Verizon Revamps Plans With More Data, Carryover Data, Unlimited 2G, and Higher Prices

[gnasher729]

T-Mobile does the exact same thing once you hit the data limit, if you're not on an unlimited plan. You get slowed down to 128 Kbps for the remainder of the month.

But for free. Not for $5 a month. Which I assume you have to pay whether you use it or not.

 

[sjc83]

I went from the XXL plan 18 GB to the XL 16 GB plan saved me $20 a month.

 

[smith4925]

Stop complaining. Come and live in Canada for a while then you will have something to complain about. Look up Bell, Rogers, and Telus to see what Canadians get charged.

 

[v3rlon]

But US tax rates are wayyyy lower, so we have more disposable income on average. Not saying I don't disagree with you about the mobile data - who wouldn't want something for cheaper.

Out of curiosity, is your phone carrier publicly subsidized at all or 100% a private company (cell towers and all)?

Not exactly correct. While we do pay lower taxes to the federal government, we also have state taxes, sales tax, special taxes (alcohol, gasoline, and have you read that Verizon bill?), and of course, taxes levied on us by the corporations who pay for our government.

The trouble is that each corporate entity believes it is entitled to ALL your disposable income.

 

[jkozlow3]

Just a heads up...

Be careful if you switch to the new Verizon Plan if you get a discount through your employer! Several people on Howardforums have reported that they lost their employee discount and 1 person (so far) said that a Verizon CSR told them that the new plans are NOT eligible for employee discounts since they include rollover data, etc.

I just logged into the Verizon website and was thinking of switching from the OLD 3GB Verizon Plan to the new 4GB Verizon Plan for $5 more per month to get an extra 1 GB + rollover. When the site shows the old and new plans side-by-side, it does NOT reflect my employee discount on the new plan and in the bottom right corner of the screen it says: "Your employee discount saved you 0%".

As a result, I did not change my plan. I'm not sure if this is a glitch or if the new plans are truly ineligible for employee discounts, but be warned! I'm going to wait to make any changes until we know for sure, as losing my employee discount would make that extra 1GB/month of data MUCH more expensive than $5!


UPDATE: I *do* see the discount if I change my plan via the My Verizon app on my iPhone, so hopefully there are just some website glitches that need to be worked out. See subsequent posts below. It seems like different people are having different experiences, with some people seeing corporate discounts via the website while some people are not (like me). Someone on HowardForums also just posted and said that they spoke to a supervisor who said that discounts are NOT going away, so hopefully that is accurate!

 

[avanpelt]

Why does Verizon still offer 2G ? There can't be that many 2G only phones still out there. can there?

I wondered the same thing. I don't think the phone actually connects to a 2G network. It likely still connects to the LTE network but they throttle the connection so that it is the equivalent of a 2G connection (128 Kbps).

Reminds me of the days in the late 90's when a 128K ISDN line was considered fast. Well, compared to the 56K modems that were used en masse at the time, it was!

 

[BigMcGuire]

I just switched from the XXL plan to the XL plan - Verizon actually RECOMMENDED I do this - a $8.10/mo savings for 2GB/mo less data with rollover and free safety net etc... So, I did. I "downgraded" - so now I have 16GB/mo instead of 18GB/mo.

Also it's telling me I get 3G speeds when I run out of data, not 2G. ???

 

[avanpelt]

Just a heads up...

Be careful if you switch to the new Verizon Plan if you get a discount through your employer! Several people on Howardforums have reported that they lost their employee discount and 1 person (so far) said that a Verizon CSR told them that the new plans are NOT eligible for employee discounts since they include rollover data, etc.

Wow, if that turns out to be true, that's pathetic. Seeing these new plans from Verizon and the little "gotchas" that could be lurking, I'm more and more satisfied with my decision to jump off Verizon and go to AT&T last year. Wish I could consider T-Mobile but their coverage still isn't reliable in areas where my family travels.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Wow, if that turns out to be true, that's pathetic.

I still have You are receiving 19% off of the monthly fee of eligible services as ********** employee or affiliate. on my verizon page but that would be terrible!

Edit: It's still showing the discount for me.

I guess I'll find out when I get my bill for sure?

 

[xraydoc]

I have a family plan with 8 lines (7 phones plus an iPad) and 25GB per month. The new plan structure actually gives me 30GB for a lower monthly total. In August, I'm backing down to 24GB and it will save even more.

 

[macguru212]

This certainly looks like a fair deal.

/s

 

[C DM]

Go on...explain to me how a country the size of Australia , matching the US in size , and having about 7% the population still gets better mobile phone deals.....

What is this reality?? As much as I love vague replies that mean nothing, this time I'm intrigued....

Please explain to us all how the world works....

It has all been covered too well in this thread already. Rehashing it all seems fairy futile for those that don't really care anyway.
[doublepost=1467902230][/doublepost]

How can you have so expensive data?In Finland we have call,text,and unlimited data for 24,99e.

Reading the thread will actually answer the question quite well.
[doublepost=1467902613][/doublepost]

Weird how poorer countries have much cheaper tariffs. I live in Spain and pay just US$32 (€29), for unlimited calls in Spain, 100 minutes to any European mobile or landline, 10GB data (local and roaming), plus unlimited roaming minutes while travelling in Europe.

To get that same plan in the US would cost way more than double, plus it wouldn't be half as good!

You guys are getting totally stitched up!
[doublepost=1467877213][/doublepost]

Well, that's a load of nonsense. (I was going to say something else but it's all too easy to get reprimanded on Macrumors).

I've been working in IT for the past 12 years and if you make $45k as an IT technician, you are doing well. $140k as a programmer is total nonsense. I work with a team of very senior developers in a medium company and I can tell you now, they earn about €40k for juniors and up to about €80k for senior IT management.

Whoever told you $140k is telling you porkie pies

I guess the cost of living where one is doesn't relate to salary.

 

[ggibson913]

Just a heads up...

Be careful if you switch to the new Verizon Plan if you get a discount through your employer! Several people on Howardforums have reported that they lost their employee discount and 1 person (so far) said that a Verizon CSR told them that the new plans are NOT eligible for employee discounts since they include rollover data, etc.

I just logged into the Verizon website and was thinking of switching from the OLD 3GB Verizon Plan to the new 4GB Verizon Plan for $5 more per month to get an extra 1 GB + rollover. When the site shows the old and new plans side-by-side, it does NOT reflect my employee discount on the new plan and in the bottom right corner of the screen it says: "Your employee discount saved you 0%".

As a result, I did not change my plan. I'm not sure if this is a glitch or if the new plans are truly ineligible for employee discounts, but be warned! I'm going to wait to make any changes until we know for sure, as losing my employee discount would make that extra 1GB/month of data MUCH more expensive than $5![/QUOTE

Yeah I always check when I change plans at AT&T.

 

[ksnell]

Not exactly correct. While we do pay lower taxes to the federal government, we also have state taxes, sales tax, special taxes (alcohol, gasoline, and have you read that Verizon bill?), and of course, taxes levied on us by the corporations who pay for our government.

The trouble is that each corporate entity believes it is entitled to ALL your disposable income.

I think each corporate entity is entitled to as much of your income as you are willing to part ways with.

Don't forget about VAT in Europe. The great thing about the special taxes you mention (and VAT), if there is anything great about taxes , is that it is a use tax so you are only charged if you feel the need to use the product or service. You are not penalized for being successful and earning more income.

 

[Waxhead138]

Seriously, especially that new one... It's almost as bad as Kars for Kids

Oh God...Kars for Kids. Those ads are bad enough to make me change radio station channels on stations that I love, even when I know it's just a stupid 30 sec ad lol. That jingle is trite and more than irritating.

 

[CEmajr]

Moves like this is why T-Mobile is adding almost 80% of all new smartphone subscribers every quarter while Verizon barely adds any and AT&T posts negative smartphone subscriber adds.

 

[ksnell]

We get allmost everything for free for our taxes... our taxes goes to healthcare system not pockets of investors...free schools and everything. how much does americans get paid to go to school? we get about the same as average american income just to go to school..
[doublepost=1467875213][/doublepost]
does it make a difference? our data can be used all over europe ....and the U.S aswell ...that is right I can use my phone just like home in the U.S
[doublepost=1467875330][/doublepost]

they are private

To be clear, nothing is free. You are paying for it, and for others to use the system as well. That system depends on more than 50% of people to get out of school and pay more back than what they used. Otherwise it would not be sustainable.

The truth of the matter is the individual is way more efficient at spending money than the government is (see Milton Friedman's work). Would you be more or less careless with what you purchase if it was not coming from your bank account?

 

[Thunderhawks]

Crappy lipstick on a muddy pig. They're are the worst on every level, even their commercials stink.

We can hear you now!

 

[jkozlow3]

I still have You are receiving 19% off of the monthly fee of eligible services as ********** employee or affiliate. on my verizon page but that would be terrible!

Edit: It's still showing the discount for me.

I guess I'll find out when I get my bill for sure?

After playing with it some more, I'm not seeing my discount on the new plans via the website, BUT if I use the MyVerizon app via my iPhone, I *am* seeing the discount applied to the base/data portion of my plan. Hopefully there are just some errors on the website that need to be worked out and discounts aren't going away altogether!

 

[ksnell]

Subsidised phone carriers are not allowed anywhere in the EU. Even though taxes might be lower in the US it still doesn't explain why you are paying as much. I'm having 12 GB data, 12 hours of speak and 4G LTE for 10$ a month here in Denmark.

Agreed. I don't know enough about the industry to know why this is. It sounds like someone needs to open up a business and start a new carrier to compete.

 

[driceman]

So glad I left Verizon... They run one heck of a scam on their customers. These prices are absurd and these are BEFORE you include the "line access fees" they charge for every line on the account.

 

[Cwolk]

To get the unlimited 2G if you have a S, M, or L plan you have to pay more, but you are most likely to be the one using it. If you have an XL or XXL plan you probably aren't going to need safety mode, yet you get it free.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Re-verifying my employee discount lost me the 3% paperless billing discount I had (with Verizon). On chat with a rep to see if I can get it back. Doh!

Edit: Rep says I still have it. Guess I have to wait a few days for everything to update.

 

[edvj]

I'm willing to bet that Verizon union employees make a whole lot more money than their European counterparts. You can't have it both ways.

If you can take the wages for McDonalds emplyees here in Denmark as an indication ,they don't.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/b...ed-in-denmark-fast-food-restaurants.html?_r=0

 

[badboy600]

Thank goodness for my 35$ grandfathered AT&T unlimited data plan.