sometimes. but i have a VoD service on my Roku. not sure if it's any good as i've never used it, but it's there (is it amazon maybe? do they have a VoD app?). the more i think about this stuff, the more i realize that we brought this on ourselves. i have digital cable with an HD box with DVR that has a VoD channel and PPV channels....a roku on another tv.....and wifi blu ray player with apps (netflix, mlb.tv, pandora, etc).....my pc (with unlimited content).....a wifi asus tablet (tons of content)......an old zune that i still use for music and video (download content then sync to it).....and of course my phone. that's one house and believe it or not, i don't even watch much tv or movies (mostly just sports). i can't even imagine trying to run all of that from a cellular network......but that's what many people expect.
T-Mobile has tiers in their "unlimited" data offerings, so you could have 2, 5, or 10GB before you are throttled. I think that there is a smaller allotment, as well.
Sooo, I don't get it. We have a total of 5 phones, 4 are dumb phones and one is a smart phone. I currently have the 700 minute Family Plan that includes 700 minutes of voice (we typically use about 200) Unlimited text, picture and video, and we added one smart phone with a 2Gb data package. (for $30/month!) Our total bill is $180/month. So if I understand correctly, we are going to get bumped to a new Shared Family Plan so that there can be shared data. The Verizon calculator shows that if we keep everything the same, our cost per month will jump to $220/month. So how am I saving money here? Do we have to swap over to the new plan or can we just keep everything the same? Sounds like we have to change. If that is the case, we are going to get screwed big time.
Bretth57 wrote:
Do we have to swap over to the new plan or can we just keep everything the same? Sounds like we have to change. If that is the case, we are going to get screwed big time.
No, you can keep the same plan you have now. The only ones directly impacted by the change are those who have smartphones with unlimited data. If they upgrade that line through Verizon, then you have to choose a line-based tiered data package (like the 2GB you have) or switch to Share Everything.
Bretth57 wrote:
Sounds like we have to change.
Where did you(or anyone else) hear that you would have to change?
Similar to Bretth57, I have a family plan with one smart phone on unlimited data, and 4 dumb phones (1400 minute family plan). I know I will lose unlimited data if I get another subsidized smart phone. But what about the dumb phones? Will I lose unlimited data on my smart phone if I upgrade any of the dump phones to new subsidized dump phones? Will I even be able to upgrade a dump phone to a new dump phone (will there still be any "dumb" phones to upgrade to)? Or will dumb phones have to at least upgrade to "feature" phones that include a data tier????
Considering our low usage my account has been a big cash cow for Verizon. I have been with Verizon since they were Air Touch (not that anyone cares), I am at the tipping point. If my bill goes up due to these plan changes I will be letting my ETF;s expire and start shopping. Yes Verizon has a great network however my coverage at home is crap, my coveraage in my office is worse, and I don't travel much.
I really want to keep my unlimited data which means I can't get another subsidized phone. Customer service points out that my data usage has been less then 1 Gb per month. So there is no reason to take away my unlimited data plan correct? (Well except for that pesky reason we all know about.). I happen to like the comfort of knowing there's no chance of going over some cap.
I am happy with the plan that I have (even though it is more than I need), If these plan changes cause my bill to go up I will simply do what is required to make the bill go back down up to and including changing carriers.
A customer service rep told me that if I change my smartphone to an individual plan with a 2 Gb data package my cost will be the same. But what about the rest of the lines????
.
Festus440 wrote:
Similar to Bretth57, I have a family plan with one smart phone on unlimited data, and 4 dumb phones (1400 minute family plan). I know I will lose unlimited data if I get another subsidized smart phone. But what about the dumb phones? Will I lose unlimited data on my smart phone if I upgrade any of the dump phones to new subsidized dump phones? No Will I even be able to upgrade a dump phone to a new dump phone (will there still be any "dumb" phones to upgrade to)? Yes Or will dumb phones have to at least upgrade to "feature" phones that include a data tier???? There's no such thing as media phones anymore. they are either a basic phone or a smartphone.
Considering our low usage my account has been a big cash cow for Verizon. I have been with Verizon since they were Air Touch (not that anyone cares), I am at the tipping point. If my bill goes up due to these plan changes I will be letting my ETF;s expire and start shopping. Yes Verizon has a great network however my coverage at home is crap, my coveraage in my office is worse, and I don't travel much.
I really want to keep my unlimited data which means I can't get another subsidized phone. Customer service points out that my data usage has been less then 1 Gb per month. So there is no reason to take away my unlimited data plan correct? (Well except for that pesky reason we all know about.). I happen to like the comfort of knowing there's no chance of going over some cap.
I am happy with the plan that I have (even though it is more than I need), If these plan changes cause my bill to go up I will simply do what is required to make the bill go back down up to and including changing carriers.
A customer service rep told me that if I change my smartphone to an individual plan with a 2 Gb data package my cost will be the same. But what about the rest of the lines???? Your plan will stay the same, except that you will have 2 gigs instead of unlimited data. but you can keep the plan you are on now.
.
i think people are over thinking all of this. nothing HAS TO change, except for those who have unlimited data. they will be forced to 2 gigs if they want their plan to remain the same in cost. the current plans are still being offered to verizon customers.
You could use your upgrades on the other lines to upgrade to a new smartphone and then put a dumb phone back on that line and drop the required data on that line. You then can take that new smartphone and put it on your line with unlimited data. Big question is, why would you stay with a provider that doesn't seem to give you the coverage you need at home or work?
lewisr13 wrote:
Big question is, why would you stay with a provider that doesn't seem to give you the coverage you need at home or work?
That is a good question without a very good answer. Poor reception at work it's due to me being in middle of a building. Otherwise, multiple phones with different contract endpoints made it harder to change the plan. I live in a semi-rural area so I will need to check if other providers give me better coverage. Something I definately plan to do now.
What most of you don't realize is that basically what Verizon is doing is blackmailing it's customers. and that is basically why people are angry they have 5 options 3 options includes paying MORE money and getting a heck of a lot less the last options are basically doing nothing or finding another co. to verify all of what I'm saying is this
1) pay FULL price for a phone which is about $450 to $700 for a phone WHO in this economy can afford to pay that?? if everyone could afford THAT (especially when they have more than 1 phone on there account) there would be no such thing as contracts
2) pay $30 extra to upgrade your phone then go on to 1 of there new plans which will either be MORE money or same price for getting LESS
3) again just like number 2 pay a $30 upgrade fee and stick with the same $30 data fee for a measly 2GB which is paying MORE for getting LESS (cause of the $30 upgrade fee)
4) keep the same phone you have now for many many years (tho we ALL know after about 1.5 yrs most phones start having issues and after 5 yrs might as well just throw it away) and after not being under a contract Verizon could just easily take away the unlimited data from you and give u less and there's nothing you can do about it cause you're not under a contract
5) find another company which if you're like me you're SOL anyway cause no one else has coverage as strong as Verizon in my area not even the prepaid companies I found this out with Boost Mobile who i had switched from to go to Verizon to pay more than TWICE the amount i paid for Boost and getting less with Boost I paid $53 (which included state taxes and no other taxes or fees) for unlimited talk text web and walkie talkie (push to talk as Verizon calls it and it only worked with Boost/sprint/Nextel customers) with Verizon I pay $136 a month (which includes state taxes as well as other taxes and fees) and I get unlimited talk text and web (no walkie talkie unless i get a phone that has it and pay an extra $5 a month and it only works on Verizon customers)
so basically you are being bullied/blackmailed into paying more for less or do nothing and wait for them to change your plan anyway after your contract runs out OR go to another company I'm not seeing the "good side" to any of these options
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
