Five years ago, I was lucky enough to be “grandfathered” into an unlimited data plan with my cell phone carrier, Verizon Wireless.Β There were provisos, of course – I had to purchase my cell phones at full retail price; I had to stay out of contract (going month-to-month), and if I made any changes to my cell phone plan, I’d have to accept new terms regarding data.
It’s like getting the genie to give you three wishes… but you couldn’t use the wishes to wish for more wishes.
Of course, once Verizon made this maneuver, it discovered that people who had unlimited data plans were using every unlimited megabyte of that data plan.Β Yep.Β You could watch Netflix and chill on your cell phone if you wanted to.Β You could binge-watch and live-stream whatever your heart desired.
Hey, I’ve got unlimited data, too.Β And it’s handy for watching YouTube clips now and again.
But now comes the news that Verizon is once again taking away what it promised.Β Ever since they’ve offered the unlimited data plan, they’ve tried to scale it back.Β They’ve raised the monthly charge for unlimited data.Β They’ve throttled download speeds of unlimited data users.Β And they’ve tried – at nearly every possible opportunity – to convince unlimited data users like me to switch our plans.Β “You’re only using a very small amount of data, Mr. Miller, you really should sign up for this deal.”Β Yeah, right.Β Not until I get an electron-microscope to read the fine print in that contract.
Ars Technica has reported that if you are a Verizon customer who uses at least 100GB of data per month on an unlimited data plan, Verizon will drop you from their phone service after August 31.
That’s right.Β Verizon offered you an unlimited data plan, and now they’re punishing you because you’ve actually USED it.
Verizon, being the kind and benevolent telecommunications company that it is, says that those users can return to Verizon’s services after they agree to sign up for a new contract that includes surcharges for data overages.Β Oh, and Verizon does offer a 100GB/month plan… it’s only $450/month.
Wow.Β Talk about your strong-arm tactics.
This really concerns me.Β It’s the same tactics as when your electric services provider suggests you conserve energy to lower your bill, and you do just that, to the point where the electric services provider jacks up the rates to make up for the loss in revenue.
And maybe I’d be okay with Verizon doing something like this … but I’m not.Β Because we don’t know what Verizon constitutes “data.”Β If I use my cell phone’s GPS functions to drive from the 518 somewhere, should I be concerned that the GPS is siphoning tons of data from the Internet, and therefore adding overages to my life?
I quickly checked my BlackBerry PRIV to see how much data usage I’ve incurred.Β Hmm… 7GB/month at the most.Β So I shouldn’t be affected by this new Verizon muscle tactic.
At least I hope they don’t target me.
But yeah, I know Verizon has been itching to get rid of its unlimited data customers.Β We’re the ones that saw the sweetheart deal Verizon offered and we took it.Β And for Verizon to turn around and threaten us for actually taking the deal… that’s just evil.Β Shame on you, Red Check.
What’s next, Verizon?Β You gonna tell me that I can’t own a BlackBerry on your network?
Honestly, at this point I’m tempted to start my own cell phone company.Β I’m going to call it “Two Soup Cans and String,” and it will cost whatever it takes to string a fishing line between two tin cans.Β Hmm… on second thought, maybe I don’t want to get tangled up in that idea.
Just another day, another moment with the Big Bad Red Check.
Can you hear me now, Verizon?
Oh wait … they only listen to me when I send them their “pound of flesh” tribute every month.
Meh.
Chuck The Writer 
Just to be clear, Verizon’s statement says well in excess of their largest plan (which is 100GB).
So we don’t actually know what well in excess means, but it might be a lot more than 100.00 GB.
Like hundreds of GB maybe.
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Verizon is pretty good about making concessions when you tell them you’re going to cancel and move to another provider. At least on the FIOS side. I have had a good track record of getting what I want. I don’t see why the wireless side of the business would be any different.
You want some executive email addresses to send a nasty-gram to? π
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This is exactly what angers me too. Verizon states they removed unlimited data plan because it was making their network slow and bottle-necked. This was way back when at 10-20gb. And then punished unlimited folks by throttling them. Then they forced additional $20 per line extra to stay unlimited. So people got upset, and said hey you want to charge me more, i’ll use more since i cant afford to buy home highspeed service.
From the removal of unlimited data plans, they realized that people were willing to pay more because they needed more. 1-2gb wasn’t enough so then they started offering 10-20gb plans. So meanwhile their statement was out there about ‘unlimited’ uses who used 10-20 were slowing the network.. yeah right! BS. So they proceed to market, well, just those unlimited users that go over 20 are the problem and now they are starting real high 100+. BECAUSE everyone is using more data each year, PERIOD.
The real point is greed. As long as you pay $450 + $10 per gb there after they DONT GIVE A F#%@!!! about how SLOW their network gets, just feed them more money and they look the other way.
IF I EVER lose my unlimited, see ya verizon. Not to mention AT&T has unlimited as a directv customer. Or T-Mobile has a ‘no data usage’ against streaming music or videos from certain providers… At the end of day, cell companies are trying to hold back and nickel and dime us, but eventually they will lose, and go unlimited again, once customers realize $400 a month to text someone is stupid.
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My sense is that those users in excess of 100GB are using their phone as a hot spot – it would be hard to use 100GB of data each month on your cell phone. I’m sure something unexpected when they came up with the unlimited plan.
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Finally someone speaks out about the crooked tactics that many mobile phone companies use! I’m not a Verizon fan, but I’d rather have no service than to ever use Sprint again. After I signed up for a 2-year contract with Sprint (this was 10 years ago, when all mobile providers got away with that sort of blackmail), I tried using my phone and could neither send nor receive calls anywhere in or around my house. Sprint had assured me I would have a very strong signal. I made numerous calls to Sprint, but my complaints fell on deaf ears. I begged them to send a technician out to the house to see for him/herself. They refused, telling me in thinly veiled words that I was a liar because their map showed I was very close to a tower and should have spectacular service. They suggested I was just trying to get out of the contract. I asked a techie friend in California what the problem might be and he told me there’s a virtual umbrella emanating from the tower, and if you live within the radius of that “umbrella,” you won’t have service. That’s exactly what was going on. I called Sprint, told them they could look on their service map and see for themselves that I was in that no-service zone. They said tough, you’re stuck in a 2-year contract. In the end, I had to pay them a $300 negotiated flat fee to get out of the contract for totally worthless service, just so my credit would not be ruined. I threw out their phone and bought a new iPhone with AT&T service, and from that day forward, I never had a single problem with reception in my house. I wish I had had the time to take Sprint to small claims court. They needed to be exposed. But commenting ipso facto on this widely read blog is the next-best thing. Crooks!
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This is exactly the case with our T-Mobile coverage. I could throw a rock at our tower, but because of the umbrella, we get shoddy coverage…in Clifton Park. Their rates are decent, however, and their customer service is top notch, in my opinion. I always speak with someone in the US and they are more than accommodating when I have a question or ask for a charge to be dropped (usually my late fees). Their techs are fun and very helpful. The worst part of my T-Mobile customer service experience is having to go to the store on Wolf Road, mostly because the wait is usually an hour or more just to see someone.
Back to Verizon: $450/ month for 100GB?! I barely use 10 GB per month. And I have “truly” unlimited data for $10-ish per month.
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When the unlimited plans came out, quite a few years ago, there were fewer “high data consumption” applications than there are today. All carriers that have meaningful network coverage have had to curtail such plans in order to manage capacity on their networks.
Capacity, whether in electricity, water, natural gas, or any other utility has a monetary value associated with it. Or you could chalk it up to greed, as others have. You are probably aware that all corporations, and all those who work for them are greedy. Those however who reap the financial benefits of corporate profits in their 401Ks and pensions – not so much.
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I don’t understand the need for so much data when wifi is almost everywhere you’d actually be, and for things like music in the car you can download whatever you want and listen whenever – a subscription service like Google or Spotify helps, I think both are ten bucks a month (I chose Google because it also eliminates the @%#$*$% ads on You Tube. I never come close to using all 3G of my plan but it’s the lowest plan on offer.
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I used to get free internet for 9 years from Albany.net. Then when 911 came along they fixed it. I wish I could get a free data for life plan, but time to you to pay the piper. Look at the bright side, the pipelines are not the same as when you got that plan, much bigger now.
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The nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier said Wednesday that it would raise the price of its unlimited data plan by $10 to $70 a month. The change takes effect on October 16, so customers can still get the $60 deal now.
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