VZW Promo Plan Member's Transition to "Share Everything" Plan...

[welsalex]

Agreed. This is the same conclusion I reached when I started this thread months ago.

While AT&T is happy to go along with the "share everything (but many of you will pay more for less)" mantra that VZW introduced, Sprint is keeping their Unlimited plan (and acknowledges that has had a positive effect on their bottom line), and it now looks like TMobile is bringing their Unlimited plans back.

Everyone in my family has new devices and we are all on this promo package. I hope that the cellular industry continues this swing back towards unlimited data over the next couple of years.

I would say its gonna be a long long while before Verizon goes back. However one could speculate that, years from now, after Verizons 4G network covers just about everywhere and they are no longer spending nearly as much on infrastructure upgrades PLUS At&t is almost caught up doing the same THEN you will see both go back to unlimited inorder to be competitive and keep customers. Verizon seems to be far ahead currently, and they know they are so they can get away with the data limits. At&t has the second best network so they also know they can limit. Eventually though it will be a neck and neck tie for best network and one will go back to unlimited thus swinging the other back. Besides, the per person demand for data is increasing almost daily. A few GB is becoming "pocket change" in terms of how far it goes.

[billyk]

A few GB is becoming "pocket change" in terms of how far it goes.

Yup.

[pc747]

ill save money if i go shared.

[pc747]

I would say its gonna be a long long while before Verizon goes back. However one could speculate that, years from now, after Verizons 4G network covers just about everywhere and they are no longer spending nearly as much on infrastructure upgrades PLUS At&t is almost caught up doing the same THEN you will see both go back to unlimited inorder to be competitive and keep customers. Verizon seems to be far ahead currently, and they know they are so they can get away with the data limits. At&t has the second best network so they also know they can limit. Eventually though it will be a neck and neck tie for best network and one will go back to unlimited thus swinging the other back. Besides, the per person demand for data is increasing almost daily. A few GB is becoming "pocket change" in terms of how far it goes.

not sure about att being caught up. Vzw has cover in over 260 million locations vs att 80 million and they are slated to reach their goal of 150 million by years end. The problem is vzw is going to have to boost the spectrum because hspa+ speeds are pretty close to vzw lte speeds when lte users are getting minimum lte speeds. With more and more people going to lte the constant building of towers will help with keeping lte speeds at acceptable levels.

[billyk]

ill save money if i go shared.

There are pleny of people who fit your scenario. You should go for it!

I just don't want to pay $100+ more per month for less data. That's the way it works out for me, and many others.

[Trash Can]

Update to this thread:

My wife is due for an upgrade, so I called the VZW Loyalty Dept this morning. She said my options are:

(1) change to Share Everything Plan
(2) pay full retail with no changes in plan
(3) subsidized phone with data capped at 2GB but still keep promo discount pricing

A few other tidbits. The rep said the online ordering system may not give you a selection for option 3 above. If you encounter this, do not complete the order online. Order directly from the Loyalty Dept so they can keep the discount in place. The rep went on to say that I will not be forced into Share Everything when I want to upgrade my son's dumb phone to a smart phone. She said that I could add a 2GB data plan to his line for $30/mo, which is still $10 cheaper overall than Share Everything when factoring in the promo discounts on my other two lines.

My wife and I rarely use more than 1GB, so I'll probably go with option 3. Good luck with your decision.

[billyk]

Thanks for that update!

Just goes to show you, over time VZW will need to modify their "everyone's moving to Family Share" idea. It's wrong, and customers won't stand for it.

[Vulcan1600]

Update to this thread:

My wife is due for an upgrade, so I called the VZW Loyalty Dept this morning. She said my options are:

(1) change to Share Everything Plan
(2) pay full retail with no changes in plan
(3) subsidized phone with data capped at 2GB but still keep promo discount pricing

A few other tidbits. The rep said the online ordering system may not give you a selection for option 3 above. If you encounter this, do not complete the order online. Order directly from the Loyalty Dept so they can keep the discount in place. The rep went on to say that I will not be forced into Share Everything when I want to upgrade my son's dumb phone to a smart phone. She said that I could add a 2GB data plan to his line for $30/mo, which is still $10 cheaper overall than Share Everything when factoring in the promo discounts on my other two lines.

My wife and I rarely use more than 1GB, so I'll probably go with option 3. Good luck with your decision.

Can you explain this Option 3 for me? I have this promo and I'll be paying about $170 per month after taxes more than my $255 after taxes with 5 lines with 5 smartphones if I upgrade.

[mountainbikermark]

Can you explain this Option 3 for me? I have this promo and I'll be paying about $170 per month after taxes more than my $255 after taxes with 5 lines with 5 smartphones if I upgrade.

Do you remember the plan between the unlimited per line and the family share? It was a 2gb for $30 per line plan. They ran a promo last Christmas doubling to 4gb if you got a 4g phone. My oldest daughter is on it. I've got unlimited grandfathered plan, she has 2gb plan because she didn't want a 4g phone but a 3g model.
I believe that's what they mean.

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[Trash Can]

Can you explain this Option 3 for me? I have this promo and I'll be paying about $170 per month after taxes more than my $255 after taxes with 5 lines with 5 smartphones if I upgrade.

Sure, it's pretty simple. If you want a subsidized phone and keep your current pricing structure, you can downgrade to a 2GB tiered plan like they sold until a few months ago. In other words, your current monthly bill will not change because you keep the data promo, but you will be capped at 2GB/line. There is no way to get a subsidized phone and keep the promo pricing with unlimited data.

It all boils down to what's more important to you. A lot of people are willing to pay full retail to keep unlimited data. We're not because it doesn't make financial sense based on our usage patterns. In my view, I'm still getting the best of both worlds -- super cheap data plus a subsidized phone -- 2GB/line is more than enough.