Is Verizon onto something?
(Associated Press)
(Update 11:29 a.m.)
Is Verizon onto something?
The biggest competitor among cellphone rivals will let consumers share data plans with up to 10 phones, tablets, laptops or other devices and ditch nearly all of its existing phone plans in the process, the company announced Tuesday.
The more devices, the more savings, since consumers would end up paying more if they had to get separate data plans for each device, instead of one plan for all of them together. The change takes effect June 28.
Adding a tablet to an existing phone data plan under the new “Share Everything” will be an additional $10 a month, instead of $30. Adding a USB data stick for a laptop will cost $20. These are just a few of the examples.
From the Associated Press report:
Current Verizon customers will be able to switch to the new plans or keep their old ones, with one exception. Those who have unlimited-data plans for their smartphones won’t be able to move those to new phones, unless they pay the full, unsubsidized price for those phones. (For example, an iPhone 4S that costs $200 with a two-year contract costs $650 unsubsidized, with no contract.)
Will this seismic shift in phone data plans make you rethink your options,and do you think other competitors will be forced to follow Verizon’s lead?
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39 comments Add your comment
Verizon sucks
June 12th, 2012
11:08 am
Still on grandfathered unlimited data with as few minutes as possible (450) but I only use about 100. Just upgraded to a new 4g phone to keep my unlimited plan for as long as possible (I knew this change was coming). The next time I need to upgrade my phone, it looks like I’ll be looking to craigslist so as to not disturb my plan.
JF McNamara
June 12th, 2012
11:11 am
Its more expensive for me, so let’s hope not. Basically, they are forcing unlimited voice and text on everyone and giving them less data. I want the exact opposite…less voice and text with more data.
Bob
June 12th, 2012
11:18 am
suckers who use those carriers. they are doing it because they’ve been getting hammered with subsidized iphones and data plans.
go with t mobile. i get unlimited talk text and 300 mb of data for $55 a month. and i am sure they will drop that price since verizon will have a unlimited talk and text for $40.
Jason
June 12th, 2012
11:19 am
Iphone sales will take a big hit from this when customers have to start forking over $600-700 for a new one.
mystery poster
June 12th, 2012
11:23 am
From reading the full story, the pricing plan sounds very complicated and can come with pretty big overage charges. I was with Verizon for years and was always happy with the service (both the customer service and the phone service), but recently left for Metro PCS. Unlimited talk, text, and web and 1g of streaming for $45 a month. No more counting minutes and watching that little green “minutes used” bar go from green to yellow to red. No overages, EVER.
follow the money
June 12th, 2012
11:23 am
The only reason that I signed up for Verizon last summer was for the unlimited data plan. Now, they will not “subsidize” a new phone and allow me to keep the unlimited data. I certainly hope they will drop the monthly rates once my initial contract expires. I won’t hold my breath. Guess I will be forced to by 2nd hand phones to keep this contract for as long as possible. Maybe I should look at another provider. Any recommendations?
Hell to the Naw
June 12th, 2012
12:21 pm
So now we are only going to rip off the customer base “a little” versus “A lot”. The best news already came… crikett will begin selling IPhones… unlimited everything for 50 bucks. Can’t beat that
Sanjeev
June 12th, 2012
12:52 pm
What a crock of bull. Currently they charge $30 for 2GB now they are going to charge $50 for 1 GB? So increase the cost of data by 65% and give you half the data? In what world does that make sense?
Peach That Left
June 12th, 2012
12:55 pm
I’m with JF McNamara, I need more data and fewer voice minutes. I’m flexible on text messaging. This plan seems to help families; individuals, not so much.
what
June 12th, 2012
1:00 pm
everyone talks about Metro PCS, cricket etc. Problem is unless you live in downtown, there is no signal. Verizon is the only carrier that I can get a signal on at my house and I live in heavily populated burb only 19 miles from ATL. Would love to switch to tmobile but can’t when I wouldn’t have a signal half the time.
mamarabbit
June 12th, 2012
1:26 pm
Go with Straight Talk. Their CDMA phones run off Verizon towers and their GSM phones run off AT&T towers. They have several plans and best of all NO CONTRACT! They don’t OWN you for 2 years!
soapbox
June 12th, 2012
1:30 pm
The biggest problem i see with this is that if you share your other devices with your phone then your data rate will exponential rise. So if you average 1GB a month on your smartphone then adding your tablet and laptop to it. You’ll probably end up using at least 3GB a month and thats just 3 devices. Imagine if you hotspot your phone to friends that have devices too. If i am not mistaking 1Gb a month is a norm in most plan and additional usage is like 1GB over equals $15. So, in the scenario above you will have to pay $90/mos for 1GB plus and extra $30 just for that month in overage. I understand why VZW is doing this but at the same time we the people need to search deep within ourselves on what we really need from a phone versus the amount we are willing to sacrifice for a phone. Cell phone service = Cable/Dish >>> A lot of nothing for a lot of money. Stepping off my soap box. Thank you!
Mary
June 12th, 2012
1:32 pm
I ditched Verizon years ago. I’m with AT&T now, and couldn’t be happier!
ed
June 12th, 2012
1:33 pm
http://news.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/06/pr2012-06-11e.html
MJC
June 12th, 2012
1:48 pm
NET10 Unlimited, $50 unliminted talk, test, data and 911. For $65, you get all the $50 offers plus unlimited international calls to over 2000 cities worldwide. You can also buy a SIM card and convert your current GSM phone over to prepaid, no contracts. Sign up for monthly credit/debit payment and get service for $5 less per month. Runs on ATT and TMobile towers, best plan out there
Al
June 12th, 2012
1:51 pm
@what, that may just be YOUR situation. I know plenty of people with Metro and Cricket that do not live downtown and get service just fine.
bruce
June 12th, 2012
2:20 pm
I love in suwanee johns creek area and have tmobile and drive all around here and never have a problem with a signal.
moops
June 12th, 2012
2:21 pm
ATT will come out with very similar plans shortly. If they’re smart, they’ll undercut these verizon plans, even if its only just slightly. However, they’re probably not that smart.
For most people, these new plans aren’t cheaper than what they currently have. And they’re making such a big push for smart phones, but to really get people to jump on board, they need to come up with some better/cheaper alternatives. Oh well… I was really hoping this would be a worthwhile plan
bruce
June 12th, 2012
2:21 pm
those of you who say you ditched verizon and are happy with att…this kind of plan is coming to att and spring too!
Warren
June 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
I’m enjoying unlimited 4G data on Sprint with unlimited mobile to mobile minutes. $69.95. Something tells me your people enjoy being ripped off.
Ughhh
June 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
I am one of the customers that AT&T hates…I have an unlimited AT&T data plan. AT&T has this *wonderful* provision in their pricing where if I tether, following their rules, they AUTOMATICALLY end my unlimited data plan once I fire up a tethered connection AND they charge me $20 per month for the privilege of using the data I pay for anyway. Since my iPhone is locked, I cannot do an ‘unauthorized tether’ like with with my old Nokia flip phone and a USB cable. Three cheers for Verizon, as allowing my laptop/tablet and other devices to use my device as a WiFi hotspot makes MUCH more sense. The whole ‘charge for tethering’ thing is insane, it’s like the water company charging you a $20 month fee to use your garden hose.
Chris
June 12th, 2012
2:44 pm
When AT&T rolls these plans out, you’ll beg for the $20 tethering fee. These rates are a ripoff, especially if you have a family plan with multiple phones.
No kids allowed
June 12th, 2012
2:50 pm
It sounds like a decent deal to those of us in the minority. I pay $99/mo to what amounts to unlimited voice and 4G data for me (in actuallity there are limits, but I don’t live on the phone and facebook and still watch movies on TV on DVDs or Blueray) Yeah I know, I’ve become a dinosaur. But if you don’t have kids and don’t stream insance amounts of data, then you can ditch your ~$45/month broadband connection and just use your smartphone as a hotspot and use it as your source for home Internet for about $105, no? Assuming one phone plus and additional 1GB per month. It works for me. Of course, if you have kids who don’t understand what bills are and only care about downloading the coolest 7 bootleg movies a day they’ll never watch, then this probably would be budgetary suicide for you.
ed
June 12th, 2012
2:52 pm
chris.. not sure its a complete ripoff.. do the math
Marc
June 12th, 2012
2:58 pm
Verizon, while having the best coverage of any company, is also very expensive. For a family of 3, my bill with them was around $200.00/month. I switched to Metro PCS and get the same exact service for $100.00 less per month and NO contract. For a middle class working family, that’s an easy decision.
Ed
June 12th, 2012
3:02 pm
Have you ever heard of republic wireless, people…..
Chris
June 12th, 2012
3:03 pm
I’ve done the math. My current plan with AT&T (2 iPhones, 1 dumbphone w/ unlimited, 2GB and no data) would be at least $40 more expensive than it is today, and that’s with a 4GB total cap. Yes I get unlimited minutes and text, but not everyone uses that. I think I use about 400 minutes a month combined.
aceunderwood
June 12th, 2012
3:04 pm
It sucks that the “unlimited” is going away, but before y’all keep freaking out:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/shareEverythingCalculator.jsp
ralph
June 12th, 2012
3:39 pm
I use my cell phone (dumb phone, old Nokia bar phone) for strictly phone calls. T-mobile pre paid, $50 a month unlimited, and NO CONTRACTS. why be slave to the cell phone industry when you can be its master? Trivia Question, what movie was that line taken from?
Tony
June 12th, 2012
4:02 pm
Chris and Ed, I’ve done the math too and my bill, with 5 iPhones and an iPad would be going up a lot. This does not even detail the junk fees im sure they will add on. I’m currently with AT&T thank goodness (can’t believe I just said that LOL!)
ed
June 12th, 2012
4:09 pm
tony – whats your current monthly bill? that many phones would probably shoot it up
jim
June 12th, 2012
4:40 pm
Tony, your Verizon bill would be cheaper then your current AT&T bill in your case. Hence, why AT&T is going to have to follow Verizon on this.
karl
June 12th, 2012
5:43 pm
well Mary, good for you..
RGB
June 12th, 2012
7:12 pm
“why be slave to the cell phone industry when you can be its master?”
If Voice is all you want, then good for you. Don’t assume that because you want Voice only–that everyone else wants that too.
The VZ plan aims to keep more devices under contract than would be the case with individual devices–each with a separate contract. If VZ can lower the combined spending a bit but drive units/volume, then both VZ and their customers would be better off. If it doesn’t benefit customers, then VZ will soon know about it.
Unlike AT&T, I’m sure VZ did their homework.
Any updates as to whether AT&T’s customer service is still in 4th place?
Quint
June 12th, 2012
7:32 pm
I am currently in a Verizon family plan w/ 2 lines. I renewed my line back in March, keeping my unlimited data. The other line is a flip phone whose contract expired back in November. I was going to port out that low use line at the end of the year to prepaid, but this announcement forced me to split my family plan for now so I can keep my data. I dont need unlimited minutes… and this change would have decreased my discount. So my plan is to keep my new individual plan w/ unlimited data and just pay retail (or buy from EBAY). I can pay extra for hotspot when needed ot find an app.
nina
June 12th, 2012
8:11 pm
*on to
cashin
June 13th, 2012
7:10 am
whatever verizon is doing, it will end up costing you a lot more money–they know how to make it.
whityiu
June 13th, 2012
12:35 pm
My wife and I are currently on a Verizon family plan. She recently just upgraded to a smartphone, so we are now paying $175 per month. Under the new ShareEverything plan, it looks like we will be spending $140 so we’ll be saving some money under the new plan.
Poof Pow!
June 15th, 2012
8:41 am
@Verizon sucks. Totally agree.