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Verizon Planning to End Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans With LTE Switch

I think what you're going to see is a divergence in data plans. 3G and 4G.

You have people who are happy with 3G, their prices will stay the same, plans stay the same (for now). You want to keep your grandfathered unlimited plan? Sorry, that's a 3G plan. You want an LTE/HSPA+ phone? Switch to a 4G plan.

I would not be surprised at all to see something like this when AT&T announces its family shared data plans. 3G will likely be one price and 4G another, and a pricing shift across the board, and nobody gets to stay unlimited.

This eliminates the carriers need to worry about the grandfathered plans as they will be terminated once they switch to an LTE device. Problem solved.

Sorry kids, bandwidth never works on an "all you can eat" pricing model. Even the big boys pay per-megabit charges on their circuits. Welcome to the real world.

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AustinIllini said:
i'll bet you $1,000 when the time comes, you won't be able to get unlimited data.
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That's assuming Sprint actually gets to finish their LTE network.
 
Ivabign said:
I think play the system might be a bit harsh. Play their game might be more accurate. They said, hurry up and get unlimited data now or it is gone forever. Even to the point where they added it to a phone that doesn't require it. Now when I might be able to utilize it, they take it away.
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same thing...i didnt mean anything bad by it. either way, were all guilty of trying to figure out how to keep our unlimited data as long as possible.

he said:

Ivabign said:
They just stole hundreds of dollars from me. Blatantly ripped me off when they announced the end of unlimited, with the caveat that you would be grandfathered. I wonder if there is any recourse.
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while i agree he may have been mislead, they didnt steal from him at. he could have used the data on the feature phone the entire time he paid for it.
 
I just hung up with customer service and just as I expected they didn't have any information on this announcement.
 
MortalDays said:
How would Verizon make me change to a shared data plan when I am the only one using the account?

That's my question.
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AustinIllini said:
When you go on Launch day to buy the iPhone Whoop-dee-doo or whatever they call it, they will say to you "congratulations, sir or madam, here are the available data plans for the iPhone 4happy". Then they'll make you pick. Those plans will be sharable data plans, but you just won't share them.
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So if I am the only one under the account, I would be forced to switch to "sharable" tiered data plans even though I am sharing tiered data by myself. Basically, making me to switch to tiered data plan.

WTF. :eek:

Could anyone confirm???
 
I wonder how this will go for those who update before their contract is up. Since your contract is not expiring, more of a amended contract..
 
BMNB1tch said:
jeez what is the point

why dont these mobile companies spend money on expanding their networks rather than trying to out advertise the other guy

really wish Apple would start its own network ...
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Now, that is a silly statement. You think they are not expanding. CHeck the facts. Expansion is unprecedented.
 
MortalDays said:
So if I am the only one under the account, I would be forced to switch to "sharable" tiered data plans even though I am sharing tiered data by myself. Basically, making me to switch to tiered data plan.

WTF. :eek:
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The wireless business blows. I don't know if that is how this will happen, but if I were a greedy wireless business, I would do that.
 
The local VZW salesperson told me that I would continue to get unlimited data on my new LTE-enabled smart phone (Galaxy Nexus, don't shoot me for posting here :p ) purchased in early Dec '11.
My wife is still on a 3G-only phone though her next will probably be LTE-capable.

Now, I didn't change my contract to get a LTE phone, so assuming they don't make me change plans when my wife goes LTE, I should still have unlimited data.

If (i'm expecting them to) they move me from a unlimited plan, I will be moving carriers.
Sprint and TMo are offering unlimited data and 90% of the coverage for quite a bit less than I'm paying with VZW and I have a nice 15% discount through my wifes work.
 
AustinIllini said:
The wireless business blows. I don't know if that is how this will happen, but if I were a greedy wireless business, I would do that.
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I would so argue with Verizon customer service when I do upgrade since I was promised by Verizon representatives (even 2 store managers) that I will for sure to be grandfathered in when I bought the iPhone 4s.

Otherwise, I will threaten to switch to another company. That's MY business model. :rolleyes:
 
I just upgraded to the 4S yesterday on Verizon. Hopefully this is just a rumor but I am stuck with them for 2 years. I am the only one using data on my plan. Also Verizon now charges you an upgrade fee of $30 when they used to give you money towards a new phone. What a rip off! I believe this will be my last upgrade for quite some time and maybe the last with Verizon. :mad:
 
1TallTXn said:
The local VZW salesperson told me that I would continue to get unlimited data on my new LTE-enabled smart phone (Galaxy Nexus, don't shoot me for posting here :p ) purchased in early Dec '11.
My wife is still on a 3G-only phone though her next will probably be LTE-capable.

Now, I didn't change my contract to get a LTE phone, so assuming they don't make me change plans when my wife goes LTE, I should still have unlimited data.

If (i'm expecting them to) they move me from a unlimited plan, I will be moving carriers.
Sprint and TMo are offering unlimited data and 90% of the coverage for quite a bit less than I'm paying with VZW and I have a nice 15% discount through my wifes work.
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I hate t-mobile and good for you. This news is for people who owns a 3G iPhone not an LTE 4G smartphone.
 
rgravell said:
same thing...i didnt mean anything bad by it. either way, were all guilty of trying to figure out how to keep our unlimited data as long as possible.

he said:



while i agree he may have been mislead, they didnt steal from him at. he could have used the data on the feature phone the entire time he paid for it.
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Stealing is probably the wrong term, but definitely mislead. The purpose of the addition to the feature phone was ONLY to be prepared for the addition of the next generation iPhone and it was confirmed by Verizon personnel that this was the way to ensure unlimited data for the new iPhone I would buy my son in October.

This is the crux of why I feel I was cheated.
 
AustinIllini said:
Verizon has to activate an LTE sim card on your unlimited account, doesn't it? (I honestly don't know, but I see no other way because there is no 3G sim in VZA)
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If you switch from your iPhone to an LTE (Android) phone now, you will be grandfathered to LTE unlimited data. When/If the LTE iPhone comes out, you can purchase it full price and just switch SIM cards and you could retain your unlimited LTE data.

Of course, I don't know for a fact. I took the SIM card out of my HTC Thunderbolt and put it in my LTE iPad a few months ago and have been enjoying unlimited LTE data on my iPad since March.
 
1TallTXn said:
Sprint and TMo are offering unlimited data and 90% of the coverage for quite a bit less than I'm paying with VZW and I have a nice 15% discount through my wifes work.
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You need to read the fine print on TMO's unlimited plan. Unlimited for the first, what 2-3GB then throttled down to like 128k (Pretty much the same as Sprint's speeds) for the rest of the billing cycle? enjoy that.
 
MotherFinMike said:
So there will be two sim slots on the next iPhone ?
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I'm not sure, but I know that I personally will go from having a phone that uses no sim (CDMA doesn't use a SIM) to a phone that has one (LTE uses a SIM). How do I do that without going to the Verizon store and having them set it up?
 
To all those saying they will just buy their next phone for full retail price and circumvent the subsidized price which renews your contract:

I have a feeling this will only work until your original 2 year contract is up. After that you can continue to pay monthly, without signing a new contract, but I have a feeling VZW will take away our unlimited plans at that time and force us towards a shared plan.

I currently have a 4S with unlimited data and will probably keep it for the duration of my contract now instead of upgrading this fall to the new iphone with LTE like I had been planning.
 
tumblr_lnc5543Ch51qlzq36o1_500.png
 
techiegirl said:
If you switch from your iPhone to an LTE (Android) phone now, you will be grandfathered to LTE unlimited data. When/If the LTE iPhone comes out, you can purchase it full price and just switch SIM cards and you could retain your unlimited LTE data.
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That is possible, but I don't trust big red to do that.
 
Rocko1 said:
You can share it with yourself.
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So if I am the only one under the account, I would be forced to switch to "sharable" tiered data plans even though I am sharing tiered data by myself. Basically, making me to switch to tiered data plan.

WTF. :rolleyes:
 
rgravell said:
i know they all want unlimited gone, but my point is data is data, doesnt matter if its 3g or 4g. i dont believe the contracts specify other than data, correct me if im wrong. so if my iphone lte or whatever is purchased off contract at full price, it should be able to slide in my iphone 4s's spot because its not a new contract.

but reguardless, we can all argue this till were blue in the face. this whole thing is speculation until they implement it. time will tell.
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Actually, the big misunderstanding is that "data is data". The reality is that it isn't. Any random megabyte of data on a single pipe may actually be equal to any other random megabyte on the same pipe. The problem is the assumption that it is all on the same pipe. Unfortunately, carriers/telcos have helped perpetuate this idea (including Verizon), so its kinda their own fault.

Each band that the carrier has at a tower has finite bandwidth. EVDO has less bandwidth than LTE for example. So if I assume all my fixed costs are equal, and that both operate at peak efficiency, then 1MB on LTE is actually cheaper than 1MB on EVDO. However, it gets complicated since if EVDO is carrying 2MB/hour and LTE is carrying 1MB/hour... EVDO is actually cheaper per MB to operate. It's a little weird like that, and hard to math out without good data from the carriers themselves.

Another problem is that unlimited data is really just marketing speak for "Our network is under peak efficiency if we just let people do whatever, so we are just going to split the cost + margin across all users for simplicity." And it is a good business model, as it is simpler for customers and the business to budget around. Today though, 3G networks are at or beyond capacity if they "just let people do whatever". 4G networks don't get them much breathing room either, long-term. Cable is in a similar situation because the connection between the home and the local node is shared, much like cellular networks, and is the most expensive piece to improve.

Now, if Verizon managed to get enough breathing room to last them say, half a decade... you can bet they would go back to unlimited data plans. It's a huge competitive advantage against competitors.
 
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