http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2461435,00.asp

Quote :

"The 22 percent or so of you Verizon subscribers still clinging to the company's unlimited data plan — and facing Verizon's continued attempts to switch you over to a more profitable plan for the company — are about to get a stick instead of a carrot... ...The expansion of the optimization plan to 4G LTE will still carry the same provisions as before: those in the top five percent of Verizon's unlimited data users (which requires one to pull down an average of just around 4.7 gigabytes of monthly data or so) who are enrolled on an unlimited data plan and have fulfilled their minimum contract terms (are now on a month-to-month plan) will be subject to network throttling if they're trying to connect up to a cellular tower that's experiencing high demand. "

I've refrained from taking my free upgrade and instead opted for buying phones to avoid signing a new contract for years now. I use anywhere from 14GB-27GB per month. I've used over 4.8GB in the past 5 days (lots of tethering & Netflix). I'm hoping that I fall through the cracks.

7/30/2014 1:02:20 PM

Do you use your phone/Verizon as your home ISP and/or do you travel a lot?

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 1:09 PM. Reason : Don't you agree that you *should* be throttled though?]

7/30/2014 1:08:40 PM

Quote :

"and have fulfilled their minimum contract terms (are now on a month-to-month plan)"

whew. I'm back on contract.

Quote :

"I've refrained from taking my free upgrade and instead opted for buying phones to avoid signing a new contract for years now."

You don't have to do this. Buy a vzw phone from BB on your contract, ship to home, use the SIM card from your current phone in the new phone. No contract changes, except it gets renewed.

Quote :

"Don't you agree that you *should* be throttled though?"

Not at all. VZW has the infrastructure and money to handle the load. The data capping and throttling is just a means to get people under a new data plan so that customers can be charged texa$ for data usage.

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 1:25 PM. Reason : ,]

7/30/2014 1:21:54 PM

Travel some - but it is negligible. I occasionally use the tethering to subsidize my home ISP (TWC - boooooo!) since we hit a bandwidth issue when we have too many devices using the internet at once. I also do a shit ton of web browsing on my phone.

I don't support throttling in general, but I'm not going to write an angry letter or anything.

I like Verizon, I really do.... so I'd like to take this opportunity to cast the blame onto TWC. I swear 4G is better than my home wifi most of the time. ISP providers are actually going to be taken into consideration next time I buy a house...

Quote :

"You don't have to do this. Buy a vzw phone from BB on your contract, ship to home, use the SIM card from your current phone in the new phone. No contract changes, except it gets renewed."

I don't have a contract. There is nothing to "renew". I am month to month (for ~4 years now)

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 1:32 PM. Reason : ^]

7/30/2014 1:30:52 PM

Quote :

"I swear 4G is better than my home wifi most of the time"

Can't you upgrade your router or similar network hardware to improve your home Wifi?

Also when does TWC start throttling you? How far into the month can you make it?

7/30/2014 2:00:08 PM

you've never had a contract? I've gone m-t-m before and still could "renew" my contract.

7/30/2014 2:00:48 PM

Quote :

"Can't you upgrade your router or similar network hardware to improve your home Wifi? Also when does TWC start throttling you? How far into the month can you make it?"

I upgraded to a NETGEAR WNDR3700. Works great until I get on Xbox and the wife is streaming Netflix. I can still use my laptop downstairs, but hers doesn't receive any bandwidth. I think part of the problem is the receivers on the devices on other floors of our house are not strong enough to compete for bandwidth.

Quote :

"you've never had a contract? I've gone m-t-m before and still could "renew" my contract."

Years ago, yes, we had a contract. We've been told a couple times now (mostly in store or over the phone) that if we take an upgrade, that we have to choose a new plan.

7/30/2014 2:12:52 PM

yeah, you can always renew a contract. It's called buying a new phone at the subsidized 2yr price.

7/30/2014 2:13:03 PM

Just chatted with Verizon to confirm... they say I cannot use my upgrade and keep unlimited data.


Also, upgrading online leads me to a page forcing me to change plan... Default is 12 minutes & 2GB per month for $99. We pay ~$145 for unlimited everything (2 phones).

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 2:25 PM. Reason : asdfgh]

7/30/2014 2:18:37 PM

Think the best buy thing is a loophole. Sure it won't last long.

7/30/2014 2:25:03 PM

Yup, found more info:

http://slickdeals.net/f/6964624-upgrade-and-keep-your-unlimited-data-with-verizon?

That is extremely tempting

7/30/2014 2:35:43 PM

I just did it with no problems.

Thought I meant bestbuy.com and not in store, hence "ship home".

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 2:41 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2014 2:40:20 PM

I'd be going from a Droid Razr Maxx to probably a Galaxy S5. Did you have to cut your sim card or anything like that?

7/30/2014 2:47:40 PM

no, both take a microsim. I just went from the same phone to the GS4 (because it was only $1); otherwise, I would have gotten the GS5.

if at any point in the process, the website asks you to pick a new data plan, stop. that means the loophole has been close. Otherwise, just go with no changes. You may get warnings saying you have to pick a new plan, but as long as it never forces you to choose a plan, you're good.

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 2:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2014 2:51:37 PM

My only issue would be losing free wifi tethering via FoxFi app

7/30/2014 2:53:34 PM

Vanilla Android ftw

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 2:57 PM. Reason : I'd tell ya to wait on the Nexus 6 but it probably won't work with Verizon]

7/30/2014 2:56:44 PM

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn1.vox-cdn.com%2Fassets%2F4837852%2FFCCLettertoVerizon.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEUHJBwTDU8e0bCGFs7aNCElsHfXA

7/30/2014 9:57:25 PM

Whoa.... Cool.

7/30/2014 11:46:43 PM

Was waiting for them to call Verizon out on violating their 700MHz Block C licensing requirement. They're just going to use the "reasonably necessary for the management or protection of the licensee's network" excuse to hide behind.

7/31/2014 9:03:47 AM

^ they will unless they feel they'll actually have to defend their decision

is it worth fighting just to stick it to 1.1% (5% of the 22%) of their overall customer base? maybe, i don't know

7/31/2014 9:19:34 AM

All big red has to do is change "unlimited" bandwidth customers to a new plan. (which they can do if you are out of contract) They can make the plan 5gb 4g + unlimited 3g speed or some shit like t-mobile does.

7/31/2014 10:32:25 AM

i'm very surprised they haven't done away with unlimited, yet...at this point, what are the users going to do? go to another company with the same coverage and unlimited 4G? exactly.

7/31/2014 12:24:17 PM

If VZW dropped my UDP, I'd drop vzw and go with straight talk. No sense in paying VZW twice as much for the same service if I can't have muh data.

7/31/2014 12:55:31 PM

Quote :

" if at any point in the process, the website asks you to pick a new data plan, stop. that means the loophole has been close. Otherwise, just go with no changes. You may get warnings saying you have to pick a new plan, but as long as it never forces you to choose a plan, you're good."

I just pulled the trigger on a Galaxy S5... let's see how it goes. Thanks for the recommendation

7/31/2014 2:53:27 PM

Quote :

"If VZW dropped my UDP, I'd drop vzw and go with straight talk. No sense in paying VZW twice as much for the same service if I can't have muh data."

i guess that's my point, though...VZW is hands-down better service than ST (at least compared to AT&T/TMO) and they still throttle you down after, what, 2.5GB?

granted, you pay waaaaaaay less for it, which is why i dropped VZW even though i still had my UDP, but it's not like ST is comparable

7/31/2014 3:11:29 PM

ST is at least 3GB now. I guess it depends on what you are using for. I mess with my phone a bunch (lots of web browsing), stream music (mainly amazon cloud), use it for a bunch of work email, and don't think twice about limiting my data usage other than using wifi when it is available and I never even come close to the data limit. The most I have ever used in month month is like 2.5GB I think. So for me (and I imagine a lot of people), the 3GB throttling limit isn't that big of a deal.

I can't imagine what someone must be doing to utilize 27GB though but that's gotta be in the <1% of smart phone users.

[Edited on July 31, 2014 at 3:26 PM. Reason : ]

7/31/2014 3:25:01 PM

Based on some of the screenshots floating around, some are using 500GB/mo+. Think one was even over 1TB.

7/31/2014 3:29:06 PM

I really am shocked more people don't use 20+GB. The guys using 200GB+ are pretty crazy

7/31/2014 3:38:11 PM

^^

well if you are tethering and using it as your home internet service streaming movies etc. I would not be that surprised to see some large numbers.

I'm talking about people using it as a smart phone without tethering to something else on a regular basis. And by that I mean streaming music, running various apps, browsing the internet, using drop box now and then, taking and uploading pictures to flickr or another cloud service etc.

I do all that and still only use a couple gigs, but I do latch onto wifi when available.

[Edited on July 31, 2014 at 3:46 PM. Reason : ]

7/31/2014 3:46:12 PM

Quote :

"I really am shocked more people don't use 20+GB."

the average person with a smart phone has home internet service, doesn't want to watch full-length movies on their phone in HD, and likely isn't streaming very much at work (even if they don't have wifi at work)

8/1/2014 12:46:05 PM

My use may mostly be funny gifs

8/1/2014 1:38:57 PM

My useage varies between 10-20GB/month. I don't see how anyone gets below 10GB/month. And I don't consider myself that much of a power user. Some browsing; lots of email (gmail and MSE); music streaming, and a little social networking.

8/1/2014 2:32:19 PM

^ you described my data usage habits, too...but i have wifi at home and work, so i only use cellular data when i have to (not that i go out of my way to avoid it)

8/1/2014 3:12:34 PM

I use wifi at home and at the gym. I guess the 8-10 hr/day at work is killing it

8/1/2014 3:17:36 PM

Somewhat related (don't want to create a new thread)

this arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/obama-signs-phone-unlocking-bill-allies-say-he-beat-partisan-gridlock/

So...what exactly does this mean? Can Verizon still basically refuse to let a phone, now unlockable, from another carries network onto their network?

8/2/2014 10:31:14 AM

10GB is a lot. I was doggedly clinging to my unlimited data plan with AT&T, but the mobile share value plan with 10GB of data was too good of an offer to pass up. I haven't changed my usage habits at all and haven't come close to going over even with 3 other lines sharing the same pool.

8/2/2014 11:55:00 AM

Quote :

"So...what exactly does this mean? Can Verizon still basically refuse to let a phone, now unlockable, from another carries network onto their network?"

I think so, but now they will have to say that they are not allowing because they don't want to vs they can't allow it because it is illegal.

8/2/2014 12:26:59 PM

yeah, they don't have to unlock it for you or provide unlocked devices. They just can't try to prosecute those who unlock them (has that ever even happened?). AFAIK, Verizon's phones are now factory unlocked anyways based on the 700MHz block C requirements (ie you can take it to tmobile or AT&T). This law does nothing in regards to locked bootloaders to prevent changing the software though.

8/2/2014 12:34:59 PM

I have an unlocked unbranded Nexus 7 tablet on my verizon plan with no problems I just switch the sim when I got it. when I look on my verizon it does not show a picture of it but it works fine

8/2/2014 5:27:16 PM

soooooo, I am so pissed off at ATT I wanted to come in here and look at this. I guess I shouldn't switch to VZW either? I pay 145 dollars a month for one freaking phone. 3 gigs of data, 400 unlimited minutes, wireless to wireless anytime, and 5000 night and weekends. They charge me 10 dollars a month for this ghost data thing holding 5 gigs for me so I could upgrade and then lately since I started dating my gf who doesn't have wifi I am at 8-9 gigs a month. I was at 3 on the dot every month before. I even turned off all data. Those POS have me at a 300 dollar bill as of right now and I want the damn out....what should I choose?

8/3/2014 9:08:43 PM

Quote :

"I really am shocked more people don't use 20+GB. The guys using 200GB+ are pretty crazy"

Half the problem is people discussing the reasonableness of x or y amounts of data being used and giving fuel to the conversation. You guys make it sound like using data is equivalent to using water. Data is not some limited resource. Network management is such a bullshit cop out excuse that you'd think the vast majority of the public would call them out. Nobody is looking to the future which is what this entire issue is predicated on. None of these companies are having any problems managing their network infrastructure or getting people the data they need. This is 100% about monetizing future upticks in data "consumption." I put quotes around consumption because, again, it's not like you can run out of data. They simply realize that websites will become more complex, movie streaming will grow more common with larger file sizes and that people are so fucking stupid and complacent with regard to protecting their own interests that they'll be able to just milk more and more money out of them. Nickel and dime tactics 101.

8/3/2014 10:15:52 PM

Quote :

"soooooo, I am so pissed off at ATT I wanted to come in here and look at this. I guess I shouldn't switch to VZW either? I pay 145 dollars a month for one freaking phone. 3 gigs of data, 400 unlimited minutes, wireless to wireless anytime, and 5000 night and weekends. They charge me 10 dollars a month for this ghost data thing holding 5 gigs for me so I could upgrade and then lately since I started dating my gf who doesn't have wifi I am at 8-9 gigs a month. I was at 3 on the dot every month before. I even turned off all data. Those POS have me at a 300 dollar bill as of right now and I want the damn out....what should I choose?"

I can't really answer unless it was like 6 years ago... If it was, then yes, I would have recommended Verizon. $145 per month, unlimited data, minutes, & texts for 2 phones.

8/4/2014 10:49:11 AM

1GB of data costs companies something like $0.13.

8/4/2014 12:36:33 PM

So Verizon responded to the FCC's letter with:


Dear FCC,
Its ok for us to do this because
-it only affects a small number of people... The data hogs
-everybody is doing it

lol,
Verizon

8/5/2014 9:42:53 AM

Lol

8/6/2014 3:36:08 PM

Old thread, but related news:

Quote :

"Finally, we come Verizon, which yesterday announced a new tier to its “unlimited” phones plans which now consists of the Go Unlimited plan for $75 a month, Beyond Unlimited for $85 a month, and the new Above Unlimited Plan for $95 a month. Now as ridiculous as having three different “unlimited” plans already is, the main benefit of Above Unlimited is that it increases the soft cap on the amount of “unlimited” data available in the Beyond plan from 22GB per month to 75GB per month with Above Unlimited. You also get a small bump in hotspot data from 15GB with Beyond Unlimited to 20GB on Above Unlimited. Meanwhile streaming video is restricted to 480p for Go, while Beyond and Above Unlimited get 720p."

6/17/2018 12:57:32 AM

Verizon pisses me off. I am not using their internet to stream Netflix to my house or honestly anywhere except working remotely. I would however like to be able to use my hotspot for faster tethering than 600kbps....so I can WORK. 600kbps is SLOW. The base UNLIMITED plan is useless now for any type of business user. when you upgrade plans you have to do all the phones on your plan so have fun with that. For a while I got by using my Mint Mobile phone (my second cell phone) for tethering until my wife needed hers and she only has one phone so the whole thing had to jump in price.

ATT actually has a better plan and supposedly comparable coverage so we will see what happens, my phone is almost paid off.

6/25/2018 9:51:36 AM

Quote :

"I would however like to be able to use my hotspot for faster tethering than 600kbps....so I can WORK. 600kbps is SLOW"

I don't know what hardware you're using, but I just tethered off my phone hotspot with my unlimited plan and got 32.3 Mbs

The speed is more tower specific. I can't imagine you're pulling 600k on a 4G connection.

[Edited on June 27, 2018 at 9:23 PM. Reason : What am I missing here?]

6/27/2018 9:21:56 PM