Verizon LTE Chews Through Data at "Ludicrous Speed"!

[danDroid]

According to a report over at PCMag.com Verizon's new LTE service hits maximum peaks of 21Mbps. The PCMag reviewer did some math and figured out that you could blaze through your 5GB monthly allotment in less than an hour! The report indicates that he averaged 15Mbps, but that was on an unloaded network. Verizon estimates that you should be able to average about 8.5Mbps on a fully loaded network. It seems the guys from "Spaceballs" have nothing on Verizon's LTE Service.

I like the idea of super-fast service, but that 5GB monthly cap could get really expensive if you are a heavy-user. Verizon charges an additional $10 bucks for each 1GB beyond the 5GB limit. Ouch! I can understand it from a business decision I suppose... Verizon sells broadband wired internet service and they don't want to compete with themselves. Furthermore, they probably want to keep demand down so the initial roll-out doesn't decimate their network. I hope it won't take long before they are able to further upgrade the technology and offer better plans. Let us know what you guys think in the forums!

by DGStorm

 

[Bilgediver]

This does seem ridiculously expensive.
They upsold gaming and video playback when they advertised 4G anyway, and those are extremely bandwidth intensive...

 

[HamDog]

Absolutely ridiculous to cap 4g. Sprint doesn't.

I was thinking about ditching my home DSL and getting a new 4G phone next year and just using it at home too (Sprint offers 4G tethering at $30/month for unlimited bandwidth use). I was hoping to stay with Verizon and they would offer a similar thing. If they don't, I'll go with Sprint.

My girlfriend has the EVO and she canceled her home DSL and now solely uses EVO's tethering for home Internet access. Verizon may not like it and want to stop it so it doesn't dig into their home DSL business, but it will most likely hurt them in their cell business.

 

[billjohnson]

That was my initial reaction too....I suppose you could always hang out on Wifi and only use 4G when you had too....at least until they get the plans ironed out.

 

[JohnAP2]

Way too expensive for far too little data... I hope it gets better as time goes on because it's just not worth it as of now.

 

[kodiak799]

I don't understand why people think increasing their usage shouldn't cost them more. These plans are all designed with an expected usage in mind.

3G isn't really that slow - light browsing and things like Pandora make hitting 5 gigs pretty darn tough. But if it's faster people will shift usage from PC's, some even talking about dropping home broadband or tethering = saving money and then whine that the might be capped by VZW.

Probably 98% of users don't hit 5 gigs a month now, so faster shouldn't change you're usage unless you shift you're usage. Basic supply and demand says you should pay more for that.

If I'm VZW and have the capacity, this being a viable alternative to many for home broadband means there's some $50 a month they can capture in additional revenues from tethering. They can cap at 5 gigs and then, if you want to replace home broadband with tether, can charge $30-$40 more for unlimited and everyone wins.

I think where it becomes an issue is when mobile sites take advantage of increased speeds to deliver more data-rich content which increases data for the same given usage pattern.

 

[DroidMastar2]

I don't understand why people think increasing their usage shouldn't cost them more. These plans are all designed with an expected usage in mind.

3G isn't really that slow - light browsing and things like Pandora make hitting 5 gigs pretty darn tough. But if it's faster people will shift usage from PC's, some even talking about dropping home broadband or tethering = saving money and then whine that the might be capped by VZW.

Probably 98% of users don't hit 5 gigs a month now, so faster shouldn't change you're usage unless you shift you're usage. Basic supply and demand says you should pay more for that.

If I'm VZW and have the capacity, this being a viable alternative to many for home broadband means there's some $50 a month they can capture in additional revenues from tethering. They can cap at 5 gigs and then, if you want to replace home broadband with tether, can charge $30-$40 more for unlimited and everyone wins.

I think where it becomes an issue is when mobile sites take advantage of increased speeds to deliver more data-rich content which increases data for the same given usage pattern.

I agree...

Well for the most part, I think the biggest complaint is coming from people that want to "Have their cake, and eat it too." Meaning, people want to have faster speed for a low cost and I'm sure most of the people plan on tethering in a way that goes against their contract. I like that people will have to pay for this service... because it means that there won't be an overwhelming assault on the bandwidth.

I can understand a complaint if you honestly only plan on using the 4g for things like streaming videos on the go, but it's really not verizon's fault if you want to save money by using your phone's tethering to supply your house with unlimited internet for free.

 

[DroidMastar2]

Also, i was under the impression that the cost of the service would have more than one factor associated with it. Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[KZIWarrior]

I don't understand why people think increasing their usage shouldn't cost them more. These plans are all designed with an expected usage in mind.

3G isn't really that slow - light browsing and things like Pandora make hitting 5 gigs pretty darn tough. But if it's faster people will shift usage from PC's, some even talking about dropping home broadband or tethering = saving money and then whine that the might be capped by VZW.

Probably 98% of users don't hit 5 gigs a month now, so faster shouldn't change you're usage unless you shift you're usage. Basic supply and demand says you should pay more for that.

If I'm VZW and have the capacity, this being a viable alternative to many for home broadband means there's some $50 a month they can capture in additional revenues from tethering. They can cap at 5 gigs and then, if you want to replace home broadband with tether, can charge $30-$40 more for unlimited and everyone wins.

I think where it becomes an issue is when mobile sites take advantage of increased speeds to deliver more data-rich content which increases data for the same given usage pattern.

dancedroidThank you, always nice to see others with some common sense around here.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

I have never come close to hitting 5gigs a month. That takes a lot of work, however I would like to see an unlimited data for 4g. I am fine if they charge extra for it. Just like your cable/internet provider, if they up the speed of your internet they will charge you extra and I think rightfully so.

 

[HamDog]

Wow, some people's imagination can run wild! I never said give me the service for free! Let's take a look at a legitimate person's monthly Internet Bill:

Verizon Home DSL 7.0/768 - $45.00/month
Droid Data Package - $30/month
Droid Tethering Fee - $30/month

Yup, that's $105/month for Internet access. That's not a ripoff?

And Verizon doesn't have to do anything to give me a deal. They don't have to, nor do they owe it to me. As a consumer, I have the right to quit Verizon and move to Sprint when they offer a cheaper service.

With Sprint, I can save on the $45/month Verizon home DSL fee and just use an EVO and tether. Completely legally and within the terms. And it's not capped as long as it's using 4g. And in my area, both Verizon and Sprint have excellent reception.

So by saying the price is too high and a ripoff when it's capped, I'm not being cheap, but just smart by realizing I can get the same service from somewhere else much cheaper. If you haven't tried it, Sprint's 4g is also lightening fast, almost as fast as my home DSL which is 7.0/768k.

I'm waiting till next year to see if Verizon will come to their senses.

 

[onsht1kll]

Wow, some people's imagination can run wild! I never said give me the service for free! Let's take a look at a legitimate person's monthly Internet Bill:

Verizon Home DSL 7.0/768 - $45.00/month
Droid Data Package - $30/month
Droid Tethering Fee - $30/month

Yup, that's $105/month for Internet access. That's not a ripoff?

And Verizon doesn't have to do anything to give me a deal. They don't have to, nor do they owe it to me. As a consumer, I have the right to quit Verizon and move to Sprint when they offer a cheaper service.

With Sprint, I can save on the $45/month Verizon home DSL fee and just use an EVO and tether. Completely legally and within the terms. And it's not capped as long as it's using 4g. And in my area, both Verizon and Sprint have excellent reception.

So by saying the price is too high and a ripoff when it's capped, I'm not being cheap, but just smart by realizing I can get the same service from somewhere else much cheaper. If you haven't tried it, Sprint's 4g is also lightening fast, almost as fast as my home DSL which is 7.0/768k.

I'm waiting till next year to see if Verizon will come to their senses.

Verizons 4G will be alot faster than Sprints.. the reception is also better .. in the end you get what you pay for (Sprint has these prices to lure in customers to make up for their spped and lack of coverage) .. if Sprint will work where you want to use your phone great .. but here in Mass its horrible at best .. to me the increased price would be worth not getting frustrated trying to find a signal .. IMO anyway

 

[Bilgediver]

Those that say they hardly use their bandwidth now, remember that the web just seems to eat up what current bandwidth allows for. It really shows where I work. I work onboard ship and we depend on Satellite Internet for a lot of what we do. Modern Websites have slowed to a crawl compared to when the "Standard" was dial-up modems.
Well as mobile connections advance from 3G speeds to 4G speeds, I'm quite sure we will see more and more mobile data connections that NEED the increase in speed.

Think Video chats. Oh I'm sure a lot of people will claim "I will never need to use that", well that's what we said about the internet on our phones, that's what people started saying about cell phones in general! Now its become a dang near necessary for our daily lives and we couldn't imagine living without it.

 

[kodiak799]

Think Video chats. Oh I'm sure a lot of people will claim "I will never need to use that", well that's what we said about the internet on our phones, that's what people started saying about cell phones in general! Now its become a dang near necessary for our daily lives and we couldn't imagine living without it.

That a new usage/convenience. Expect to pay for it. Why do people think more bandwidth shouldn't mean paying more? It's not like gouging over gas prices.

I still do most of my surfing on the laptop. If you are surfing the web all over high heaven expect to pay more. People act like they can't get by, like they're being robbed, if it starts costing too much for how much they want to access the net.

People demand faster and more data and don't think prices should reflect that increased demand. I don't get it. Honestly if it's a strain on a person's wallet then that person probably shouldn't have a smartphone for multiple reasons.

 

[kodiak799]

Verizon Home DSL 7.0/768 - $45.00/month
Droid Data Package - $30/month
Droid Tethering Fee - $30/month

Yup, that's $105/month for Internet access. That's not a ripoff?

It instantly begs the question why anyone really needs high-speed mobile data AND home broadband AND tether! It really is gluttonous. Geez, get off the net and trying having an actual human conversation with someone.