Comments on: Verizon: You can keep unlimited — if you buy your own phone

By: mitchell

mitchell — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:56:17 +0000

you have a very good point and i back it 100% but for some people including myself do not get coverage out in the backwoods and in rural areas

By: mitchell

mitchell — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:52:10 +0000

well there is a way around this to get discounted phones and still have a unlimited plan just add a line and get the phone for it then transfer it over then suspend the inactive line thats really the only reason i have 2 phone lines and the best part about this is that a employee of verizon told me this himself

By: mike hulme

mike hulme — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:39:48 +0000

I only keep my grandfathered plan because despite what i’m using monthly now, I expect the trend of data usage can only go up. And, maybe it goes up exponentially over the next 5 years.

By: z3r0bin4ry

z3r0bin4ry — Sun, 20 May 2012 03:12:39 +0000

What a rip-off. Seriously, if you want normal unlimited data/talk/txt, go with boostmobile. I swtiched from Sprint after paying far too long $130.00/month with an Evo 4G to a comparable plan which now only costs me $45 a month. And every 6 months, it drops another $5. My sister is currently paying $35/month for unlimted data plans. The phones might not be all that flashy – but I actually like the Samsung Replenish I’ve been using. Paid $50 for the phone and it’s the best of the blackberry curve with the keyboard and runs on Gingerbread. Suits me just fine – and I’m still on the Sprint network so coverage is just the same.

By: chum lee

chum lee — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:44:33 +0000

Just to note, because nobody ever pays attention to the little guy, T-Mobile has “unlimited” Internet. It’s throttled after you hit your tiered point (2gb, 5gb, 10gb), but there are never any overage charges. I’m a recent convert to T-Mobile and I honestly don’t get why there isn’t a mass exodus to them. So much less expensive, no overages on internet usage, and a surprisingly good network. Might be quite as good as Verizon, but at this point…it’s close.

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:39:33 +0000

JA2BK, I agree with you there. It is a bit hypocritical of Verizon to say everyone needs to move over to tiered data and then not offer plans that actually reflect how most people use data. Given a choice between $30 for unlimited and $30 for 2 GB, it’s pretty obvious what most people would choose. The shared plans might bring more price flexibility (if VZ does them right), but it doesn’t help the single device/single user. Verizon has always been the premium operator, though, so if you’re looking to save money you’re probably at the wrong carrier. :)

By: JA2BK

JA2BK — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:00:37 +0000

I think I should further clarify that if they had a $10 (even $5) option with sensible data limit.

By: JA2BK

JA2BK — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:58:16 +0000

I can agree that the intention is to lure customers off unlimited. I can also further say it’s their own faults, the carriers, that people became addicted to data usage. This issue began when they decided they were going to require data plans for smartphone purchases. So, if I’m paying for it, I might as well use as much of it as I can. Also they encourage use of data with their ads. If the network was a scarcity, I wouldn’t encourage everyone to use it. But, the ship has sailed on that issue (which I honestly wouldn’t mind if the lower allotment plans were cheaper). I think uptake of data would be much easier if you had a say $10 plan option to choose from.

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:10:52 +0000

I figured you weren’t going to agree with that statement, Luscious. What took you so long? :)

By: Luscious

Luscious — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:08:38 +0000

I actually prefer to pay full price for an unlocked phone that my carrier HASN’T hacked with proprietary bloatware, so being able to pair it with an unlimited data plan is a fair deal IMO.

It’s just too bad they don’t offer the same incentive on their speedy LTE mobile hotspots. The argument that unlimited is unsustainable is hogwash. I think if carriers were serious about providing users a realistic mobile broadband experience we would be seeing plans with data caps around 30GB and not a puny 5GB. I don’t need to list all the things a laptop can do.