Verizon Planning on "Turbo" Network Speed Mode with Micro-Transaction Tiered Data

[Raw Dodge]

I totally get that - not going to argue with you there BUT, as I've asked numerous times, where does Verizon stipulate that >2GB = Top 5%? What you and others choose to believe does not make it fact - which is why I was hoping someone could shed more light on what Verizon is actually doing instead of just guessing, hating, blaming, and assuming things. I still HIGHLY doubt that RawDodge is being throttled. I just did speed tests last night. I was getting no MORE than 300Kbps up/down. ONCE i got about 1Mbit down/300Kbps up. That was sitting close to a cell tower with FULL bars. All other tests were 3 bars with the 300Kbps speeds. Not awesome at all, but hardly due to throttling!

I've had a Verizon data plan for 2 years ..the week Verizon announced they were throttling the top 5% my speeds dropped to a crawl....and have been sporadically ever since.....I know for a fact im being throttled....

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[SquireSCA]

Does anyone know that if we dropped out Unlimited Plan and picked up the 2GB plan under their "Double your data" promotion, which is the same price, if that 4GB would last the entire time of the contract? Or is it double the data for just a limited time and then you drop back to 2GB?

If they are going to throttle over 2GB, then it probably makes more sense to get the promotion and have 4GB of unthrottled data for the same price, no?

 

[Trusstopher]

Does anyone know that if we dropped out Unlimited Plan and picked up the 2GB plan under their "Double your data" promotion, which is the same price, if that 4GB would last the entire time of the contract? Or is it double the data for just a limited time and then you drop back to 2GB?

If they are going to throttle over 2GB, then it probably makes more sense to get the promotion and have 4GB of unthrottled data for the same price, no?

Depends on your consumption rate. I'll bet that even while throttled some people could pass 4GB, so being un-throttled, they will hit their cap twice as quick and then they are paying overages or going without for the rest of the month.

 

[SquireSCA]

Does anyone know that if we dropped out Unlimited Plan and picked up the 2GB plan under their "Double your data" promotion, which is the same price, if that 4GB would last the entire time of the contract? Or is it double the data for just a limited time and then you drop back to 2GB?

If they are going to throttle over 2GB, then it probably makes more sense to get the promotion and have 4GB of unthrottled data for the same price, no?

Just chatted with a VZW rep and asked them specifically, that if I leave my $30 Unlimited plan and take the 4GB(2GB Double the Data) promotion for $30, how long does that double the data last? She said until I change or cancel the plan. SO I asked again, will it last indefinitely until I choose otherwise, and she said yes. I did it through the online chat so that I could screen cap it and save it in the event that this ever comes up, I can refer back to it and use that as ammo.

So now I have 4GB and don't have to worry about throttling after 2GB.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Verizon is throttling everything sorry to say..... my brother has a 5 gigabyte mobile hotspot from verizon... he is getting throttled occasionally as well... especially when he gets over 3 gigabytes of use.... he first noticed it about 3 weeks ago... if it's not throttling then its network congestion... in which case Verizon should install more lines and transmitters in its existing towers so as to accommodate the new smartphone users that sign up everyday. Instead verizon is pocketing the money and throttling us while getting rid of unlimited data plans, then telling us to use less data...

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[cybertec69]

What'll they mean by abusive users are the people who use their smarphones as a router to get internet on their laptop and what not without paying for the service, pretty much rooted people. I have seen people here say I used 10 plus gigs this month, wow really, every home internet provider today provides you with a wireless modem, so when you are home or at work you are on wifi"not using their amoled bandwidth" , to me honestly, if you are using more than 5 gigs a month means you, either don't have internet at home and use your smarphone as a router without paying for it, or you need to get a job and stop being on the phone all day. I have unlimited plan and for two years now I have never gone over 2 gigs a month, reason is when I am home my phone is on WiFi, and the same goes when I am in the office. If you are abusing the contract you should be punished for it. Verizon is not dumb people, they can tell if someone is doing something fishy.

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[Trusstopher]

Just chatted with a VZW rep and asked them specifically, that if I leave my $30 Unlimited plan and take the 4GB(2GB Double the Data) promotion for $30, how long does that double the data last? She said until I change or cancel the plan. SO I asked again, will it last indefinitely until I choose otherwise, and she said yes. I did it through the online chat so that I could screen cap it and save it in the event that this ever comes up, I can refer back to it and use that as ammo.

So now I have 4GB and don't have to worry about throttling after 2GB.

While I by no means am saying you made the wrong choice (because for your needs, you did in fact make the right choice) but this is the exact reason VZW is both throttling and offered this double data plan... they want people off of unlimited. They made unlimited so unappealing and that the tiered planned actually made better sense to you. The only thing left to be seen is how your speeds hold up from here on out.

 

[SquireSCA]

What'll they mean by abusive users are the people who use their smarphones as a router to get internet on their laptop and what not without paying for the service, pretty much rooted people. I have seen people here say I used 10 plus gigs this month, wow really, every home internet provider today provides you with a wireless modem, so when you are home or at work you are on wifi"not using their amoled bandwidth" , to me honestly, if you are using more than 5 gigs a month means you, either don't have internet at home and use your smarphone as a router without paying for it, or you need to get a job and stop being on the phone all day. I have unlimited plan and for two years now I have never gone over 2 gigs a month, reason is when I am home my phone is on WiFi, and the same goes when I am in the office. If you are abusing the contract you should be punished for it. Verizon is not dumb people, they can tell if someone is doing something fishy.

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It takes only 2 hours per week of Netflix to put you over the 2GB mark. Throw in Youtube and FB videos and things like that, and it adds up really fast. It doesn't take much to hit those levels if you watch video. My usage went from 250-350mb a month to 1.2-1.5gb a month just by adding barely 90 minutes of Netflix per month... 30 minutes, 3 days a week while on the elliptical at the gym was all it took to quadruple my data usage. I work from home currently so I am on Wifi almost exclusively. If that were to change, I would break 2GB easily, so that is why I switched to the 4GB double Data plan for the same price. I don't see them throttling tiered plans, because they WANT you to go over so that they can ding you $10 per GB.

 

[SquireSCA]

While I by no means am saying you made the wrong choice (because for your needs, you did in fact make the right choice) but this is the exact reason VZW is both throttling and offered this double data plan... they want people off of unlimited. They made unlimited so unappealing and that the tiered planned actually made better sense to you. The only thing left to be seen is how your speeds hold up from here on out.

I agree, and that was why I was pissed earlier in the thread. But after looking at how everyone in the industry is doing this, I just had to suck it up and accept it. They sold us Unlimited, and then kept changing the goal post after the play in order to keep limiting, restricting it and making it undesirable. That is how they make it "legal". If they threw me off without my consent, it would be a breach of contract on their part. By playing in the gray area and making me choose to abandon it, they are in the clear.

It is a crappy tactic, but that is how business works.

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

I agree, and that was why I was pissed earlier in the thread. But after looking at how everyone in the industry is doing this, I just had to suck it up and accept it. They sold us Unlimited, and then kept changing the goal post after the play in order to keep limiting, restricting it and making it undesirable. That is how they make it "legal". If they threw me off without my consent, it would be a breach of contract on their part. By playing in the gray area and making me choose to abandon it, they are in the clear.

It is a crappy tactic, but that is how business works.

My immediate area doesnt even have a thousand people in it yet alone have even close to that many VZ subscribers. if i get throttled, it wont be because the tower was congested. But in all honesty i use 1.5 gigs at most a month with me doing my normal sites on my phone. im sure 4g will make that go up but only partially. i am covered in 4g only at school, so my home and surrounding area im in wifi and 3g.

 

[ex0rcist]

Ive had it with Verizon....they are ripping us off big time....I have 2 smartphones on unlimited data plans....my monthly bill for them with 1400min, and unlimited txt,insurance on both smartphones and one dumbphone is 235.00 a month....60.00 of that is data charges...i use .75-1.8gb average monthly on my phone,and my better half works from home and is on wifi with her smartphone most of the time...she averages .3gb a month...I have hit as high as 2.75 once this summer when i went away,but my winter average is only .75gb...so basically im paying about 30.00 per GB monthly,and Im being HEAVILY throttled on my line (the one that averages .75-1.8gb)...and occasionally throttled on the other line as well...I cannot even use Pandora anymore,sending simple emails takes forever.Using the mobile browser on my DX2 is hit or miss....forget watching a video...when i first got my plan I had the OG droid 1,and everything worked as it should,it was so much faster than my dual core rooted rommed Dx2,even though on Wifi,the DX2 flies,basically im fed up,,,and now they want me to pay even more to have what I should have now? They are not adding lines to the towers as they add smartphones,so there pocketing more money and pulling back our data speeds....I hope one day the Sprint network improves enough here so i can jump ship...Im beyond aggravated...

I use between 2-9gb of data a month. No tethering.. just movie... netflix... and youtube...and have been for a long time... . I still get 12-24mb down and 5 mb up on 4glte.. and then downloaded an update on my phone on 3g.. and got 2.5mb down .. id stop worrying so much guys. Looks all good to me. Course i been a vzw customer for 10 Years foo

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[tituswife]

What are the costs for an internet provider? Does speed, data really cost them more, or is it just a way to charge more?

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[Trusstopher]

What are the costs for an internet provider? Does speed, data really cost them more, or is it just a way to charge more?

Sent from my stock Thunderbolt

A comparison really can't be made because it is two completely different infrastructures. With that being said, I personally feel the prices they set are some what arbitrary at what ever level they think people will pay. One thing I base that opinion on is the rate they charge for a text message vs. the rate the charge for the rest of your data connection.

For a text you either pay 10 cents a text if you are on a pay-per-use or over or limit or you pay $10 for 1000 or you pay $20 for unlimited in a month.
A full 160 character text is about 0.137 KB (unless something is off on my math or research, but an SMS is limited to 140 bytes). Which means you pay:

10 cents per text (0.14 KB) which is 71 cents/KB which is $731.42/MB or $748,974.08/GB at the 10 cents per text rate

1 cent per text (0.14 KB) which is 7 cents/KB which is $73.12/MB or $74,897.41/GB at the 1000 for $10 rate.

(Assuming you send 1 test per minute non-stop for the entire month, that is 44,640 texts in a 31 day month)

0.045 cents per text (0.14 KB) which is 0.32 cents/KB which is $3.28/MB or $3,355.66/GB on the Unlimited plan.

Compare those numbers for what they currently charge for a data package:

300MB/$20 = $0.07/MB = $68.26/GB
2GB/$30 = $0.015/MB = $15/GB
5GB/$50 = $0.0098/MB = $10/GB
10GB/$80 = $0.0078/MB = $8/GB

And I find it funny to note that every one of those includes a $10/GB overage fee (except the 300MB plan).


Like I said, unless there is an error in my math somewhere (and if there is, I'm sure someone will point it out for me), the rates that Verizon, or any carrier for that matter, charges to move data for you definitely are not defined by the cost to move said data, but by what they think people are will to pay.

 

[SquireSCA]

A comparison really can't be made because it is two completely different infrastructures. With that being said, I personally feel the prices they set are some what arbitrary at what ever level they think people will pay. One thing I base that opinion on is the rate they charge for a text message vs. the rate the charge for the rest of your data connection.

For a text you either pay 10 cents a text if you are on a pay-per-use or over or limit or you pay $10 for 1000 or you pay $20 for unlimited in a month.
A full 160 character text is about 0.137 KB (unless something is off on my math or research, but an SMS is limited to 140 bytes). Which means you pay:

10 cents per text (0.14 KB) which is 71 cents/KB which is $731.42/MB or $748,974.08/GB at the 10 cents per text rate

1 cent per text (0.14 KB) which is 7 cents/KB which is $73.12/MB or $74,897.41/GB at the 1000 for $10 rate.

(Assuming you send 1 test per minute non-stop for the entire month, that is 44,640 texts in a 31 day month)

0.045 cents per text (0.14 KB) which is 0.32 cents/KB which is $3.28/MB or $3,355.66/GB on the Unlimited plan.

Compare those numbers for what they currently charge for a data package:

300MB/$20 = $0.07/MB = $68.26/GB
2GB/$30 = $0.015/MB = $15/GB
5GB/$50 = $0.0098/MB = $10/GB
10GB/$80 = $0.0078/MB = $8/GB

And I find it funny to note that every one of those includes a $10/GB overage fee (except the 300MB plan).


Like I said, unless there is an error in my math somewhere (and if there is, I'm sure someone will point it out for me), the rates that Verizon, or any carrier for that matter, charges to move data for you definitely are not defined by the cost to move said data, but by what they think people are will to pay.

Your math is sound. Carriers are just printing money on these plans, it costs them nothing to send a text. It is not even part of your data plan, as they go over the 2G voice towers, and the data is so small as to be insignificant. But like your math shows, at the rates they charge, you are paying thousands of dollars per GB of text, at their current rates. Messaging plans are the highest profit margin of any product or service that VZW sells. Fact.

And because people are starting to use 3rd party apps for texting, or things like FB Chat, Google Talk, Apple's new iChat or whatever it is called, the carriers are worried about people dropping their messaging plans. So their solution?

To start putting the messaging fees into the base price rather than have it as an option. Their stance is that they will continue to charge you for it, even if you don't use it, and you won't have a choice to opt out of it. They will bump up the price of your minute plan, so if you want to use iChat or FB chat, that's fine, but you WILL still pay for a texting plan.

This is how they operate.

 

[Trusstopher]

Your math is sound. Carriers are just printing money on these plans, it costs them nothing to send a text. It is not even part of your data plan, as they go over the 2G voice towers, and the data is so small as to be insignificant. But like your math shows, at the rates they charge, you are paying thousands of dollars per GB of text, at their current rates. Messaging plans are the highest profit margin of any product or service that VZW sells. Fact.

And because people are starting to use 3rd party apps for texting, or things like FB Chat, Google Talk, Apple's new iChat or whatever it is called, the carriers are worried about people dropping their messaging plans. So their solution?

To start putting the messaging fees into the base price rather than have it as an option. Their stance is that they will continue to charge you for it, even if you don't use it, and you won't have a choice to opt out of it. They will bump up the price of your minute plan, so if you want to use iChat or FB chat, that's fine, but you WILL still pay for a texting plan.

This is how they operate.

My guess is that it is even cheaper to send a text over the voice towers or else they would send it over the data connection.

I looked last month and they had a 250 text/month option for $5 a month and my current minutes plan $20 cheaper but now it is gone. I wish I would have grabbed it while it was there but now it is too late and I am stuck with the coupled talk/text plan. I think I may still opt for a switch $10 for 1000 and hope that $5 for 250 comes back.