Report: Verizon Killing Unlimited Data Next Week

[JOSHSKORN]

I love it when big companies step up and do the parenting for the parents that aren't cutting the mustard. Mostly the kids are the ones utilizing things such as texting and internet searching on their phones. They probably should be studying or at least finding other activities that are better for their health.

See, there's more than one way to look at this issue.

 

[kingnoobe]

Verizon is better onekill.. For the most part. And why is it funny, verizon was one of the best but with this move their getting dropped a couple steps for most people know. This isn't like switching to the winning team in a sport cause your old team is losing, this is switching to what ends up actually working for you better.

I don't think it will last though as it's only gonna take one company to capatilize on unlimited data plan.

 

[ch42832n]

Verizon will put out tier price for cell phone data service. What is next...apply the same on the broadband data service for home. So all our DSL and FIOS line will be priced on number of GB we can have per month. Goodbye to unlimited data price in general.

 

[drutort]

im glad i survived without data and ill just keep enjoying wifi wherever its at... otherwise i dont mind, i guess they wont be losing me as i never had data and I dont by the greatest or latest phone either, its much easier to get a used phone that is in new condition for a fraction what they want even for upgrades... its quite pathetic IMO

this really doesnt make sense for the consumer, when free apps are spaming ads and and phones are getting higher and higher res and ppl want to use them as a computer, but now will have to think twice... should i really watch that funny youtube video in HD etc... well at least apple users wont be saying that

 

[drutort]

but what i think is the best part is. That the rest of the smart people will addpet, some ppl will save money and probably move to the lower costing tiers... they will simply turn off background data access... they will use mini opera and browse with low quality pics, consuming a fraction of the bandwidth.. and will probably get hacked static maps so they dont have to have connection... if anyone should worry its the middle man or those who bank on ads from free apps and such.. there is not much they can do when u kill data

BUT i see many fall flat on there face, as they have to pay in fees going over there data etc... prob like others said a lot of parents will kill data and only keep text/pics

phone carriers and banks... they have a lot in common so it seems these days...

 

[airborne11b]

I loled at all the people saying droidX is the best. Have fun with that pos guys. Gunna be enjoying my 4g evo with unlimited data. And to the fool saying 5gb limit wont be hit by most users. I hit 5gb cap on my at&t aircard in like 4 days of use. Then i got smart and switched to sprint.

Have fun paying those overage fees lolololololol.

 

[theje]

This is very bad news for anyone looking forward to using Android 2.2's USB tethering feature. Browsing the normal web through a 3G network will consume many more megabytes (and even gigabytes) than the puny mobile web pages and apps. The Motorola Droid is slated to receive Froyo at the end of July. Coincidence?

 

[eddieroolz]

This decision is really silly, but I suppose it was going to come eventually...

 

[theje]

This is very bad news for anyone looking forward to using Android 2.2's USB tethering feature. Browsing the normal web through a 3G network will consume many more megabytes (and even gigabytes) than the puny mobile web pages and apps. The Motorola Droid is slated to receive Froyo at the end of July. Coincidence?

 

[mdillenbeck]

My issue with Verizon & ATT (& eventually Sprint and all the others):

These cellular companies have stated what their expected usage is for a typical customer based on historical data. However, more and more phones coming out are getting new features. I have heard they are working on Netflix Watch Instantly for the phone, as well as premium Hulu services, and other data-intensive video streaming services. (Especially when you consider an out-to-tv connection, steaming Netflix on your phone to your TV doesn't sound so insane when on the road.)

So, now that we are changing from occasional mobile web browsing to full web browsing and video streaming, the typical users usage will skyrocket - right out of their historical usage levels and into serious overages. This is also why they market the web based powers of their phones.

From experience this is what I have learned: streaming 1-2 movies of Netflix for a 5 day vacation (about 3 hours average a day) consumed almost 4 GB of my "unlimited" 5 GB mobile broadband plan.

Their historical trend are out-dated and will lead to very dissatisfied customers. Why advertise the speeds of cable and DSL broadband with 4G service only to say we are going to cap you at a fraction of what a cable company would dare try? The obvious answer is because they know customers will go over and get those famous texting-without-a-plan styled bills (in the $1000s to $10000s of dollars for one month).

If only Sprint would come out and say they weren't going to do this. But they will. They went from unlimited to 5 GB caps, and they eventually moved to canceling you for 2 out of 3 months exceeding usage to the charge per kb over... so they will go to capping their on-phone data.

Oh well, guess I am going back to the most simple phone again with a cheap plan. In other words, they are loosing out on $60 for my tethered smartphone - and the $60 I convinced my wife to spend on getting the same thing. At least that will halve our phone bill.

 

[Guest]

I guess the only solution is to use the phone only as a phone. They wouldn't be increasing the $/kb usage if it wasn't making them more money; their goal isn't to make less money.

The consumers' only recourse is to not support them. If no one purchases their data plan, I'm sure the price will reduce. Remember, you only pay for what you want!

 

[zoridon]

I was thinking of getting a Droid 2 after I return from my deployment in the middle east. But based on this news I think I'll just go for a no frills regular phone and skip the smartphone debacle completly.

 

[jgv115]

People in the US complain WAY too much.

In Australia we get 120gb for 50 bucks.

 

[jerreece]

My wife just deactivated her BlackBerry because she was tired of paying $30 a month for unlimited data. I still have mine. Quite frankly though, if Verizon is going to pull a dumb A** stunt like this, they may well lose my BlackBerry as well.

Time for a regular "phone" I guess. Stupid corporate greed. Makes me mad.

 

[bonezy]

[citation][nom]jgv115[/nom]People in the US complain WAY too much.In Australia we get 120gb for 50 bucks.[/citation]

Um, that's why we're complaining. You have about 50x our new limit, for the almost the same price.

 

[Simple11]

a) All you kids worried about 4G what is 4G right now is nothing what it's suppose to be. Wiki 4G, you'll feel dumb because you got suckered by Sprint's advertising. And just wait, sprint will follow suit!

 

[fatedtodie]

Technically they didn't ever had an unlimited plan. Did we not learn from the Comcast situation that unlimited only meant "unlimited until you reach our super secret data cap, then we will throttle you"?

People that figured if you get a mifi and an unlimited plan you can stream 24x7 are stupid and deserve to be charged high fees for that stupidity.

 

[d3adp0ol]

Ars Technica recently posted an awesome article in which they detail how power users don't actually cost ISP's any more money then people who only use tiny amounts of bandwith. Despite claims made by Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, in reality the amount of data you use costs the companies nothing since the infrastructure to handle it was already invested in. For cell carriers it's a bit different because their networks are smaller, but seeing as how they have always been investing in expanding networks (long before internet on your phone was even possible) this whole shift in business strategy reeks of trying to boost profits in the middle of a recession.

 

[gemmakaru]

Jobsy is saying that he won't let any apple product have blu ray and the telcos are saying 5GB per month is all you can download. I guess apple customers just can't have high def films then.

 

[Stryter]

[citation][nom]johnnylawman01[/nom]Don't like .... don't get it.People, resources are ALWAYS limited. You want unlimited....you pay for it. Stop expecting others to subsidize your behavior.[/citation]

They are paying for it. They are paying a lot for it. This isn't a question of whether the wireless carriers can support the bandwidth because frankly they can. I have to work really hard to use 2GB of data on my phone in a month. That's only about 36MB a day. For the avg user that has unlimited data, it is probably less. They are going to tell me they can't support that? With all the revenue they are pulling in? Yea, and politicians really have our best interests at heart. C'mon now.