Verizon Unlimited Users Averaging 200GB Or More Per Month Get The Boot

Zarathustra[H] said:
You are right. Some need more than others based on their circumstances and needs.

No one - however - needs to torrent or stream movies on the go. That's what land lines are for.
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No one needs to stream movies on the go? Seriously? That's your stance?

To hell with that. I pay the damn bill. I pay my netflix bill. If I want to watch netflix on my official netflix app on my phone im paying for I sure as hell will, screw what anyone thinks I need. If I want to stream my movies from my home server over my internet connection and my mobile connection from my plex server using my paid plex account I sure as hell am going to. If no one needs to watch movies or consume any kind of media on their phone why the hell did 3G get invented? 4G? Whatever the next standard is that's going to take the mantle next? What's the point of all of those?

Who gives 2 shits how I usew hat I pay for. I'm not breaking the law. I'm not even breaking my contract. Mobile internet exists for only one point, consumption. Period. Consuming media is easily the largest part of that. No matter how you want to look at it, if you feel that people don't need to use the very thing they bought for the very purpose they bought it, I don't know what to tell you. Seriously, I am so dumb founded by this response. I can understand if someone says hey, I don't use my internet on my phone except as an emergency between wifi points. I can understand that, you pay for it, you do what you want. But to come out and say no one needs to use their internet on their phone for any other reason then what I deem necessary, seriously?
 
Parja said:
Yup, that's me...though I don't even have shitty DSL available.

Pretty simple, people. Pull SIM from phone, install in 4G USB adapter, plug adapter into wireless router that supports adapter...ta da, 4G home Intarwebs. Been rocking that setup for quite a few years now. Get a pretty consistent 35/20 from it, so I wasn't going to complain.

Got my "Dear John" letter from Verizon yesterday, so looks like I'll be looking at the local wireless ISP. Bleh, looks like about the same price for 10/2 service. Since I cut the cord a few months ago, we're definitely in the 200+GB camp.
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Cricket unlimited, 8MBps down, uncapped upload (just what the tower can do), on AT&T. That's what I'll be switching to should AT&T ever pull the plug on my iPad Unlimited Data Plan that I have had in a MoFi Router for a few years now. DSL isn't even an option here anymore, AT&T will no longer install DSL service in my area, even if you had it a day prior. They are killing it off through attrition.
 
Dew said:
Cricket unlimited, 8MBps down, uncapped upload (just what the tower can do), on AT&T.
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AT&T's coverage around here isn't the greatest.

Can you swap the SIM into a USB adapter? Looking at their site, they're pretty specific about the unlimited being for phones only.

thesmokingman said:
Come to T-mobile, you free bandwidth for netflix, etc.
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T-Mobile coverage sucks balls around here.
 
Parja said:
AT&T's coverage around here isn't the greatest.

Can you swap the SIM into a USB adapter? Looking at their site, they're pretty specific about the unlimited being for phones only.
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They are pretty adamant that you cant, but I have a friend in Hawaii that does exactly this after I told him about it months back. You might need to change the APN to ndo, but that is it.

Edit: It looks like Cricket is starting to crack down based on known hotspot IMEIs, so you may have to use an Android phone and USB tether it to your router to avoid the hammer.
 
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Wish the FCC would do something about this other than write strongly worded letters.

Wishful thinking...
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Ahh, my bad. I didn't realize they were grandfathering rollovers into new contracts.

I thought all grandfathered meant was that they kept offering the same old service as a post-contract month to month rate, which is why there were no further discounted equipment upgrades after 2011.

Either way, I'm surprised they have let this go on for as long as they have. If they really wanted to get rid of unlimited service they should have just done it. They should have sent a letter, something like this:



The way this keeps dragging on year after year is just kind of ridiculous. In the time since they have been grandfathering unlimited users I switched TO Verizon (giving up my grandfathered AT&T unlimited plan in the process) in 2012 and then decided that Verizon was no longer for me and switched to Google Project Fi in April last year...
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The reason is because when they first started discontinuing unlimited, there was a large percentage of their user base on unlimited. You can't just tell that many people that when your contract is done, so is your service unless you switch to what we want. They would have lost customers in droves.

This has been a strategic mission for years to gradually wean users off unlimited by taking away things like discounted upgrades and raising unlimited plan pricing. Once they got that percentage under 10%, they've aggressively been targeting unlimited customers. Now I think that number is under 1%, so yea they really don't care about forcing heavy users off. They'll gladly continue to rake in the profits from unlimited users that barely use any data though.
 
I don't pirate anymore, I don't think I use my internet excessively, but I consistently use about a TB a month.... somehow :D
 
If i would ditch my isp and celluar service....I would save around $4200 per 12 months....pls put in bandwidth caps so i can tell them to stick it in their own ass!


Any idea what i can do with $4200 savings?
 
I think companies should no longer be allowed to use the word "Unlimited" in their marketing in any way, shape, or manner unless they use the actual definition of the word - without limitations of ANY kind - and if they don't use that definition of that word then they get fined and penalized in manners which make the cost of the bandwidth those people using "excessive" amounts of bandwidth seem rather piddly by comparison.

I'm sick of companies using that word in their marketing and advertising and we all know none of them are ever actually meaning it and doing everything they can to actually do nothing BUT limit the "unlimited" service.
 
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MavericK said:
But seriously...my folks have an unlimited Verizon plan because they can't really get any other decent internet service where they live. I think they use around 60 GB a month so this may not affect them, but it is still ridiculous to put a "cap" on an unlimited service.
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Tell your folks to find some new hobbies because shortly 60 GB will be considered "excessive use" of their "unlimited plan". I got my letter today and like your parents it's the only viable option for internet. So it's either give up gaming or move.
 
Oh how I will miss thee.

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They finally got me. Received my termination letter. On February 17th HELLO T-mobile!
 
Still have unlimited data on contract until February of 2018. Never got hit with price hikes, as I kept it on contract. I have been averaging 300+ GB monthly. I always turn on my Hotspot so friends don't have to use their data. Verizon charges $30 for Hotspot if you have unlimited, but I use a Nexus 6p or my S7 edge with a custom rom so I don't have to pay that $30. I have been sticking it to Verizon for as long as possible, but it looks like my time is up once my contract runs out. Goodbye Verizon.
 
BloodyIron said:
And yet this kind of false advertising is legal?
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No, because the unlimited plan does not exist anymore. It's no longer being advertised. Unless you have an unlimited plan that is still under contract they can terminate business with you at any point.
 
The concession to getting terminated is that I can get a 100 GB data cap for a mere $710. Funny how over the summer it was only $450. Damn, data is more valuable than gold. INVEST IN DATA!!!
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
I agree, but to be fair Verizon hasn't advertised "Unlimited" data since 2011.
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Doesn't matter. If they advertise Unlimited, then it's unlimited. Period. Unless there's some sort of disclaimer in the fast talk/fine print, which is how corporations usually screw over their customers. It's really one of the big problems in America that the corporations are still allowed to weasel out of marketing products deceptively. And it's not going to change any time soon, because Weasel in chief is soon going to be in the white house.
Prod1702 said:
Most of the unlimited data customers are not in contract from what I have seen. This means that Verizon can do what they want because the contract is over.
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Uh, no. If you sell a product you should honor it AS DESCRIBED. Unless they specifically wrote 'Unlimited data for 24 months only' then they're obligated to provide what they sold.

It's like offering a product with a 'lifetime guarantee' and then saying the guarantee is over because the lifetime's up when the product dies.

Ur_Mom said:
They keep saying they upgraded it and it's the fastest, most reliable network. Apparently not...
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Well they spent a small fortune building their network so they could offer better service, and advertise it as such. most of the people I know that have Verizon wireless are happy with it. The problem lies in Verizon's lies. Seems few corporations stand behind their products; big business is all about ripping people off.
 
nightfly said:
Doesn't matter. If they advertise Unlimited, then it's unlimited. Period. Unless there's some sort of disclaimer in the fast talk/fine print, which is how corporations usually screw over their customers. It's really one of the big problems in America that the corporations are still allowed to weasel out of marketing products deceptively. And it's not going to change any time soon, because Weasel in chief is soon going to be in the white house.
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But they're not taking away the "unlimited-ness" of the plan. There's nothing about the plan that's changing. They're just no longer allowing certain customers to continue on the unlimited plan.

nightfly said:
Uh, no. If you sell a product you should honor it AS DESCRIBED. Unless they specifically wrote 'Unlimited data for 24 months only' then they're obligated to provide what they sold.

It's like offering a product with a 'lifetime guarantee' and then saying the guarantee is over because the lifetime's up when the product dies.
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They haven't actually advertised or offered the unlimited plan to new customers in almost 6 years. And I'm pretty sure there was never anything in the contract saying that you get to keep the plan you have indefinitely. Once your contract is up, Verizon or the customer is pretty much free to make changes as they see fit.

Now if they tried to pull this on someone still under contract...then they've got a problem. But even then, the recourse for the customer is probably just the ability to get out of the contract without any sort of penalty.
 
rgMekanic said:
I used to use around 1-1.5TB a month back when the wife and I didn't have internet so I did everything tethered off my phone heh. Verizon is getting to be about shitty with things like this, their upgrade policies, and their ever increasing rates. It just sicks because their about the only ones where I can get a signal in my house :(
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Do you have Broadband at home? Because most of the larger providers offer some sort of extender for their network, but it requires a Broadband Internet connection to work. They range in price from free (with contract) to around $250 on time fee.
 
Skillz said:
Do you have Broadband at home? Because most of the larger providers offer some sort of extender for their network, but it requires a Broadband Internet connection to work. They range in price from free (with contract) to around $250 on time fee.
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I've got 100Mbps fiber now at home. I've heard about the extenders, but when I was looking into them a few years ago you had to fight tooth and nail to try and get one
 
Didn't some court already rule they can't throttle or cut back on the data limit? Was that ruling vacated and put into appeals?
 
rgMekanic said:
I used to use around 1-1.5TB a month back when the wife and I didn't have internet so I did everything tethered off my phone heh. Verizon is getting to be about shitty with things like this, their upgrade policies, and their ever increasing rates. It just sicks because their about the only ones where I can get a signal in my house :(
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You could go to republic wireless and use wifi. I never had a dropped call and the reception in my area is awful. Only problem is there's about 1/10th mile radius where I leave my house where the reception is spotty at best. (They use Sprint's network)
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Once the infrastructure is in place, you are right the cost is low.

However if wireless data abuse forces them expand their networks it can cost in the millions or even billions.

More immediately overuse of data just hurts the users, by slowing networks down and leading to congestion.
.
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True. Until we know saturation rates on average and projected growth (which I imagine are highly protected secrets) we don't know when we'll run out of bandwidth. And you are right, that does get expensive.

Maybe verizon should offer people that violate the 200 GB limit pico-cells. And if they have bad internet access, well then they are just screwed.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
You could go to republic wireless and use wifi. I never had a dropped call and the reception in my area is awful. Only problem is there's about 1/10th mile radius where I leave my house where the reception is spotty at best. (They use Sprint's network)
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I hadn't heard of them, they look really good, only bummer I see is the lack of HTC phones, but I've heard good things about the Motorola stuff
 
Parja said:
But they're not taking away the "unlimited-ness" of the plan. There's nothing about the plan that's changing. They're just no longer allowing certain customers to continue on the unlimited plan. They haven't actually advertised or offered the unlimited plan to new customers in almost 6 years. And I'm pretty sure there was never anything in the contract saying that you get to keep the plan you have indefinitely. Once your contract is up, Verizon or the customer is pretty much free to make changes as they see fit.
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Hmm. So, once the contract is up, verizon should be willing to accept oh, $39.99 a month as full payment for the same unlimited service, as no one should expect a customer to continue paying full price for a service once 'off contract'. Because there was never anything in the contract saying that they get to keep the billing schedule they have indefinitely. The customer is just making changes in the plan as he sees fit. Same thing.
How do you think Verizon would accept that?
 
BeavermanA said:
Imagine you live in a place where 6mbps/784kbps dsl is the best landline internet available. Now imagine you have a phone that gets 140mbps/35mbps, and said phone has the ability to tether to a wifi router and be used as a USB modem. I can use 4gb in 4 minutes.
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If you live in that kind of backwater I would imagine killing your dinner and getting the fire started would be bigger priorities than streaming the latest Dancing with the Stars.
 
conscript said:
If you live in that kind of backwater I would imagine killing your dinner and getting the fire started would be bigger priorities than streaming the latest Dancing with the Stars.
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Unfortunately much of the US is stuck on "up to 6mbps" dsl once you get outside the larger cities. I live in a decent sized modern subdivision, one of several in my town. There's zero competition, so the local monopoly has no reason to upgrade anything other than prices.
 
nightfly said:
Uh, no. If you sell a product you should honor it AS DESCRIBED. Unless they specifically wrote 'Unlimited data for 24 months only' then they're obligated to provide what they sold.
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if you read their TOS I am sure it says something about changing it if they want out of contract. I am not saying this is right but it is the way things work out. If you don't like it change company's. That is why there are others out there.
 
Prod1702 said:
if you read their TOS I am sure it says something about changing it if they want out of contract.
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The problem lies in loudly and broadly advertising one thing and selling another, with fine print/fast talk disclaimers screwing the customer. I'm not saying it's not legal, because apparently it is. But, for the best example, auto commercials which loudly proclaim while showing in huge letters and pictures/videos SUPER DUPER SHOWCAR ONLY $179 A MONTH! while in the disclaimer saying that the vehicle shown has lots of options and is actually twice that price and requires a $10,000 'payment upon signing' (they stopped calling it a 'down payment' because of legislation, now it's a 'non refundable security deposit', and I'm sure they'll change that if a law is made for that one); there's just something very wrong with how those companies advertise their products. Verizon for example, also uses deceptive advertising in all their internet services, again, taking away in the fine print/fast talk what they want you to believe that you will be getting.
The bottom line is, there is plenty of money to be made by making a good product because people will willingly buy it. Only evil bastards feel the need to try to fool people into thinking they're getting more than they actually will. And that's why we sometimes get laws passed to prevent it, and then the corporations go nuts screaming that they've been cheated out of all those potential profits they would have made by doing all that evil shit.
 
I always find it annoying how Verizon commercials would promote "UNLIMITED data plan of 10GB!!!!"

Really now? Really...
 
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