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Topic: Verizon

Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

Summary: Word is leaking around the web today that the Verizon tiered data plans the company has warned about are about to become reality. Surprisingly, rates will be the same for 3G and 4G data service.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

Word is leaking around the web today that the Verizon tiered data plans the company has warned about are about to become reality. These are not confirmed by the company but the information is pretty detailed and paints an ugly future for smartphone and tablet data consumers. The surprising information is that Verizon is apparently charging the same for 3G and 4G with these new plans.

The plans offer a paid tier of data beginning July 7 that is reportedly priced as follows:

  • 2GB:$30
  • 5GB: $50
  • 10GB: $80

These monthly fees apply to smartphones and are surprisingly not dependent on 3G or 4G connections. According to the leaked information these rates apply to either service, even though Verizon's 4G LTE network is many times faster than the older 3G network and doesn't cover nearly as big an area as the 3G network. Apparently Verizon has decided that a bit is bit when it comes to charging, not concerned with how fast they are moved around the network. Customers who want to add tethering, the ability to share the phone's data connection with other devices, will need special plans that include that service. The following monthly rates will apply for plans including tethering:

  • 4GB: $50
  • 7GB: $70
  • 12GB: $100

These tethering plans lump regular data caps with tethering consumption for the rates as indicated. Hitting the data cap in any month does not shut down the service, Verizon charges a hefty $10/GB overage fee.

Tablets will get their own data plans with Big Red, with two tiers available for the slates. A 1GB monthly plan will cost $20 while a 2GB plan will be priced at $30. It's a safe bet this excludes the ability to use the tablet for tethering.

The leaked information indicates that existing Verizon customers with unlimited data on their smartphones will be grandfathered in for the duration of their contracts. Any upgrading of equipment has historically been treated as a new contract so those with grandfathered unlimited plans may want to hold on to that older equipment as long as possible.

Topics: Verizon, Collaboration, Microsoft, Software

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36 comments
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  • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

    I wish Apple would use some of their pile of cash to either buy an existing phone provider or else start their own cell data network. This charging by the bit is just a bunch of BS.

    There is no way that Apple can move completely to the cloud with data plans like this.
    noibs
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      It's absolutely stupid that they treat users like this. And personally I think this metering by the bit is absolutely stupid. What they should charge you for isn't how much data you suck down, they should charge you for the average rate at which you consume data, which should be calculated monthly and applied to the bill. I can easily see plans like this
      Note these are AVERAGE use values, calculated at the end of a month:
      250MB/day - $X
      500MB/day - $XX
      1GB/day - $XXX
      2GB/day - $XXX

      And so on... You'd pick one of the plans which reflects your common usage and if your average exceeded the usage at the end of the month, you'd pay the overage of whatever they see profitable.

      However, I think that metering is awful anyway. If you're gonna meter, do it fairly enough so that users that barely use don't over pay for an amount of data they'll never consume, and users who use and abuse monthly pay through the nose!


      I know I'm with AT&T and I got the 2GB plan to be safe. Never mind that I don't use my data NOW because I prefer WIFI, but the fact that I MUST buy a 2GB plan to avoid unnecessary overages is pathetic. When I do travel, I expect my phone to be oh...I don't know, USEFUL?!

      But it's similarly pathetic that you have to rely on WIFI to do much with your phone...life is no better than when the iPhone first debuted. If it's not because the mobile networks are slow, it's because they charge way too much toll to access the same damn information.

      The customer must up-rise against the provider and teach these businesses that this model IS UNACCEPTABLE!
      ZazieLavender
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

        @ZazieLavender

        This is why I still use my old Razr phone. What good is a smart phone without a data plan? I don't want to pay that kind of money for a phone and a plan, then be afraid to use it.

        The providers want to charge the non-users a lot, then charge the users a lot more! I am OK with the providers making a profit, but the amount of profit they want to rake in is ridiculous!
        michaellashinsky@...
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @noibs

      Because apple won't say, 'that's a great idea, but it should be at least 35% higher a month on account of magic?' Seriously, you're really going to use the markup kings as potential saviors in your argument? That's like electing a republican in the hope of reducing gun money to israel.
      Ternarybit
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

        @KittyK4t

        Best analogy of the month!
        michaellashinsky@...
        Reply Vote

  • How many times?

    Great, now we can party like it's 1995. How many times must carriers try to meter data access, have people hate that stupid idea, then start offering unlimited access?
    spatula6
    Reply Vote

    • As many times as they can get away with it.

      @spatula6: They will repeatedly try to shaft the public as long as they can get away with it. They will keep trying it over and over until "their time comes" and people just tolerate it like any other loss of personal freedom. As long as the Sheeple keep the portable device addiction, the companies will keep trying to shaft them.
      I'm as much a tech geek as most, but I refuse to be bent over a barrel for the rates they charge for these smart devices. I can do a lot with the almost 400 a year I save by not having one.
      The problem with these big companies is this: Where are you going to go in protest? Are you willing to accept an even poorer experience to prove your point? Most aren't. It goes back to that addiction thing.
      Zorched
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

    What, no reach around? Unfortunately I see this getting popular with the other carriers so it won't be too much longer before AT&T and Sprint (and T-Mobile if they are not part of AT&T by then) adopts this crap.
    athynz
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @athynz Nah, one carrier will be smart and keep the unlimited access and they will grow because of it.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

        @Peter Perry - AT&T had unlimited and (claimed) their bandwidth was being over-saturated, hence ending it and putting in tiered plans... looking at where their profits go, providing customers with real service is not their top priority.

        Not to mention, they already get taxpayer subsidy ("welfare", "socialism", whatever the popular buzzword is today) to prop up their company - and that's gone back for at least 18 years, based on the years represented in this article: http://www.ctj.org/html/layoffs.htm
        HypnoToad72
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

    Whats the point of LTE if you can't use it because your data will run out?
    gwlaw99
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

    How do you even know how much data you need?? If you're linking android to a work email that pushes constantly throughout the day I imagine the volume would get prohibitive in a hurry.
    mcomins
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @mcomins Verizon has an app and widget that shows you the bandwith you've consumed. It's called 'Data Usage'. It's not predictive, but I've been watching mine for a little while now and it's helped me quantify how much bw I've been using for data.
      tech_monster
      Reply Vote

  • The idea of streaming isn't so convenient anymore, now is it?

    On top of already lower-quality audio and video...
    :(
    HypnoToad72
    Reply Vote

  • $10 a gig for overage isn't bad

    Look at the plans again. $10 a gig isn't much worse than what you're paying per gig for the plan. I thought it was a pretty good deal.

    Unless you're doing something like streaming video, these plans aren't bad. Where I live in the country, we don't have cable, but we DO have a Verizon tower 1 mile away. For $80 we get 10 gigs which allows us to do a whole lot of internet surfing, even with some video thrown in. Even at 3g, we are oftne getting near 1000kps and sometimes bursts up to almost 2000kps
    Drakaran
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @Drakaran Not sure how you do math "where you live" but $30 for 2GB is $15/GB, and $80 for 10GB is $8/GB. Regardless, do you honestly think it is worth being tiered if you have more active days/weeks/months than others?
      When I go for Annual Training for the military, I can be gone from 14-30 days, with no viable net access, save for my phone. Is it fair that my formerly 'unlimited' plan covered that above average use but my new tier will not?
      the_crow1@...
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

    This is a dumb article. Should you get your gasoline cheaper because you have a 4 cylinder engine and I have a V8? Of course not!
    bruce@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @bruce@... But you pay less for gas in total when you have a 4 cylinder, don't you?
      the_crow1@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

        @the_crow1@... You just reinforced the point of the person you were responding to. Please who suck down data at higher speeds end up downloading more data and paying more for the privilege. You don't have to come up with some contrived formula to charge for speed - the hotrodders will pay more anyway, as they should.
        DavidL98
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Verizon tiered data plans charge for bits, not speed

      @bruce@... great analogy. The V8 would only use gas quicker. Same with 4G vs 3G - 4G just uses up the data quicker...
      cobb_cruiser
      Reply Vote
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