HomeFusion Data Caps
stuartbp
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have had Verizon Homefusion for about 2 weeks now. It seems to work well most of the time. I had one outage overnight and called customer service. They created some sort of repair report and it was working again by the time I got up the next morning.

My question is, What does Verizon have planned for the raising or elimination of the data caps? For a primary home service, these data caps are terrible. $60 for 10gig? Really? If anyone does have this service, don't plan on streaming netflix, or having many long Skype conversations. It's funny that the further into the future we go, the more internet we use. Now lots of electronic devices in your house can be connected to the internet, yet data caps are no where near keeping up with actual demand.

I'm not totally against data caps. It's just that the current data caps for this service at the price points they are at are terrible. $60 for 20 gigs seems reasonable to me for the time being. That would at least satisfy the average household. $90 for 30 gigs, and $120 for 60 gigs would be the common sense caps. But Verizon is more interested in profit than customer satisfaction.

Over the next year or so Data Caps should be raised even more for the price points mentioned. Internet access is no longer just a luxury, its a necessary part of today's world. Compare it to telephone service before it was available to everyone. If you can't afford a phone, the government will now give you one.

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
rcschnoor
Legend

stuartbp wrote:

My question is, What does Verizon have planned for the raising or elimination of the data caps? For a primary home service, these data caps are terrible. $60 for 10gig? Really? If anyone does have this service, don't plan on streaming netflix, or having many long Skype conversations. It's funny that the further into the future we go, the more internet we use. Now lots of electronic devices in your house can be connected to the internet, yet data caps are no where near keeping up with actual demand.

I'm not totally against data caps. It's just that the current data caps for this service at the price points they are at are terrible. $60 for 20 gigs seems reasonable to me for the time being. That would at least satisfy the average household. $90 for 30 gigs, and $120 for 60 gigs would be the common sense caps. But Verizon is more interested in profit than customer satisfaction.

Over the next year or so Data Caps should be raised even more for the price points mentioned. Internet access is no longer just a luxury, its a necessary part of today's world. Compare it to telephone service before it was available to everyone. If you can't afford a phone, the government will now give you one.

Comparing this to the way people have migrated from cities out to the suburbs, it is amazing that oil companies don't just lower the price of gasoline to keep up with the demand that is caused by the increasing needs of gasoline! Just because you want/need something more does not mean the price of that item will lower!

Additionally, comparing it to telephone service before it was available to everyone, the government did not give you a phone in the past. They MADE IT AVAILABLE to you. You still had to PAY for it and couldn't have one if you could not afford one! Growing up, there were several instances where we did not have a working phone in our house because we could not afford the service. No one (government or otherwise) gave one to us unless we could make payment on the service! I don't expect anything different now! Expecting the government to foot the bill for everything is NOT the answer!

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
stuartbp
Enthusiast - Level 1

Did I ever say the government shoud pay for my internet or phone? No I don't think I did. I hate the fact that people can now get "Obama Phones" for free. I think it is a huge waste of tax money. There may be a few cases where a free government phone is justified, but I would estimate that %75 percent of the people getting the free government phones are not using them for intended purposes. I was comparing the evolution of phone services to the evolution of internet services. Phone service went from being a luxury, to something that the federal government thinks is so crucial to life, that they will give you one at no cost if you can not afford it. (Even though I do not agree wit it.) Comparing internet service to oil isn't apples to apples. Oil is a commoditie and there is a finite supply. Internet service and phone are not tangible like oil. There are alternatives to oil. There are no alternatives to internet access. Unless you consider...newspapers, libraires, arcades....and bank tellers. Comparisons don't even make sense.

No, I am willing to pay for internet service as I think anyone who has it should. My question was when are they going to adjust the ridiculous caps they have in place. Having the caps in place bumps the internet back to the 90's when the only thing it was used for was email, primarily text based web pages, and waiting 10 minutes to download a picture. Internet video, streaming content, home networking are all but eliminated when you have to stay under the ridiculous caps that Verizon has set forth. Strict data caps for mobile devices? Yes I think that is okay to a certain degree. It is not the primary internet for most people. But in home, Primary internet should not have these caps, or at least not caps this low for the price.

Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
rcschnoor
Legend

stuartbp wrote:

Did I ever say the government shoud pay for my internet or phone? No I don't think I did.

It seemed like you were implying it when you said " Compare it to telephone service before it was available to everyone. If you can't afford a phone, the government will now give you one."

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
rcschnoor
Legend

stuartbp wrote:

Comparing internet service to oil isn't apples to apples. Oil is a commoditie and there is a finite supply. Internet service and phone are not tangible like oil. There are alternatives to oil. There are no alternatives to internet access. There ARE alternatives to HOW you receive it, though. There are lower cost alternatives. If you can't or choose not to pay the prices for Home Fusion with its current data caps, get your internet service in other ways. Libraries, for instance.

No, I am willing to pay for internet service as I think anyone who has it should. My question was when are they going to adjust the ridiculous caps they have in place. Having the caps in place bumps the internet back to the 90's when the only thing it was used for was email, primarily text based web pages, and waiting 10 minutes to download a picture. Internet video, streaming content, home networking are all but eliminated when you have to stay under the ridiculous caps that Verizon has set forth. Strict data caps for mobile devices? Yes I think that is okay to a certain degree. It is not the primary internet for most people. But in home, Primary internet should not have these caps, or at least not caps this low for the price. I have no problem with the caps. About the ONLY thing I don't do with my internet service which you list is to stream content, and I come nowhere close to ANY type of cap. I have no sympathy for someone complaining about data caps when the majority of their usage is for an ENTERTAINMENT choice they make. If I choose to watch my preferred form of entertainment, I will do so. When I feel the price is too high, I will curtail my enjoyment of it. Simple as that. I would love to go to more concerts, plays, movies, etc... but when I feel the price is too steep, I DON'T GO. Therefore I do not have to pay it.

Some people complain because they do not live where any other source of broadband is available, that is also a choice. I live where my availability of open space is limited. A choice I have made. Trade offs are made in life all the time. People make a choice, for example, to live in the country/suburbs and then complain they do not have the same conveniences people who live in a more urban area have. Go figure!? You can't have it both ways.

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
stuartbp
Enthusiast - Level 1

"There ARE alternatives to HOW you receive it, though. There are lower cost alternatives. If you can't or choose not to pay the prices for Home Fusion with its current data caps, get your internet service in other ways. Libraries, for instance."

Let me know which librairies are open 24/7 and they let me hangout in my underwear while I work on work projects for 6 hours at a time.

"About the ONLY thing I don't do with my internet service which you list is to stream content, and I come nowhere close to ANY type of cap. I have no sympathy for someone complaining about data caps when the majority of their usage is for an ENTERTAINMENT choice they make. If I choose to watch my preferred form of entertainment, I will do so. When I feel the price is too high, I will curtail my enjoyment of it. Simple as that. I would love to go to more concerts, plays, movies, etc... but when I feel the price is too steep, I DON'T GO. Therefore I do not have to pay it."

Try video conferencing....enough said. I'm sorry you live in the age of the dinosaur.

"Some people complain because they do not live where any other source of broadband is available, that is also a choice. I live where my availability of open space is limited. A choice I have made. Trade offs are made in life all the time. People make a choice, for example, to live in the country/suburbs and then complain they do not have the same conveniences people who live in a more urban area have. Go figure!? You can't have it both ways."

I live where no other source is currently available. I moved 3 miles. No I don't live out in a rural area. I live on a street where the cable companies decided not to run 1/2 mile of cable because it wasn't cost effective for that section. One house to the east of me has cable internet, and about 4 to the west also does. I can see cable lines on the utility poles from my driveway. To have cable hooked to my  house it will cost me between $4000-$6000 dollars per the cable company...and you know what? I will be paying to have it done because I have to, to live and work in a modern society. HomeFusion is just bridging the gap until it's done. I will never recommend it to anyone, or Verizon service as a whole.

So you're saying that people who do live out in rural areas don't deserve broadband internet because they have more open space? People can't have both? Modern technology allows internet to be anywhere and everywhere. It's on the space station, and the nearest starbucks for them is about 20,000 miles away. I'm sorry that you live in a box just so you can have broadband internet that you don't really even need. You've gotten way off topic. I have a problem with the data caps. You ramble about things that don't compare.

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
rcschnoor
Legend

stuartbp wrote:

"There ARE alternatives to HOW you receive it, though. There are lower cost alternatives. If you can't or choose not to pay the prices for Home Fusion with its current data caps, get your internet service in other ways. Libraries, for instance."

Let me know which librairies are open 24/7 and they let me hangout in my underwear while I work on work projects for 6 hours at a time.
Like I have previously said, there is a cost for doing something your way. Nothing has changed.

"About the ONLY thing I don't do with my internet service which you list is to stream content, and I come nowhere close to ANY type of cap. I have no sympathy for someone complaining about data caps when the majority of their usage is for an ENTERTAINMENT choice they make. If I choose to watch my preferred form of entertainment, I will do so. When I feel the price is too high, I will curtail my enjoyment of it. Simple as that. I would love to go to more concerts, plays, movies, etc... but when I feel the price is too steep, I DON'T GO. Therefore I do not have to pay it."

Try video conferencing....enough said. I'm sorry you live in the age of the dinosaur.
You video conference from home? Maybe you should speak to your employer about covering the data cost for the video conferencing if it is important to THEM! I video/teleconference with China and India on an almost weekly basis. More often than not a phone feed is more than enough with just access to the slides in advance. The age of the dinosaur is to not find a more cost effective way to have the meetings if the cost is what is bothering you. I assume you don't attend these video conferences in your underwear!

"Some people complain because they do not live where any other source of broadband is available, that is also a choice. I live where my availability of open space is limited. A choice I have made. Trade offs are made in life all the time. People make a choice, for example, to live in the country/suburbs and then complain they do not have the same conveniences people who live in a more urban area have. Go figure!? You can't have it both ways."

I live where no other source is currently available. I moved 3 miles. No I don't live out in a rural area. I live on a street where the cable companies decided not to run 1/2 mile of cable because it wasn't cost effective for that section. One house to the east of me has cable internet, and about 4 to the west also does. I can see cable lines on the utility poles from my driveway. To have cable hooked to my  house it will cost me between $4000-$6000 dollars per the cable company...and you know what? I will be paying to have it done because I have to, to live and work in a modern society. HomeFusion is just bridging the gap until it's done. I will never recommend it to anyone, or Verizon service as a whole.
The point being THAT YOU MOVED! YOUR DECISION. Did you not notice that there was no cable to the house? Did you not research how much it would cost for said service. There is a cost to home ownership. I assume YOU chose to move 3 miles to your current location because you liked the place. It seems you don't like EVERYTHING about it. Good for you to putting the cable in. I was in the same situation when I built a house, since it was 300ft from the road, I would have to pay for the utilities to be brought to the house. This is not unusual. To expect them to do so seems to smell of a sense of entitlement.

So you're saying that people who do live out in rural areas don't deserve broadband internet because they have more open space? People can't have both? Modern technology allows internet to be anywhere and everywhere. It's on the space station, and the nearest starbucks for them is about 20,000 miles away. I'm sorry that you live in a box just so you can have broadband internet that you don't really even need. You've gotten way off topic. I have a problem with the data caps. You ramble about things that don't compare. Did I say that, I don't think I said that. I said if you choose to live in a more rural/suburban area because you like the open space, it is hard to feel sympathy when you complain about having the same conveniences as those who live in a more densely populated area. There are choices you need to make which better suit your needs. It seems you have made yours, YOU MOVED to a spot where you would need to pay $4000-$6000 to have cable/broadband in your house. That is ONE of the choices YOU made. You are correct, there is broadband on the space station. It also costs a lot more than the HOME FUSION rates to have it there. You would rather pay THOSE rates?

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
Not applicable

stuartbp wrote:

I have had Verizon Homefusion for about 2 weeks now. It seems to work well most of the time. I had one outage overnight and called customer service. They created some sort of repair report and it was working again by the time I got up the next morning.

My question is, What does Verizon have planned for the raising or elimination of the data caps? For a primary home service, these data caps are terrible. $60 for 10gig? Really? If anyone does have this service, don't plan on streaming netflix, or having many long Skype conversations. It's funny that the further into the future we go, the more internet we use. Now lots of electronic devices in your house can be connected to the internet, yet data caps are no where near keeping up with actual demand.

I'm not totally against data caps. It's just that the current data caps for this service at the price points they are at are terrible. $60 for 20 gigs seems reasonable to me for the time being. That would at least satisfy the average household. $90 for 30 gigs, and $120 for 60 gigs would be the common sense caps. But Verizon is more interested in profit than customer satisfaction.

Over the next year or so Data Caps should be raised even more for the price points mentioned. Internet access is no longer just a luxury, its a necessary part of today's world. Compare it to telephone service before it was available to everyone. If you can't afford a phone, the government will now give you one.

The caps may suck but compared to satellite they are a bit better. Wild Blue's Excede 12/5 service has a top cap of 25 GB and it's $130 a month PLUS a $10 per month equipment fee charge so really $140. They don't charge overages, but they'll slow you down to 128 kbps. Though you can buy extra GB for $10 per GB. They did however just start a cap free time zone from 12 AM- 5AM local time.

In the end you're better off paying the $6000 to get cable internet extended to your area. I don't see Verizon raising the caps significantly anytime soon.

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Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
jcharriso51
Enthusiast - Level 2

In terms of caps Verizon home fusion has the lowest cost of any 4G LTE service I have seen so far.  I am in a situation similar to yours in that my local cable company will not make the investments necessary to even provide digital cable let alone Internet.

With respect to the future I would not expect caps to be eliminated.  These days Verizon is more or less a dumb pipe serving smartphone customers and now Homefusion. They push the customer to use more bandwidth and expect them to pay for it.  I would not be surprised that one day bandwidth is billed solely upon usage just like electric and gas service.   There is no other way for Verizon to make money if all they do is transport data.  That said I would expect that, just like other commodities, that the more you use the less it costs per unit.   Verizons overage charges are the opposite of that.  The more you use the higher the rate.

I think the technical term for this is cash cow.     

Re: HomeFusion Data Caps
cjrhea
Enthusiast - Level 2

I hope Verizon rethinks their caps at some point. Otherwise, I hope state and federal folks get involved.  We, as a country, have the technology to provide Internet services to almost everyone at reasonable costs. Home Fusion is a great technology, as it provides a cost-effective way to provide broadband without having to run cable/copper/fiber for that "last mile".  I disagree with the earlier posting where the author scolds  less urban folks complaining about the

choices we've made. The issue I have with that statement is that companies are given  tax breaks or outright funding to provide Internet services in these areas. I have no idea if Verizon has taken advantage of any of these state/federal financial incentives, but in my area, they basically have a monopoly in providing 4G broadband service. Yes, there are satellite services, but they can't be used effectively for things like VPN access to work (something that is starting to be

required by state law, in order to reduce urban congestion and fuel use).  If I could get the same offerings from cable, DSL, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon, then the competition will equalize the pricing. For now (at least in my area), Verizon is the only game.

Also, for the comment about using Internet access for entertainment-- we used the majority of a 20GB plan downloading patches and security updates for a single Mac in our first month.  I'd be happy if Verizon would adopt the same ideas as the satellite providers-- have a "no limit" period in the middle of the night.