Verizon To Throttle 4G LTE Users With Unlimited Plans

I am happy with T-Mobile up here in Seattle. $65 a month unlimited everything. I also user around 9-10GB a month worth of data. No throttling.
 
I have unlimited Verizon. I use more than 5GB/month. I keep it because other carriers are shit in some of the areas I (and my family) frequent. I won't be dropping anything until this actually affects me.
 
Pezzy said:
I have unlimited Verizon. I use more than 5GB/month. I keep it because other carriers are shit in some of the areas I (and my family) frequent. I won't be dropping anything until this actually affects me.
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That seems to be the common theme amongst us VZW users. I actually left T-Mo back when I moved to this part of the country maybe 6 years ago. VZW was the only carrier worth having in this area. 6 years later still pretty much the same story.
Now yes if my service is noticeably different and I'm getting throttled down badly sure I'll explore other options but likely not until I have to cross that bridge
 
Damn I use near 20gb a month on tmobile. No throttling here. I have heard they throttle you at 22gb
 
Come on guys, Verizon only made 4.34 Billion in profit last quarter. They need more next quarter. :D
 
Shotglass01 said:
I flat-out cannot see how Verizon stays in business.
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Because where I live they have by far the best coverage. I would switch to T-Mobile or whatever in a heartbeat if they had decent coverage here. Maybe someday it will improve...
 
Even where Tmo coverage is good, it's bad. When I had Tmo I could fly at 30mbps in my office building. If I walked 100 ft to the other side, absolutely no signal whatsoever, complete dead zone. Now that I'm back on VZW it isnt phased at all. I know this is due to construction materials in the building and frequency wavelengths and all that, but the point remains. Cant be having my shit enter airplane mode 10x per day.
 
McFry said:
Even where Tmo coverage is good, it's bad. When I had Tmo I could fly at 30mbps in my office building. If I walked 100 ft to the other side, absolutely no signal whatsoever, complete dead zone. Now that I'm back on VZW it isnt phased at all. I know this is due to construction materials in the building and frequency wavelengths and all that, but the point remains. Cant be having my shit enter airplane mode 10x per day.
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Yeah ain't that the truth. Last two jobs I've had were both inside large concrete structures [VMWare server farm and now a Federal Building]. Co-workers on other carrieres often cannot get signal in certain parts of the building. I just blaze away.
 
i left verizon after 5 years of crappy service holes in there lte service and this is in toledo,oh and after taking the time to read about cell tower's and cell feq's i learned my fair share,

i was about $70 for unl talk/txt and 2gb of data for verizon, i went 1mb over on my 2gb plan i got charged $10 i said am done with data plans and i left for tmobile

now i pay $110 a month for unl talktxt/data and i use about 15 gb mouth and i have not looked back.

tmobile they have made verizon and att to make wireless plans that were not there before and verizon traded 700mhz spectrum for tmobile 1700mhz spectrum because verizon was running out of higher spectrum thats why alot of people say slow speed's on verizon

everyone already knows tmobile has alot of 2g towers then verizon/att/sprint but the company has begin changing that.
 
I'm not a fan of Verizon. I live in Dallas and use AT&T as my cell provider. Their coverage is pretty good out here.

What I personally do is just buy the cheapest data plan, keep data turned off, and just roam around looking for a Wi-Fi signal. There are so many Wi-Fi hotspots around here that you barely ever need 4G/3G. I only use the data plan in an emergency if I'm lost and need to access an online map service for directions. Maybe if I'm desperate to check my e-mail, but I rarely have an urgent need to check it immediately.

For a lot of things, I can forgo using data entirely and use my unlimited texting or talk service. For instance, I can call my bank on the phone instead of going to their website to check my account balance, or I can check the bus schedules by texting a number. There are a lot of ways around using those crippled data plans for most practical purposes.
 
athenian200 said:
I'm not a fan of Verizon. I live in Dallas and use AT&T as my cell provider. Their coverage is pretty good out here.

What I personally do is just buy the cheapest data plan, keep data turned off, and just roam around looking for a Wi-Fi signal. There are so many Wi-Fi hotspots around here that you barely ever need 4G/3G. I only use the data plan in an emergency if I'm lost and need to access an online map service for directions. Maybe if I'm desperate to check my e-mail, but I rarely have an urgent need to check it immediately.

For a lot of things, I can forgo using data entirely and use my unlimited texting or talk service. For instance, I can call my bank on the phone instead of going to their website to check my account balance, or I can check the bus schedules by texting a number. There are a lot of ways around using those crippled data plans for most practical purposes.
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I hear what you're saying. I suppose part of the luxury and premium of having VZW and having unlimited is not have to make compromises, other than price. Its like the gas guzzling SUV I drive. Sure I could walk, take the bus, bike or trade down for a better mileage vehicle; i.e switch to TMo, Sprint or ATT. At the end of the day I like my SUV and justify the $80 fill ups just as I do my VZW bill. Yes they're the most expensive carrier but just as I won't get a Prius I won't go to TMo or ATT just yet. Maybe its different in the urban metro centers. But in my area and my town it makes the most sense for me to stick it out for now. I'm getting what I pay for. Now if I get massively throttled which I rather doubt then sure I'll cross that bridge if I ever get there.
 
GonzoP said:
I hear what you're saying. I suppose part of the luxury and premium of having VZW and having unlimited is not have to make compromises, other than price. Its like the gas guzzling SUV I drive. Sure I could walk, take the bus, bike or trade down for a better mileage vehicle; i.e switch to TMo, Sprint or ATT. At the end of the day I like my SUV and justify the $80 fill ups just as I do my VZW bill. Yes they're the most expensive carrier but just as I won't get a Prius I won't go to TMo or ATT just yet. Maybe its different in the urban metro centers. But in my area and my town it makes the most sense for me to stick it out for now. I'm getting what I pay for. Now if I get massively throttled which I rather doubt then sure I'll cross that bridge if I ever get there.
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I think that's pretty honest, and it's fair enough. I do think that Verizon targets people who can afford to pay a lot and who won't complain about their bill... they aren't very understanding when you try to negotiate price with them or talk about getting something cheaper. Other companies seem to understand customers calling about getting some kind of deal every once in a while, and sometimes they're even enthusiastic about telling you what they can do for you. Verizon tends to expect you to just pay your expensive bill and never whine about it.

I've never really understood the whole driving a gas-guzzler thing, either. My Mom drives a Corolla, and I take the bus everywhere, trying to schedule my rides during off-peak hours to get better rates. I do everything I can to save/get a buck, more or less. Including spending hours trying to earn Bing Rewards points, searching for coupons, doing price comparisons, and filling out surveys. I like living in an urban center because I have a lot of options and a better quality of service, with anything from pizza delivery to Internet service. In a less central area, you have to spend more to get anything done, and what you pay out the nose to get might just be inferior.

I mean, I will spend a lot on something upfront if I know I'm getting more out of it in the long run. But I don't like anything that keeps costing money and adding up, especially if I'm not getting real, measurable value for that money.

I know the way you think is fairly common, but I was just never able to get on board with it. When a company tries to appeal to that mentality, it leaves me cold. Although in some cases, you have to look hard to find anyone willing to do business the old-fashioned way. Too many companies these days just want to try doing this snooty Apple thing where they charge too much and then expect you to think of them as high quality while eagerly paying your bill.

I guess we live in two different worlds, LOL.
 
athenian200 said:
I think that's pretty honest, and it's fair enough. I do think that Verizon targets people who can afford to pay a lot and who won't complain about their bill... they aren't very understanding when you try to negotiate price with them or talk about getting something cheaper. Other companies seem to understand customers calling about getting some kind of deal every once in a while, and sometimes they're even enthusiastic about telling you what they can do for you. Verizon tends to expect you to just pay your expensive bill and never whine about it.

I've never really understood the whole driving a gas-guzzler thing, either. My Mom drives a Corolla, and I take the bus everywhere, trying to schedule my rides during off-peak hours to get better rates. I do everything I can to save/get a buck, more or less. Including spending hours trying to earn Bing Rewards points, searching for coupons, doing price comparisons, and filling out surveys. I like living in an urban center because I have a lot of options and a better quality of service, with anything from pizza delivery to Internet service. In a less central area, you have to spend more to get anything done, and what you pay out the nose to get might just be inferior.

I mean, I will spend a lot on something upfront if I know I'm getting more out of it in the long run. But I don't like anything that keeps costing money and adding up, especially if I'm not getting real, measurable value for that money.

I know the way you think is fairly common, but I was just never able to get on board with it. When a company tries to appeal to that mentality, it leaves me cold. Although in some cases, you have to look hard to find anyone willing to do business the old-fashioned way. Too many companies these days just want to try doing this snooty Apple thing where they charge too much and then expect you to think of them as high quality while eagerly paying your bill.

I guess we live in two different worlds, LOL.
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Respect your words and your point of view and I share most of your opinion. Let me assure I'm not some rich elitist dude [though I know that several [H]ers are six figure income guys and that's great for them]. No part of the reason I drive an SUV is I didn't want to be minivan Dad. Bought my SUV years ago before gas spiraled out of control and now there isn't really the trade in value. So I just keep it since its paid for and deal with the mileage. There is a practicality in having an SUV when you had kids and live somewhere where it snows.
Believe me sometimes I spent a moderate bit of cash on stuff but I'm also still rocking a x58 LGA1366 set up here. My two PC upgrades this year were $120 on a steal of an ebay auction for a 7970 and $70 for my Xeon 5650. Same mobo and same ram I've had for a couple years now. Rest assured we're not in different universes ;)
The Verizon thing really does come down to coverage, service and being grandfathered into the unlimited data.
 
Does the European and Asian regions have this problem? From what I have heard this kind of corporate market system is more unique to North America than the rest of the world. Just curious if the USA is alone in this type of wireless pricing.
 
Ruoh said:
And you can blame people like FiveFig for helping this happen.
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TLDR:
Why, because I use a service that I pay for?


Because I saw the writing on the wall and pay cash for new phones instead of accepting a ursurous subsidy (omg wtf is he talking about)
Do people know how to save for the future anymore or do they expect pure entitlement and what that doesn't get them a credit card sure will right?

It's funny the "Top 5% users" are just barely over the 4GB mark, so they have gotten 95% of their customer base to bend over the barrel and accept a pittance of 4GB data before they start cutting off arms and legs to be able to afford to listen to a song, watch a movie, read an e-mail, etc... kinda reminds me of the thousand dollar itunes bills back in the day haha!

Not that it matters, I could be torenting porn all day long and it wouldn't matter because I paid for a service, so I will use it.
The funniest part I think is the fact that as part of my job (security testing) I need a computer outside the network to test firewall messages and such.

How would you feel if Detroit decided to throttle their water and electric services during peak times. Sure they are cutting off service to the ones who have stopped paying their bill, but the ones that are still paying their water and electricity need to learn who is in charge.
During the hours of 6:00AM-10:00PM water service will be throttled to 10PSI and from 10:00PM-6:00AM 'normal' water service will resume at 25 PSI.
Upgraded services will be added for increased PSI coming to your new regulator (I'm sure you saw the bill in the mail, and all service prices have increased to absorb the cost) at 0.1 PSI increments.
Ditto for electricity only different, but you get the point... I hope...
 
FiveFig said:
TLDR:
Why, because I use a service that I pay for?


Because I saw the writing on the wall and pay cash for new phones instead of accepting a ursurous subsidy (omg wtf is he talking about)
Do people know how to save for the future anymore or do they expect pure entitlement and what that doesn't get them a credit card sure will right?

It's funny the "Top 5% users" are just barely over the 4GB mark, so they have gotten 95% of their customer base to bend over the barrel and accept a pittance of 4GB data before they start cutting off arms and legs to be able to afford to listen to a song, watch a movie, read an e-mail, etc... kinda reminds me of the thousand dollar itunes bills back in the day haha!

Not that it matters, I could be torenting porn all day long and it wouldn't matter because I paid for a service, so I will use it.
The funniest part I think is the fact that as part of my job (security testing) I need a computer outside the network to test firewall messages and such.

How would you feel if Detroit decided to throttle their water and electric services during peak times. Sure they are cutting off service to the ones who have stopped paying their bill, but the ones that are still paying their water and electricity need to learn who is in charge.
During the hours of 6:00AM-10:00PM water service will be throttled to 10PSI and from 10:00PM-6:00AM 'normal' water service will resume at 25 PSI.
Upgraded services will be added for increased PSI coming to your new regulator (I'm sure you saw the bill in the mail, and all service prices have increased to absorb the cost) at 0.1 PSI increments.
Ditto for electricity only different, but you get the point... I hope...
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Cities "throttle" water and power all the time (where they have hard constraints like drought or power shortages) ... although rolling blackouts aren't common in the USA, they are used when necessary (and consumers are often at the bottom of the priority list after business and hospitals and such) ... also, drought plagued cities can be very draconian with water restrictions

That said, Verizon's decision to throttle is likely a business decision and not a constraint requirement ... and ultimately, they do have the power to terminate all the unlimited contracts if they had to ... generally easier to do it through throttling where some users will quit on their own (thereby terminating their contract) and others will abide with the new restrictions
 
FiveFig said:
TLDR:
Why, because I use a service that I pay for?
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No, because you ABUSE the service you pay for. I get the fact that you pay for it. That's not my beef. My problem is that you are going above and beyond (Are you paying for that tethering option?) what the service was intended to be used for.

In doing so, you (and the others in the same mind set) have essentially ruined it for everyone that wasn't abusing it. So, now the toys are being taken away. Get it?
 
Ruoh said:
No, because you ABUSE the service you pay for. I get the fact that you pay for it. That's not my beef. My problem is that you are going above and beyond (Are you paying for that tethering option?) what the service was intended to be used for.

In doing so, you (and the others in the same mind set) have essentially ruined it for everyone that wasn't abusing it. So, now the toys are being taken away. Get it?
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Should someone even have to pay for tethering from a carrier when all newer phones come with it built in now (but is blocked by Verizon/Carriers)? Umm, no, absolutely not. It's just like them locking a phone down and making it impossible to remove bloatware which is why the law just finally caught up and legalized phone unlocking.

On top of all that you're crazy delusional if you don't think they were moving to a tiered plan regardless of the top 5% users usage. There's money in it and they knew this. Obviously you just like blaming the victims though.
 
JaiWebb said:
Should someone even have to pay for tethering from a carrier when all newer phones come with it built in now (but is blocked by Verizon/Carriers)? Umm, no, absolutely not. It's just like them locking a phone down and making it impossible to remove bloatware which is why the law just finally caught up and legalized phone unlocking.

On top of all that you're crazy delusional if you don't think they were moving to a tiered plan regardless of the top 5% users usage. There's money in it and they knew this. Obviously you just like blaming the victims though.
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You should have to pay for it, if it's in the TOS when you sign your contract, yes.
 
Ruoh said:
You should have to pay for it, if it's in the TOS when you sign your contract, yes.
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Everything is in the TOS these days. Who gives a shit. They shouldn't be able to gimp a phone and then turn around and charge extra for what the phone did on its own, stock.

Companies shouldn't be able to lobby for anti-consumer laws to begin with. And last time I checked I paid $650 for my phone that has the tethering option straight from the manufacturer and I pay for the 'unlimited data' plan. So, yeah, fuck that garbage.

I don't care about unfair TOS agreements when everyone of them are unfair and anti-consumer.
 
JaiWebb said:
Everything is in the TOS these days. Who gives a shit. They shouldn't be able to gimp a phone and then turn around and charge extra for what the phone did on its own, stock.

Companies shouldn't be able to lobby for anti-consumer laws to begin with. And last time I checked I paid $650 for my phone that has the tethering option straight from the manufacturer and I pay for the 'unlimited data' plan. So, yeah, fuck that garbage.

I don't care about unfair TOS agreements when everyone of them are unfair and anti-consumer.
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This is what you aren't getting. When these grandfathered unlimited plans came into existence (It wasn't grandfathered at the time, they were new) tethering via the OS wasn't available. It WAS available via third party, or directly from the cell provider.

I'm not referring to "modern" unlimited plans, I'm talking about the old school Verizon plan.
 
Ruoh said:
This is what you aren't getting. When these grandfathered unlimited plans came into existence (It wasn't grandfathered at the time, they were new) tethering via the OS wasn't available. It WAS available via third party, or directly from the cell provider.
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Well when they let me use my Note 3 on Verizon they gave up that excuse. On top of that I'm pretty sure a lot of people got unlimited data plans WITH phones that tethered on their own, Verizon just blocked it to overcharge its customers.

I'm not referring to "modern" unlimited plans, I'm talking about the old school Verizon plan
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Me, too.
 
Ruoh said:
This is what you aren't getting. When these grandfathered unlimited plans came into existence (It wasn't grandfathered at the time, they were new) tethering via the OS wasn't available. It WAS available via third party, or directly from the cell provider.

I'm not referring to "modern" unlimited plans, I'm talking about the old school Verizon plan.
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It was available on my droid 1, which is when I got my unlimited plan...
 
JaiWebb said:
This! I was told I'd get unlimited 4G, not 5GB of 4G and then unlimited (throttled) 3G. This is BS! I want a class action lawsuit, now.
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Wasn't Verizon still doing just 3G the last time they offered unlimited data plans?
 
Ruoh said:
This is what you aren't getting. When these grandfathered unlimited plans came into existence (It wasn't grandfathered at the time, they were new) tethering via the OS wasn't available. It WAS available via third party, or directly from the cell provider.

I'm not referring to "modern" unlimited plans, I'm talking about the old school Verizon plan.
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thats not true, tether via WIRELESS wasn't available, you could tether an internet connection using a cell phone as a modem going back into the 90s.
 
Oh crap. I didn't realize the top 5% threshold starts at just 4.7 GB. I rarely stream media on 4G and I still am racking up 3-4 GB/mo. in data. I use Wi-Fi at home. F U, VZW! :mad: :(
 
Instead of taking bigger bonuses, maybe that money should go into...I dunno, a better infrastructure possibly?
 
Outamyhead said:
Instead of taking bigger bonuses, maybe that money should go into...I dunno, a better infrastructure possibly?
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Since I switched jobs last year and now work for an infrastructure manufacturer I wholeheartedly concur :cool:
 
Verizon will figure a way around it. Probably continue throttling but not admitting to it and force the Govt to prove it. At this point Verizon is more concerned about profit and share holders instead of customers. I don't think they really care about those grand fathered into unlimited.
 
Ruoh said:
You should have to pay for it, if it's in the TOS when you sign your contract, yes.
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It wasn't in my TOS but it was added against my will.
So I flashed my phone to something they can't tell I use it to tether on.

Who's the bigger asshole, me for tethering and not paying extra like Sprint wants or Sprint for changing my TOS mid contract and expecting me to pay extra for something I was entitled to with the deal we signed?
 
Skott said:
Verizon will figure a way around it. Probably continue throttling but not admitting to it and force the Govt to prove it. At this point Verizon is more concerned about profit and share holders instead of customers. I don't think they really care about those grand fathered into unlimited.
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Of course not which is why they are doing this. I use about 15gigs a month if I was on a tiered plan they'd be milking more $$ out of me if I paid by the gig. That's all this is a money grab
 
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