed out. Anyone currently on contract will be entitled to unlimited data until the end of their contract. Verizon won't break their own contract because that means people could leave without an ETF.

However - you want a new phone? Or once your contract is up - they can pretty much do whatever you want since you are no longer ON a contract.

Legal - 100%. Customer friendly - always debate-able.
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The more i'm reading into this im thinking this isn't true. Data is considered a feature, and if priced the same or less it does not impose a cost that would hurt the customer therefore not a breach of contract. It's not right but it seems like that how AT&T got away with throttling.
 
Unless you have already switched to LTE and have a current LTE unlimited plan, as per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement Verizon can not change your plan or drop you. You have to change your plan, so just pay cash for your next LTE phone and you will be OK indefinitely. Then should they decide to drop you, sue in small claims court for every monthly bill you have paid them and the full cost of any equipment, then use that cash to go get a new plan.

And no Data is not a feature. it is not in the list of "features" it is in the list of "plans".... ANd per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement, Verizon can not kick you off, you have to volunteer by signing a new plan.
 
chakraj said:
Unless you have already switched to LTE and have a current LTE unlimited plan, as per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement Verizon can not change your plan or drop you. You have to change your plan, so just pay cash for your next LTE phone and you will be OK indefinitely. Then should they decide to drop you, sue in small claims court for every monthly bill you have paid them and the full cost of any equipment, then use that cash to go get a new plan.
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So I can keep my LTE unlimited as long as I pay full price for my phones? Seems like a lot of money to keep unlimited.
 
1080p said:
It means that if you ever switch to a 4G device... like maybe the next iPhone (iPhone 5/6whateveritscalled) you will lose unlimited!
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what ive been wondering though, because no ones been clear because this is all speculation, is if i buy my iphone off contract and front the full $799, if theyll honor the unlimited data. upgrading your phone with subsidizing and a new contract is different then buying the phone out right. should be interesting to see how they implement this. anyone else think its bound to be a giant cluster ******?
 
chakraj said:
Unless you have already switched to LTE and have a current LTE unlimited plan, as per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement Verizon can not change your plan or drop you. You have to change your plan, so just pay cash for your next LTE phone and you will be OK indefinitely. Then should they decide to drop you, sue in small claims court for every monthly bill you have paid them and the full cost of any equipment, then use that cash to go get a new plan.
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Probably cost more money to go to court and win then it would be worth just eating it and selling the equipment on eBay. Unfortunately that what Corporations rely on.
 
rgravell said:
what ive been wondering though, because no ones been clear because this is all speculation, is if i buy my iphone off contract and front the full $799, if theyll honor the unlimited data. upgrading your phone with subsidizing and a new contract is different then buying the phone out right. should be interesting to see how they implement this. anyone else think its bound to be a giant cluster ******?
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Think about it though, $800/24 months= an extra $33 per month, on top of the tiered data plan. We both know we'll upgrade in a year though, so that's $800/12 months=$66 extra per month. In the last situation, is it worth the ($66 extra+$30 normal data fee) $96 per month?

Edit: I guess you can subtract $2-300 from my numbers since you would have paid that much to have it subsidized. You get the idea..
 
goosnarrggh said:
Your current Verizon plan is tied to the your CDMA-based phone by its built-in electornic serial number. If you want to switch to a new phone, you must inform Verizon about the change and they must take actions on their end to approve the change and implement it inside their system.
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You can switch on the website.

At the point where you submit your request, they will probably just inform you that your existing contract isn't compatible with the new phone, so you'll have to change it.
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Depends on the phone. I've never had any problem switching between phones that I own that use the same data plan. I.e. 3G -> 3G, LTE -> LTE. The only time I had to change plans was Palm Pixi -> something else, because the Pixi had free tethering.

Seems more likely that the change would appear by buying a new subsidized phone. In that case, it'd be worth it to me to just keep buying phones msyself.

OTOH, the family plan really intrigues me. My wife would probably use very little data, whereas I'm in the middle, and my daughter would be high end on the data usage. A shared bucket of data would work great for us.
 
Everyone who says they're switching to Sprint:

Enjoy significantly slower 4G speeds and coverage. It's not like it's sunshine and rainbows over there.

You get what you pay for. There is currently no such thing as a "good" cellular provider. Either they're expensive and restricted, or they're cheap(er) and limited.

Personally, I feel like the market will shift in five years. Once T-Mobile (if it exists) / Sprint beef up their 4G networks, the game will change. I don't think we'll "need" more 4G speed. What we'll need is faster hardware, better software, and broader coverage. 5 - 10mbit is sufficient for any smartphone service and, by that time, the smaller companies will have a blanket of 4G coverage. Streaming 720p video does not require more than a 5mbit line. 30mbit in for bragging rights. I'd be happy with 10mbit (which is about average for Verizon LTE).
 
Diseal3 said:
Probably cost more money to go to court and win then it would be worth just eating it and selling the equipment on eBay. Unfortunately that what Corporations rely on.
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Thats why I said, small claims court. its much less expensive.
 
I don't understand shy all carriers just don't charge a flat $15 to $20/month to cover the iPhone financing, plus $5 or whatever is competative per GB of data. That would make the playing field level and fair for everyone.

I use an average of about 800K/month and my brother uses about 9GB per month and we both have to pay the same price. :mad:

They could setup accounts to collect like EZ-Pass uses to collect tolls.
 
chakraj said:
Unless you have already switched to LTE and have a current LTE unlimited plan, as per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement Verizon can not change your plan or drop you. You have to change your plan, so just pay cash for your next LTE phone and you will be OK indefinitely. Then should they decide to drop you, sue in small claims court for every monthly bill you have paid them and the full cost of any equipment, then use that cash to go get a new plan.

And no Data is not a feature. it is not in the list of "features" it is in the list of "plans".... ANd per the LTE spectrum purchase agreement, Verizon can not kick you off, you have to volunteer by signing a new plan.
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Got a citation specifically stating this?
 
bboucher790 said:
Everyone who says they're switching to Sprint:

Enjoy significantly slower 4G speeds and coverage. It's not like it's sunshine and rainbows over there.

You get what you pay for. There is currently no such thing as a "good" cellular provider. Either they're expensive and restricted, or they're cheap(er) and limited.

Personally, I feel like the market will shift in five years. Once T-Mobile (if it exists) / Sprint beef up their 4G networks, the game will change. I don't think we'll "need" more 4G speed. What we'll need is faster hardware, better software, and broader coverage. 5 - 10mbit is sufficient for any smartphone service and, by that time, the smaller companies will have a blanket of 4G coverage. Streaming 720p video does not require more than a 5mbit line. 30mbit in for bragging rights. I'd be happy with 10mbit (which is about average for Verizon LTE).
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More importantly a battery that lasts longer than two hours.
 
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