
Verizon Wireless Intros Share Everything Plans - 3lit3H4ck3r
http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/12/verizon-wireless-intros-share-everything-plans-unlimited-talktext-and-shared-data-for-up-to-10-devices/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29
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rkudeshi
Wow, these are super-expensive. $40/month per additional phone? If anything,
that would make me LESS likely to want to add extra lines to our account.

Also, why is there a monthly charge for data-only devices? Doesn't make any
sense to me when you also have to pay for a shared pool of data.

All the prepaid carriers that are now supporting iPhones seem like a much
better deal. I think one had unlimited data + unlimited text + 300 minutes for
$35/month. Another had the same but 500 minutes for $50/month.

My family has been on AT&T for over a decade but if their pricing for shared
data is anywhere comparable, I can seriously see moving all of our lines to
prepaid carriers.

Edit: Also, I'm sure they've run the numbers and there's a reason they're
charging for tablets and laptops, but I have to think there's a big
opportunity missed there. I have no reason to buy a 3G-enabled iPad or laptop
right now, since I'd have to pay a monthly toll for the privilege. But if they
had made it free to add laptops/tablets to your plan, I almost certainly would
buy, for example, a 3G iPad. And then, I'm sure, my data usage would increase
enough to merit jumping to a higher pricing tier. (Probably even jump multiple
tiers if my family also buys 3G-enabled devices.)

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wmf
It's like the tethering charge. You pay for data and then you pay again to
access the data you pay for. Because they can.

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sneak
...because Apple helps them hide the "Personal Hotspot" preference option via
a carrier settings file.

Blame Apple for caving.

~~~
wmf
Tethering charges apply to all phones, not just the iPhone.

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sneak
Carrier-bundled crapware applies to all phones too... except iPhone.

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detst
Why is there a $10 difference between "Jetpack/Netbooks/Notebooks/USBs" and
tablets? You're paying for the data separately; there shouldn't be another
fee, let alone a $10 difference between device types.

And why is a smartphone $10 more than a "basic" phone when the difference,
again, is data, which you're paying for separately and at an outrageous rate
at that? This is baffling and completely unreasonable.

On a positive note, even they couldn't live with the absurdity of charging a
tethering fee for metered data. But they're still eager to tell you that a
feature of your phone (not their service) is "included at no additional cost".

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mdasen
I can explain why a smartphone costs more to add-on than a basic phone. If you
buy an iPhone, you're paying $200 for a $650 phone. If you buy a random
dumbphone, you're likely paying $0-50 for a $100-200 phone. As such, the
carrier has a much smaller subsidy to recoup. If Americans bought phones
without a subsidy, then data would be data. However, that isn't the case.

In the end, it probably comes out around the same. Over two years, you pay an
extra $240 ($10/mo) while getting a $250-$350 additional subsidy up-front.

In terms of the price difference between laptops and tablets, I can't see a
reason for that. At least the iPad is sold unsubsidized and so I can't see why
they would want to charge more for it. Maybe they're assuming the laptop users
will (due to the nature of having a full computing interface) use more data
and that they'll make up the low add-on fee with additional usage. That logic
seems a bit weak to me, but it might be what they're thinking.

~~~
detst
Of course you're right about basic/smartphone difference. I'm not sure how I
overlooked that. It'd be nice to see a lower base rate but they've convinced
the average consumer to be happy to get a "free" phone every two years.

It's actually $10/mo more for non-tablets, which results in the absurd
situation where you're paying $10/mo more for the right to use a device where
you'll likely need to pay more, again, for data. Of course, the average
consumer won't notice this absurdity, which I believe is the basis for all of
their pricing logic.

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jonhohle
So for the same price I pay now (about $130 after taxes and fees), I go from
unlimited data down to a shared 1GB for everyone on my plan? How is this
Verizon finding a common ground?

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bgertonson
This is interesting... I'm not as negative as the rest of the group seems to
be, but maybe that's because I think cell phone service is a rip off already.
This would actually save me money if I switched now, but I would lose the
unlimited data plan. Maybe I care, maybe I don't. I have very rarely gone over
2GB, and my wife never has so we could likely share 4GB. But we have 2 kids
getting to the age where my wife thinks they need cell phones (and they think
they need iphones). Assuming they get dumb phones now, that's an extra $20 a
month, plus we bump up to the unlimited family text plan for another $10. And
that is a reasonable amount. Especially since we shouldn't have to bump up our
minutes because they would mostly be calling us and those minutes don't count.
It would cost twice that to add two dumb phones in the share everything plan.
But the overall price difference is only $10 more. And as they start to use
more minutes, and our third child get's old enough to have a phone, I could
ultimately see it being a real savings. Depending on data usage I suppose.

Paying an additional $10 for a tablet or laptop doesn't make sense. Except it
is a proprietary network, and they can charge you to access it. Similar to how
extra cable/satalite boxes cost money (I realize it is a rental cost usually,
not something you own, but I feel the idea is similar). Right now to add a
tablet, you are paying an additional $130 premium (in the case of the ipad) +
$30/month for a 3G/4G tablet. That doesn't make sense to me either. With the
share everything plan, it is $0 extra for my phone to be a wireless hotspot,
and now all of our wi-fi iPads, iPods, Kindles and portable gaming devices
have access wherever we are. Right now, that would also be an additional data
plan.

I don't think these are the only plans they will have, (the old plans aren't
going away) and obviously how much sense it makes depends on the individual
situation. But I like it as an option.

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glesica
This would actually make my current bill go _up_ , without adding any
additional services (aside from the free smartphone hotspot, which wouldn't
get much use), and with less total data than we currently have.

The problem is that we don't use very many minutes or text messages. Those
just aren't valuable services for everyone (especially the minutes).

I had high hopes for this when I first heard the rumors. Once again, Verizon
proves that they don't "get it".

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ConstantineXVI
They get it. They get that no one's using their voice and SMS near as much as
they used to, and need a convenient way to sell more of it (that won't even be
used, likely).

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amishforkfight
Big buckets of data my ass. My 2gb cap is pathetic, and I've only got 3g.

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pragmatic
I highly recommend that you measure your actual data usage.

I'm on an unlimited plan and these data numbers look ridiculously low...at
first.

Using 3G watchdog, my average usage over 5 months is about 505 MB per month.

With that said, this pricing seems a bit steep.

I pay $113 per month with one smart phone (Droid Bionic 4g) with unlimited
data and one dumb phone for my wife. That includes the ridiculous fees +
taxes.

With the new plan, I'd pay more $40 + $30 + $50 = $120 and still not get a
"free" hotspot b/c the device would have to be on the plan ($20 + $10 for my
laptop and kindle fire). This is of course before fees and taxes.

So Verizon had cooked up a price increase under the guise of "friendlier"
pricing.

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pragmatic
I've been contemplating going back to a dumb phone for some time. The problem
is, the dumb phone models are all really crappy now. I've been looking for a
new one for my wife, but you can't find anything that isn't pure crap. If one
were paranoid, one might think the phone companies are doing this on
purpose...

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clarky07
I'd actually really like this if it wasn't for the BS extra charge to add a
tablet or notebook. As I'm only using data, there is no reason for there to be
an extra charge. I'd switch if it wasn't for that.

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melvinram
This will end up saving me about $110/month. I use a lot of minutes (2000+
minutes for me alone last month), currently have 4 lines of all family members
and total data usage for everything is usually about 2GB since everyone is
always near wifi.

Previous plans: $50 x 4 for unlimited voice + $30 x 4 for unlimited data + $30
for unlimited SMS = $350 before taxes and BS fees.

Share everything plan: $40 x 4 for unlimited voice & text + $80 for 6GB data
(just in case) = $240/month before taxes and BS fees.

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baggachipz
As a legacy customer who's been with Verizon for over 10 years, their push to
get me off the unlimited data plan has caused me to strongly reconsider
jumping ship (after contract) to a pre-paid provider like T-mobile or Virgin.
They're just playing a shell game, raising rates and reducing features while
distracting with language. Seriously, knock it off.

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smoyer
We bought our family plan from Verizon when we heard rumors that the unlimited
data tier was going away and it's worked well for us (there are currently 4
users in our household). We'd be paying quite a bit more with the new plan
simply to support our data usage.

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evilduck
To offer a contrasting view, my wife and I switched to Verizon when the 4S
debuted last fall so we didn't have a grandfathered plan.

For us, we can get the shared 4GB data plan for the same cost ($150) as we pay
now for 2GB/each, except we gain unlimited voice and messages, and we gain
mobile hotspots on both devices. Further, since I sit around wifi all day and
my wife does not, she can now use "my" 3G data that I never really used
before, effectively upgrading her data allowance.

Personally, I think it's a win. Maybe not for everyone in all situations, but
we'll be converting our plan on the 28th for sure.

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smoyer
I don't think it's a contrasting view at all ... perhaps we'll see those with
the grand-fathered unlimited data plans stay with their current plans and
those with metered plans will upgrade.

Either way I think this is a good move by Verizon. I like the idea that my
ancient (Bell mind-set) wireless company is trying to compete with the more
innovative new-comers.

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daniel_reetz
This looks absolutely terrible, and my contract is coming up in July. Does
anyone have a better alternative that is not AT&T?

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dmm
I've heard good things about Straight Talk. $45/month, no contract, unlimited
text, talk, and web.

The network is AT&T and T-Mobile GSM and works with any unlocked phone.

EDIT: Here's an interesting listing of no-contract providers:
<http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014>

EDIT2: The main disadvantage (for me) of a pre-paid plan is that there is no
roaming. Be sure to check the pre-paid coverage map.

