[BBMINI]

I didn't find this info anywhere else on CB and just saw this CNN article, so figured others might be interested.
Verizon kills voice minutes, makes data shareable - Jun. 12, 2012

(BTW, I almost posted this in the VZW section but decided to post in General Discussion since I thought it would probably appeal to more than just VZW customers since this announcement will probably end up impacting the entire cell/data industry, all the carriers and all smartphone users).

[pantlesspenguin]

This is actually on the CB blog and there are a couple threads about it in the Verizon section. I JUST switched to Verizon a couple months ago. I'm not very happy with this. From my understanding of the new plans, if I got on this I'd be paying $20 MORE for the same services than I am now. No bueno.

[jaydee5799]

So under this plan I get exactly what I have now for 20 dollars more! Haha! Good thing I can keep my current one.

Let me clarify...data usage rarely approaches 2GB for me anyway, texts under 250 a month, and minutes up to 450. So according to my usage, I'm better off keeping my current plan I believe. Until they force me to change....

Do I get free mobile hotspot for my PB? That would be my benefit as I have no wireless access at work.

[BBMINI]

^^ Thanks. That it's already out there once again confirms my dislike of CB's search feature. Not sure how I missed it when I even scrolled through the Verizon section.

Will be interesting to see how the new plan structures shake out. I currently have 5 phones on a VZW plan -- all share voice, all have unlimited texts, 2 have data plans -- so will have to do the numbers to see if I'll be better off or not. Was also already considering changing carriers, so now this adds even more crap to consider and compare.

[antheauxny]

Glad I have Sprint.
True unlimited data ftw.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[BBMINI]

Glad I have Sprint.
True unlimited data ftw.

I've wondered about that claim and have considered switching to Sprint, but what sketches me out a little bit is their saying it's unlimited "on our network". Is Sprint's network large and thorough enough that there's little risk of going off their network and accidentally being hit with surprise data charges??

[xandermac]

So under this plan I get exactly what I have now for 20 dollars more! Haha! Good thing I can keep my current one.

Let me clarify...data usage rarely approaches 2GB for me anyway, texts under 250 a month, and minutes up to 450. So according to my usage, I'm better off keeping my current plan I believe. Until they force me to change....

Do I get free mobile hotspot for my PB? That would be my benefit as I have no wireless access at work.

You would actually get less, only 1GB of data for $90 instead of your current 2GB for $70.

[lnichols]

Glad I have Sprint.
True unlimited data ftw.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

Glad I left Sprint because they wanted $10 more per phone per month to upgrade my 4 Blackberry phones to 4 Blackberry with the smartphone tax they implemented. Sorry but Blackberry uses less data and I wasn't going to pay to build their WiMax, I mean LTE network out which won't be here till sometime in 2013. I'm also not going to subsidize their over-subsidizing of iPhones. Now I spend a lot less and get speeds well over 4 times as faster than Sprint's existing network can ever support, and better international phone capable selection.

This Verizon move isn't unexpected, and their customers will begrudgingly pay for it and not leave. For what I have now with T-Mobile on this new Verizon plan it would cost me $50 more per month. Hopefully they don't charge extra for Blackberry service in that price. If not then that is actually a cheaper deal than when I priced it out before. AT&T was also way high when I priced them out too and had special extras for Blackberry (glad the merger died).

[Stonedicator]

So very nice of Verizon to let me pay them more $. I will be honest, when I first read the announcement I was hoping I could save some coin... I was wrong.

[jaydee5799]

You would actually get less, only 1GB of data for $90 instead of your current 2GB for $70.

Oh ok, well I see I was almost right. I did use the little calculator they have on the VZW site and "they" suggested a 2GB plan for 100 bucks. Is this what you're saying?

[Engire]

Just got off the phone with Verizon. Supposedly mobile hot spot is included in the data packages. Corporate discounts now apply to the data plan (as it is the primary charge) and not the primary line like before. Also any of us on the $20 per line data discount will loose it. Some good and some bad with the new plans but mainly a lot lighter wallet in the end.

[grover5]

Glad I left Sprint because they wanted $10 more per phone per month to upgrade my 4 Blackberry phones to 4 Blackberry with the smartphone tax they implemented. Sorry but Blackberry uses less data and I wasn't going to pay to build their WiMax, I mean LTE network out which won't be here till sometime in 2013. I'm also not going to subsidize their over-subsidizing of iPhones. Now I spend a lot less and get speeds well over 4 times as faster than Sprint's existing network can ever support, and better international phone capable selection.

This Verizon move isn't unexpected, and their customers will begrudgingly pay for it and not leave. For what I have now with T-Mobile on this new Verizon plan it would cost me $50 more per month. Hopefully they don't charge extra for Blackberry service in that price. If not then that is actually a cheaper deal than when I priced it out before. AT&T was also way high when I priced them out too and had special extras for Blackberry (glad the merger died).

I agree. I pay so much less on TMO and the speeds are very good. My only issue is coverage inside large buildings can get pretty weak.

[xandermac]

Oh ok, well I see I was almost right. I did use the little calculator they have on the VZW site and "they" suggested a 2GB plan for 100 bucks. Is this what you're saying?

I'm saying this plan is terrible for you (or any individual user). It's 30% more for 50% less data. Pure rape.

[Detective M Downs]

Read the footnotes, 'Data overage is $15 per 1 GB. Need more than 10 Gb of data? Add @ GB for $10 by logging in to myverizon.'

[dbollman423]

But I am "grandfathered" for my unlimited data plan?!?!?!

[jaydee5799]

But I am "grandfathered" for my unlimited data plan?!?!?!

According to the article, we can keep our current plan..."for now". But they can decide to change that soon enuf, I would imagine.

[pantlesspenguin]

I agree. I pay so much less on TMO and the speeds are very good. My only issue is coverage inside large buildings can get pretty weak.

I really enjoyed the low prices on TMO, but their customer care got soooooooooo bad I just couldn't stand it any longer. That, and the coverage issue. I'm getting fast signal from places I couldn't previously reach, and that's great. Likewise, the quality of my HTC Rezound beats any phone I used on T-Mo. HOWEVER, I'm also now paying out the wazoo. So far, the pros outweigh the cons and I'm satisfied paying the higher price for higher quality. However, between the $30 upgrade fee and now this price plan...I'm kind of second-guessing my decision! Plus, with the way I buy and sell used phones there's a greater risk of getting ripped off by getting a device with a bad ESN. That's something I really hadn't considered much.

[BBMINI]

According to the article, we can keep our current plan..."for now". But they can decide to change that soon enuf, I would imagine.

But wouldn't the grandfathered unlimited plan also end whenever dbollman or any of us upgrades to a new phone and/or renew our 2-year contract (with discounted phone price)? I'm also currently grandfathered on VZW's unlimited plan (for now), but I'm expecting that whenever I upgrade I'll have to buy into their tiered plan or this new shared plan if I want the discounted phone. Either way, my current unlimited plan is gone.

Hey, but at least I'll get the added bonus of getting to pay them $36 per phone upgrade for the privilege of having less data but higher prices!! What a total gouge. This kind of crap is why I'm finally shopping carriers after 10+ years with VZW.

[jaydee5799]

But wouldn't the grandfathered unlimited plan also end whenever dbollman or any of us upgrades to a new phone and/or renew our 2-year contract (with discounted phone price)? I'm also currently grandfathered on VZW's unlimited plan (for now), but I'm expecting that whenever I upgrade I'll have to buy into their tiered plan or this new shared plan if I want the discounted phone. Either way, my current unlimited plan is gone.

Hey, but at least I'll get the added bonus of getting to pay them $36 per phone upgrade for the privilege of having less data but higher prices!! What a total gouge. This kind of crap is why I'm finally shopping carriers after 10+ years with VZW.

The tiered plan is going bye-bye. That's what we have now, correct? I am like you....not happy at the prospect of being asked to pay more when I upgrade. Good thing I just got the 2 year plan for this 9930. In two years time, I can decide what I need to do.

[Engire]

The thing that really, really irks me is they keep saying that "WE" asked for this. Who the (really bad word here) is "WE" because I think we should hunt them down and hurt them.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[jaydee5799]

The thing that really, really irks me is they keep saying that "WE" asked for this. Who the (really bad word here) is "WE" because I think we should hunt them down and hurt them.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

10 chars.

[iN8ter]

I've wondered about that claim and have considered switching to Sprint, but what sketches me out a little bit is their saying it's unlimited "on our network". Is Sprint's network large and thorough enough that there's little risk of going off their network and accidentally being hit with surprise data charges??

Their data speeds are a joke.

And their network is a bit larger than T-Mobile, but there are still many gaps. There are some rather populous cities down south where Sprint and T-Mobile are AWOL, but AT&T and Verizon have HSPA+ and EvDO.

If you travel quite a bit, IMO, Sprint and T-Moible are out of the question. That's just my opinion (and experience), though...

[iN8ter]

I really enjoyed the low prices on TMO, but their customer care got soooooooooo bad I just couldn't stand it any longer. That, and the coverage issue. I'm getting fast signal from places I couldn't previously reach, and that's great. Likewise, the quality of my HTC Rezound beats any phone I used on T-Mo. HOWEVER, I'm also now paying out the wazoo. So far, the pros outweigh the cons and I'm satisfied paying the higher price for higher quality. However, between the $30 upgrade fee and now this price plan...I'm kind of second-guessing my decision! Plus, with the way I buy and sell used phones there's a greater risk of getting ripped off by getting a device with a bad ESN. That's something I really hadn't considered much.

The Rezound is nothing but an HTC Vivid with an HD screen (in lieu of the Vivid's qHD). The HTC One S on T-Mobile is much better than that phone (- except for the fact that there is no SD Card slot or removable battery).

[sleepngbear]

The thing that really, really irks me is they keep saying that "WE" asked for this. Who the (really bad word here) is "WE" because I think we should hunt them down and hurt them.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

Not only did you ask for it, the response to it so far says you love it.

Unlimited data customers 'freaked out' by new Verizon shared data plans - Computerworld

[pantlesspenguin]

The Rezound is nothing but an HTC Vivid with an HD screen (in lieu of the Vivid's qHD). The HTC One S on T-Mobile is much better than that phone (- except for the fact that there is no SD Card slot or removable battery).

Oh yeah, the One S is nothing to scoff at for sure. It's the one high-end TMO phone I don't have any experience with. I was basing my opinion of the Rezound vs the HTC Amaze. I had the Amaze for about 6 months before I switched to Verizon. Both the Amaze and the Rezound were released about the same time and the Rezound is so much better in comparison. I got bad screen bleed from the buttons on the Amaze and the GPS was horribly spotty (good GPS is crucial for me). I have neither issue on the Rezound. Also, the Rezound had a couple upgrades from the Amaze - namely Sense 3.5 and Beats audio. So, even though both were released at around the same time, Verizon got the better device.