[SRR500]

I had customer service on the phone the other day. The lady helping me (a fellow BB user) made a comment about upcoming training for the new plans but had no further details.

Anybody care to speculate? Will we see the start of tiered data soon?

[jheatBBtorch]

it probably has something to do with the 4GLTE. According to them, they have phones coming out around March. Hopefully, BB will have a phone, probably the BB10 come out late this year for 4glte

[Droidophobe]

If anyone talks to them further about the "new plans," ask about the new, more user-friendly, visual voicemail system they were supposed to implement in October. Anybody heard anything about that lately?

[john_v]

Some leaked info on tiered data

What To Expect Part 2…And It’s Not Pretty | TeamUSCellular

[SRR500]

After USCC shoots themselves in the foot, I wonder who will buy them out.

[kbz1960]

OK the reason I'm with uscell is because the coverage is good and the prices. Hope we get to keep the plans we have as those prices sound like might as well move to vzw. In fact the 5gb price is the same as vzw and the 10gb is $10 more than vzw.

[john_v]

I'm sure they will grandfather us in...the question will be for how long? Also I'm wondering if this is going to coincide with the launch of 4g...I'm other words if you want to upgrade you have to get on a new plan.
But I agree...if this holds true, they will see a mass exodus. There's no point in paying same data rates for year old phones. Whether or not you like Android, on the uscc Facebook page one of their reps said they didn't consider it an insult to their customers to have their first 4g phone be the Samsung Aviator, which is basically a rebadged Droid Charge. I think they are quickly losing touch with reality.

[john_v]

My contract is going to be up shortly after the launch of BB10...just saying whichever carrier gets it first might get me also.

[SRR500]

I just noticed that my contract is up in August. I don't know what I will do just yet but one thing is sure I don't want to put myself under contract again. For me, this is a big USCC advantage.

One thing that we tend to forget, USCC is a small carrier. (they try to talk big). Right now they are investing their money in the network which leaves less for phones which they have to buy from the manufactures and subsidize for us.

After the 4g roll out is complete they will be able to concentrate on phones more. They don't have enough money to do both at the same time like the big four do.

When it comes to the plans, I will wait to see what the bottom line looks like. For all we know, maybe they are increasing data charges while decreasing voice charges to more accurately reflect the way the revenue is generated.

[SRR500]

Rumor is May first for the release of the new plans that include tiered data and shared data packages for family plans. Many include free tethering too.

More details about the rumors can be found at http://www.teamuscellular.com

Sent from my BlackBerry 9350 using Tapatalk

[pistolpetefan23]

http://teamuscellular.com/wp-content...y-1-2012-1.png

Well, there they are, and I have to say, they appear to be absolutely terrible. We are currently on a two-line Family Essential Plus plan. Base price is $139 (we get the autopay discount and discount through my wife's employer though). Includes 1500 minutes, 5 GB of data per line, unlimited messaging, and of course Your Navigator Deluxe. 675 reward points per month.

The new package that would be comparable would be a 1000 minute plan. Plus $25 per line for 2 GB of data per line. So that's a total of $150, or $10 more than our current plan...for 500 less minutes and less than half the data. Now, we never come close to the minutes or data, but the fact remains the value of this plan is terrible. Add in the fact that Navigator is only included on the $50/5GB plan, and it is even worse. Add in the fact that phone upgrade times will be increasing, and its even worse. Supposedly the points were going to be raised to make up for the difference, allowing upgrades in about the same timeframe, but we'd be getting a whopping 25 more points per month under this scenario.

The ONLY way these new plans would come close to benefitting us would be if you can share data. In other words, we'd pay $25 for 2GB of data to split between our two lines. That would make it $25 less per month than where we are now.

I haven't gone through all the scenarios to see if there is actually anything cheaper or more beneficial with these, but I fail to see how they would be.

I fully understand we are not required to "upgrade" to this plan, but this setup makes absolutely no sense for the customer is appears and I don't see it helping USCC in any way. I'm a huge USCC fan (been with them for more than 10 years; between my siblings/parents and those of my wife's there are 14 lines with USCC), but this is getting borderline ridiculous.

[john_v]

Yeah I'm not quite sure how these are supposed to pull in new customers. I did some quick figuring and ATT isn't much more, but with a better selection of phones. I'll stay on my current plan as long as they'll let me.

[Droidophobe]

I'm actually going to be able to save money because I can better pick and choose what services I need. The prices still seem better than VZW. However, I'll lose a lot of belief points.

[john_v]

I'm actually going to be able to save money because I can better pick and choose what services I need. The prices still seem better than VZW. However, I'll lose a lot of belief points.

Yeah I think it really boils down to that (individual, case-by-case basis)...in our case, we've got 4 smartphones on the same plan as PistolPete mentioned above, and it would cost us more but with less data. I think they probably kept it lower than the other carriers on purpose so they can claim they're cheaper.

Ultimately, as long as they let me stay grandfathered in I'll stay with them. We've got a pretty good deal going. But if it ever comes down to them trying to push the switch in order to upgrade, etc, then I would start shopping around again.

Hopefully they'll let us keep it a good long time...I enjoy all the little perks.

[pvdiamon]

In the past, when there were contracts, they let you keep a plan until the contract was up. And then you could keep the plan IF you didn't get a new phone. A new phone seemed to void the old deal. So, when you say grandfather, does that mean for the forseeable future, or again, until a new phone?

[john_v]

In the past, when there were contracts, they let you keep a plan until the contract was up. And then you could keep the plan IF you didn't get a new phone. A new phone seemed to void the old deal. So, when you say grandfather, does that mean for the forseeable future, or again, until a new phone?

I know for a fact that there are customers still not on belief plans. I have some of the reps over at tuscc tell me that they have customers still on original plans.

From my understanding that is still the same, ie that you will be allowed to keep your current plan. What they will try and do to entice people to switch remains to be seen.. Maybe they will give a bigger upgrade discount.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[pistolpetefan23]

When the Belief Plans were introduced they seemed to benefit people that had all smartphone lines and weren't so great for people with mixed plans. On these new plans, it seems those with mixed plans have better options but they're much worse for people with all smartphone lines. Seriously, they can't come up with a way so it is beneficial for both groups?

[kevdogg329]

My contract will be up in a couple of weeks. If only Verizon and Sprint would come to my area....I would probably be on a pre-paid option.

[pvdiamon]

I hope USCC reads these. I have been a customer with them for well over 10 years. Two in the family drifted to AT&T for a short period, and came back last year so now 4 smartphones with unlimited plans. If they raise the rate $20x4 for my plan, I suspect they will lose all advantage over Verizon, and have the disadvantage of poor phone selection....hope they relook at this!

[john_v]

I hope USCC reads these. I have been a customer with them for well over 10 years. Two in the family drifted to AT&T for a short period, and came back last year so now 4 smartphones with unlimited plans. If they raise the rate $20x4 for my plan, I suspect they will lose all advantage over Verizon, and have the disadvantage of poor phone selection....hope they relook at this!

Do keep in mind that unless there's a major, and I mean major shift in corporate policy, you will be allowed to keep your current plan as long as you want.

I was talking to a couple of reps at a corporate store this morning and they said they still have customers grandfathered in on PrimeCo plans (remember the little purple martian?)

So as long as you want to stay on your current plan, do it. For some people it will make financial sense to switch, for others like myself, it won't. The only thing that will get me off my current plan is if USCC decides against BB10.

[kevdogg329]

From Us Cellular's FB page yesterday (I edited out most of the comments....can view all other comments on the FB page):

Nick *******
So I am getting my old plan discontinued.... And you move a loyal customer to a plan that if I continue service with you will charge me 120 bucks more a year? I really don't know how I feel about this!

U.S. Cellular Hello Nick, thank you for contacting us. In order to provide the best customer experience, and enhance our products and services, we must modify and discontinue some of our older, outdated products and services. If your wireless needs have changed, we also offer our new Belief Plans that are loaded with value which may be a better solution. Would you like to talk about some new options? Email me at [email protected] and place my name in the subject line. ^Ernesto, USCC Social Team

Later on the same message:

U.S. Cellular Nick, After reviewing this thread I understand that you have been contacted via letter letting you know about the retirement of the plan you were on. As this certainly can be an inconvenience, I wanted to personally extend an apology for any frustration this may have caused. Please note that every effort was made to migrate the very small amount of customers impacted by this change, to a plan of equal or greater value to the customer. If your needs have changed and you would like to see alternative options, you are more than able to do that too. I believe Ernesto from our Social Team offered to review these options with you earlier today. While we cannot dive into specifics on your account within Facebook, our team is more than willing to contact you at your convenience to review alternative options, and restore your faith in U.S. Cellular. We certainly do value your business, and look forward to discussing matters further with you. Please provide us your contact information via the [email protected] email address so we can connect with you. If you'd prefer not to send an email our Customer Service team is also standing by at 888-944-9400 to assist you, and lastly any of our retail locations would be more that happy to walk you through additional plan options. Once again my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. ^ Sharif, USCC Social Team

Guess some on older plans are going to be forced into belief plans. NOT COOL in my book. Makes me reconsider staying with US Cellular.

[john_v]

Wow...I guess I stand corrected. Thank you for posting that, Kev. I try to stay away from their FB page for the most part, as its populated with blind loyalists, ie, "Customer Crew Members."
I wonder how far up this "retirement" of plans extends. I would imagine that those of us on current belief plans will be safe for a while. As I've said before, as long as they'll let me stay on my current plan, I'll stick around. I'm not about to go spend more a month just to prove a point. But as soon as I'm forced to move, I'll definitely start looking around, esp if BB10 is involved.

From Us Cellular's FB page yesterday:

Nick *******
So I am getting my old plan discontinued.... And you move a loyal customer to a plan that if I continue service with you will charge me 120 bucks more a year? I really don't know how I feel about this!

U.S. Cellular Hello Nick, thank you for contacting us. In order to provide the best customer experience, and enhance our products and services, we must modify and discontinue some of our older, outdated products and services. If your wireless needs have changed, we also offer our new Belief Plans that are loaded with value which may be a better solution. Would you like to talk about some new options? Email me at [email protected] and place my name in the subject line. ^Ernesto, USCC Social Team

Later on the same message:

U.S. Cellular Nick, After reviewing this thread I understand that you have been contacted via letter letting you know about the retirement of the plan you were on. As this certainly can be an inconvenience, I wanted to personally extend an apology for any frustration this may have caused. Please note that every effort was made to migrate the very small amount of customers impacted by this change, to a plan of equal or greater value to the customer. If your needs have changed and you would like to see alternative options, you are more than able to do that too. I believe Ernesto from our Social Team offered to review these options with you earlier today. While we cannot dive into specifics on your account within Facebook, our team is more than willing to contact you at your convenience to review alternative options, and restore your faith in U.S. Cellular. We certainly do value your business, and look forward to discussing matters further with you. Please provide us your contact information via the [email protected] email address so we can connect with you. If you'd prefer not to send an email our Customer Service team is also standing by at 888-944-9400 to assist you, and lastly any of our retail locations would be more that happy to walk you through additional plan options. Once again my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. ^ Sharif, USCC Social Team

Guess some on older plans are going to be forced into belief plans. NOT COOL in my book. Makes me reconsider staying with US Cellular.

[kevdogg329]

John,

The poster posted "Got the letter in the mail today...."

Guess USCC sent out letters to those affected. Must really be hurting for $$$$$$ to want to FORCE people to give up grandfathered plans.

[kevdogg329]

Wow...I guess I stand corrected. Thank you for posting that, Kev. I try to stay away from their FB page for the most part, as its populated with blind loyalists, ie, "Customer Crew Members."
I wonder how far up this "retirement" of plans extends. I would imagine that those of us on current belief plans will be safe for a while. As I've said before, as long as they'll let me stay on my current plan, I'll stick around. I'm not about to go spend more a month just to prove a point. But as soon as I'm forced to move, I'll definitely start looking around, esp if BB10 is involved.

It's like that on most fan pages. Most on there are blinded by Android and don't grasp the fact Blackberries are tools, not toys. I am a fan of an OS that WORKS, period. I love my new 9350, and have my 9630 ready as a backup if needed. I have a Mesmerize i used as a tablet, because US Cell will not replace it again, after the mic died in it again. I am anxious to see what BB10 looks like also. Also wish Nokia had a phone on US Cell. The 710, and 900 look very nice.


As far as the plans go, i am on the current 'Belief' plan, which was more than my original plan i signed a contract to be on. These new plans look worse for me, and making ATT look better. (one of the big downsides of being rural, no Verizon or Sprint, without roaming on US Cell, and being limited to 1x).

[john_v]

John,

The poster posted "Got the letter in the mail today...."

Guess USCC sent out letters to those affected. Must really be hurting for $$$$$$ to want to FORCE people to give up grandfathered plans.

Sounds like they want to try and be like the "big boys".

In a way i kinda understand but on the other hand they are starting to lose their attractiveness and appeal. I wonder if the board meeting went something like this:

"Hey guys we're hemmoraging customers, how do we fix it?"

"I know, let's charge what AT$T and verizon charge..that'll keep them here, they won't have any urge to go elswhere."

"But what about phone selection? Should we try to get better phones?"

"Nah, that'll only cost us money. People will want Belief Points so bad they'll stick with us no matter."

Now don't get me wrong, I love the Belief points, I love the idea of not being on a new contract. But at the end of the day, that alone isn't going to keep me on USCC.