Verizon to Offer iPhone With $30 Unlimited Data Plan

[richardsonrs]

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i have the unlimited $30 plan on verizon with my blackberry, and its truly unlimited. i hit 500 gb last month with no penalties.

I call total BS on that.
500gb = 16.66gb/day = 694mb/hr continuously for 30 days. LOL right!!

I'm with you on the BS call

 

[L-U-R-C-H]

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I'm with you on the BS call

Same...ridiculous.

 

[cameronjpu]

Not really, I personally use roughly 2 gb of data each month, without tethering, and I love the fact that I dont have to watch my data usage at the end of the month to make sure I dont get slap with huge fees. For many of us who stream music or surf the web anytime we are out and bored, its worth paying the extra 5 bucks a month and having the piece of mind that we wont be racking up fees if we accidentally go over.

That doesn't make it wrong, it just makes you part of an incredibly small minority.

 

[devwild]

Just a few note pertaining to repeat comments as a current VZ customer:

This is the same as verizon's current unlimited data plans for smartphones - it is not a special concession due to the iphone.

Verizon's smartphone data plan is indeed unlimited, you can go over 5GB without surcharges. It is their tethering and laptop 3G devices which are capped at 5GB, and they clearly state as much. However, if you are repeatedly going over 5GB with your smartphone, you are most likely using your phone as a tethered device via a jailbreak or third party app, and that can be seen as abuse of the service (in fact it is, it's in the TOS) and you may be contacted about it.

Tethering is not free, it costs an additional $15 a month with the normal smartphone plan. The tethering fee is generally the cost of a normal laptop device data plan minus the cost of your current smartphone data plan - the idea being that regardless of what device you use, everybody pays the same for laptop data access.

My experience has been that the cost comes out close to the same between the two for most people unless you get tricked into a weird plan. Do your research, and especially make sure to check for any employer discounts you may be eligible for. One benefit of my plan is that my employer discount for VZ plan add-ons is better than the base voice discount - that means since Verizon treats data as an add-on rather than having separate smartphone voice/data plans, and the base discount was already a little better, my overall discount with verizon is much steeper.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Are you serious? My iPhone is always connected to WIFI at work, home, and school, yet I still manage over 400mb of 3g on the slowest months and close to 1gb on the busiest ones. I'm sure there are plenty of people that pass over 200mb. It's such a small amount! I'm sure that checking email is at least half of that, forgetting about large attachments. Then there are all the apps that push notifications. It's easy to eat that amount by simply leaving the iPhone on the charger!

The statistics have been published in a few occasions, examined, and even discussed by companies like AT&T. I do think more than 1% can make use of the unlimited bandwidth (maybe closer to 3%) but the vast majority are covered more than adequately under 250 MBs. I've said it dozens of times before, but this really makes more sense when you consider that the vast majority of, say, iPhone owners, are really just using their devices to consume basic data (some web browsing, looking up movie times, checking email).

I'm with you on the BS call

Me too. The only way to accomplish this would be through some kind of officially allowed tethering. The wireless providers generally have hidden limits where they may start throttling, but when a customer uses so much data that they clearly become an expense rather than a profit these companies take action against them. Verizon may be slightly less inclined to do so because their network has held up to date, but I expect anyone who plays with 500 GBs may be in for an interesting experience.

 

[JayLaw23]

i have the unlimited $30 plan on verizon with my blackberry, and its truly unlimited. i hit 500 gb last month with no penalties.

Really 500gb, what are you doing to get that with a blackberry?

 

[cameronjpu]

This won't put significant pressue on AT&T to bring back unlimited. Now that Verizon eliminated their cheap plan, AT&T can market their data plans as more affordable than Verizon's. Most people don't use over 2GB or even 200mb under normal circumstances.

Yep. This is beautiful. I just wish ATT would get rid of the grandfathered unlimited plans to get rid of the leeches who are slowing down the network for the rest of us and making our prices higher by using their phones as home wireless hotspots and the like.

 

[Full of Win]

Shy of tethering to your computer and using your phone as a hot spot, I don't see how there are enough hours in the day (and juice in your phone's battery) to consume 17GB of data per month.

I use about 1.5 to 1.7 GB per day on my iPad. About 50 GB per month. Do about 5GB on the iPhone.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1082516/

This is all on device, no tethering.

 

[bluedog3401]

I do a lot of FTP transferring. I never bring a laptop on the road anymore, so when I have to download a 200mb+ video file each day, it racks up. Haha

Oh yeah, and it makes sense to continue and download 200mb files to a mobile device each day. If true modifying your workflow would likely yield more productivity.

 

[Mistrblank]

If anything says it's unlimited it's 100% limitless. There is no limit.

You might want to not make that statement until you've seen contract rhetoric. In their minds unlimited means they won't stop you from connecting to any service, unlimited however does not mean they won't throttle your connection if you are labelled an "abuser".

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

Although I'm happy they are keeping the unlimited plan, I don't know why they are getting rid of the lower-priced plans. The biggest barrier to entry for people to switch to a smartphone is the additional monthly cost of the data plan. I expect that verizon is making the unlimited plan the only option for now because they know everyone who will buying an iPhone 4 ASAP would have bought it no matter what. Eventually though, if they want to get people to ditch their feature phone, they'll have to bring back the lower-cost plans.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

You might want to not make that statement until you've seen contract rhetoric. In their minds unlimited means they won't stop you from connecting to any service, unlimited however does not mean they won't throttle your connection if you are labelled an "abuser".

There hasn't been a single instance that I know of where this has actually happened.

 

[zorinlynx]

I'l never understand how people can switch to Verizon's network. I have to multi-task for my business by running apps, texting, surfing the web, all while being on the phone. How on earth are people going to be productive on Verizon's network?

It's actually quite simple. I don't do that. In fact, I've been using smartphones since 2005, and I've never had the need to be online while talking on the phone.

I'm guessing people such as yourself are the exception rather than the rule.

 

[cameronjpu]

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Man Americans get ripped off. On one hand you have a CDMA network were you dont get the full features of an iPhone and on the other you have a GSM network that has poor coverage.

Over in Oz. I pay $115 for $800 worth of calls and 9GB of data. My girlfriend pays $63 for $600 worth of calls and 3GB of data. And the download speeds average 3-6Mbs and the upload speeds average 2-3.5Mbs. Our worst provider would be equivalent to AT&T

How are you calculating the value of a call, to say you are getting $800 worth of phone calls for $115?

I mean, many people on ATT are getting unlimited calls in their $70 plan. I think ATT charges 20 cents per minute in overage minutes, so if that's the value of the minutes, then $70 buys you 350 of those minutes. But if your provider charges $2 per minute for a cell call, then offers an unlimited plan for $115, that's the kind of situation where you might say you're getting $1000 worth of calls for $115. But it doesn't make any sense to think of it that way unless you work for the marketing department of your phone company (or of your country, as seems more likely in your case).

Can you explain why you keep talking about these hundreds of dollars worth of phone calls? Its baffling.

 

[pacohaas]

great, so if you use 50-100MB per month, you can pay the same as someone who uses 4-5GB. great plan Verizon, I'll stick with AT&T and my $15 200MB plan.

 

[Tailpike1153]

I'l never understand how people can switch to Verizon's network. I have to multi-task for my business by running apps, texting, surfing the web, all while being on the phone. How on earth are people going to be productive on Verizon's network?

I was juggler. I had my phone and wireless my laptop. Juggling devices 6000SUX.

 

[3goldens]

I'm on Verizon now. It's unlimited. I rack up over 17GB of data every month, no problem.

I'm really impressed with your consumption levels!

And just in case anyone is wondering this is exactly the reason unlimited plans will not last and why every network gets bogged down.

A small percentage of data hogs like this user will eventually slow down the entire network and kill it for the rest of us.

Thanks for sharing bud!

 

[hexonxonx]

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Unlimited on all the carriers has a "cap". They don't shut off your data at the cap but they state in your contract that can impose overage fees if you go over it.

iPhone on AT&T was the only phone on the network that has it's own TOS and nowhere in there does it state there is a softcap after going over the 5GB "softcap" because there isn't one.

 

[Niko03]

Most of us iPhone 4 users are tied down in a contract so it doesn't matter much yet... After we are free to leave the competition will heat up a bit

Actually I would think it depends on how att's sales/ new contracts are effected by verizons competition.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Ridiculous. I get wifi everywhere so I use cellular data sparingly. I get to pay the same price as someone else who used 3 GB of data a month

 

[NoExpectations]

Verizon is able to offer "Unlimited" because they throttle the entry speed much lower than AT&T. (CDMA) Plus, you can't access the internet while you talk.

 

[KindredMAC]

I am actually disappointed that Verizon isn't being more aggressive in their pricing.

I've been hoping for some real competition between the two and so far I haven't seen any yet.

 

[stellarceltic]

I'l never understand how people can switch to Verizon's network. I have to multi-task for my business by running apps, texting, surfing the web, all while being on the phone. How on earth are people going to be productive on Verizon's network?

Because you're in the minority. Most people don't have a need for simultaneous voice and data.

I've been with Verizon for 8-9 years and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've wanted to use it.

 

[rfahey]

my guess is that since they don't allow simultaneous voice/data that they aren't concerned with the extra bandwidth, and that's why they stuck with unlimited data.

 

[hayesk]

I use about 20MB per month - that's right MB.

I can see how some use more data, but what I can't see is why some people think the carriers owe it to them to provide unlimited data. It just doesn't make sense that any vendor would want to sell you unlimited anything for a fixed price. In this case it will lead to bogged down networks while providing the carrier little profit and incentive to upgrade their infrastructure.