
Verizon to End Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans - joedev
http://androidcommunity.com/verizon-killing-off-grandfathered-unlimited-data-plans-this-summer-20120516/
======
cletus
I really wish other governments would take a leaf out of the book of the
Australian government (the ACCC specifically) on this one.

Some years ago the ACCC clamped down on the use of the word "unlimited" in
advertising ADSL services. They said it was misrepresentation to use the term
unless you really could download all you want, there was no traffic shaping,
no soft quota and no excess usage fees.

Basically, the "unlimited" moniker all but died overnight. But this is a Good
Thing [tm]. It means you don't get shady practices where, for example, AT&T
shapes traffic beyond 3GB/month for "unlimited" users.

Basically, in Australia you get what you pay for and you pay for what you get.
I think this is an infinitely better system. With current bandwidth limits and
technology in the US, mass availability of cheap (truly) unlimited cellular
Internet access is simply not economically viable.

Data point: the UK IIRC defines "unlimited" as anything that covers 95% of the
population. This led to, for example, a friend of mine getting his parents on
Tiscali ADSL, downloading a couple of Ubuntu distros, getting classified as a
"downloader" by the ISP and put on their shitty network. Those already on it
had figured out the only way to download through BitTorrent and the like was
to use port 80/443. So the Web had become unusable at peak times. And this
qualified as "unlimited".

Unlimited plans are marketing tools in the US to retain customers. Both AT&T
introduced them, removed them and grandfathered existing users. The whole
point is to put up a barrier to customers leaving (as they'll lose their
grandfathered plans). The sooner we end the charade the better.

~~~
dan_b
I wrote to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority regarding misuse of the
word "unlimited" as relating to broadband and mobile internet.

Their response was that "as most people wont hit the limits, they can call it
unlimited".

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Karunamon
Oh well, sucks to be them. The only reason I'm giving Verizon any money right
now is the unlimited data plan and contract. They change the rules, I get out
of my contract. So long!

~~~
detst
They aren't changing your contract; they just won't give you the same contract
when your current one has expired:

 _LTE is our anchor point for data share. So as you come through an upgrade
cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go onto a data share
plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving
everyone into a tiered structure/data share type plan._ [1]

I could see this not being such a bad thing if they let us pay for bandwidth
to use however we want. As it is, there are different rates and minimum fees
for different types of devices and how that data is used on each device (i.e.
"hotspot" feature on phones). Allow me to connect the netbook that I rarely
need to use on their network and subtract from my allowance.

1\. [http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/16/verizon-cfo-
unlimited-d...](http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/16/verizon-cfo-unlimited-
data-plans-going-away-all-users-pushed-onto-shared-data/)

~~~
Karunamon
>I could see this not being such a bad thing if they let us pay for bandwidth
to use however we want.

Not in this universe. I'm pretty much convinced that cell phone companies are
out to screw you as hard and as long as humanly possible.

~~~
KaoruAoiShiho
Verizon: profit margin 5-6%

Apple: profit margin 29%

Google: profit margin 27-28%

Who's screwing who?

~~~
sukuriant
citation wanted

~~~
AjithAntony
"Profit" is hard to measure. This may be good enough:

Verizon Wireless FY 2011

[http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactivea...](http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactiveannual/2011/mda03_01.html)

Segment operating income margin 26.4%

Segment EBITDA service margin 44.8%

Verizon Wireless 1Q 2012

[http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/...](http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/2012_q1_fs.pdf)

Operating Income Margin 28.6%

Segment EBITDA Service Margin 46.3%

Interesting things I also learned from this report:

\- Verizon wireless is 55% Verizon, 45% Vodafone

\- $52 ARPU (average revenue per user per month)

~~~
KaoruAoiShiho
This is true, I was looking at VZ's chart:

<http://ycharts.com/companies/VZ/profit_margin>

According to Yahoo Finance it's profit margin is 2.6%

<http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=VZ+Key+Statistics>

------
dkokelley
If I'm understanding this correctly, my 3G iPhone 4 on my currently
grandfathered unlimited plan is safe for now, and in February when my contract
expires, I should be able to keep the same plan. If Apple comes out with an
iPhone 4G and I choose to get it, then it's goodbye unlimited data.

Still, I suppose Verizon is doing things adequately. Their throttling for
heavy data users applies only when the tower is at capacity, and speeds return
once the congestion is gone. (Compare this to AT&T, which artificially slows
data speeds, even when capacity isn't an issue.) As for the plans, any way you
slice it it's a worse deal to go from $30/mo for unlimited to $30/mo for 2GB.
At least overages are billed at a sane rate ($10/GB seems appropriate to me,
although I've only used 0.5GB this month with 4 days left in cycle).

------
jaryd
I've been using an LTE phone with unlimited data for over a year now.. I
wonder if they will just surprise me with a new contract the next time they
send me the bill..

~~~
colonelxc
Let me guess: HTC Thunderbolt?

I have one too, with unlimited data. It seems they are only killing the plans
when people upgrade to new phones, which would give us some extra time before
our next upgrade.

That said, I am interested in how much these shared plans will cost. I would
be much more likely to buy a tablet with data capabilities if I could just
include it in my regular plan (knowing verizon, probably with an extra 5-10
dollar per device fee). Otherwise, I would just get something with just wifi,
which does limit the usefulness.

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jiggy2011
"Unlimited" mobile plans tend to be bullshit.

I know people who have signed up for these and been given heavily restricted
handsets that won't allow tethering, won't allow web downloads or app store
downloads over a certain size unless of wifi.

Plus they tend to be significantly slower than my 1GB/month account which
costs less and I never use even 1/2 of.

~~~
ken
That's not entirely surprising. There was a post (I think I saw it on HN but I
can't find it now, dangit) that put forth the idea that unlimited data plans
were bad for consumers, because then consumers' and providers' interests are
unaligned. Once you pay for an "unlimited" plan, it becomes in the network's
best interest for you to send as few bits as possible. Consumers should
actually prefer pay-per-use plans, because it means if the network is down,
the service provider doesn't get paid.

Of course, there are many other variables involved, and obviously everyone has
different usage patterns.

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JangoSteve
It seems like the article may be intentionally vague on this point, but I
can't tell if already-grandfathered unlimited 4G customers are going to have
it yanked this summer (which I guess would let them out of their contracts on
their subsidized phones scott free), or if they simply won't be able to renew
the unlimited part once their contract is up.

~~~
recusancy
Another article that I read earlier today said that it will only come into
effect when you renew your contract.

------
officialchicken
One thing I really enjoy about traveling outside the US is cool and
inexpensive telecommunications options. It feels like bronze age here in the
good old United Subsidized phones of America. We've got to give up our
addiction to subsidies!

------
mvanveen
What does this move signal to people grandfathered into AT&T unlimited data
plans? Is the end nigh? Do consumers have any available legal recourse?

~~~
ghaff
AT&T has already specifically talked about throttling restrictions on
unlimited plans: [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/technology/some-
wireless-c...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/technology/some-wireless-
carriers-revise-limits-for-the-unlimited.html?pagewanted=all)

Especially as we get into next gen mobile speeds, where mobile could
increasingly replace broadband, I can't see this changing. (And I'm not even
convinced that pricing shouldn't push heavy usage towards wired
infrastructure.)

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lsiebert
I went to Verizon because for a while it looked like it would have the best
Android phones. They had good connectivity too when AT&T sucked.

Now... I guess Sprint?

~~~
CrazedGeek
If you're in an area where Sprint's likely to launch LTE soon, go for it.
Otherwise, expect speeds like this: <http://www.androidcentral.com/sprints-
galaxy-nexus> (halfway down the page)

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readme
I got a letter from them about "cheap new data plans" that I could get but I
didn't open it. But now I know what it really was :(.

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Quizzy
Makes sense for Verizon, and if they are being greedy, others will step in to
fill the void.

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codgercoder
Isn't it great to have so many wireless carrier choices? :-/

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lucian303
No surprise here.

