Verizon 4G ......... takes a huge step back.

[jmc]

When it comes to billing for 4G data......

http://gizmodo.com/5549329/so-long-u...iered-4g-plans

Yesterday, Verizon Wireless big boss Lowell McAdam told investors that when 4G hits, unlimited data plans won't make sense anymore. Instead, buying "buckets" of data—where you'd purchase a set number of monthly megabytes—is the model of the future.

Just to be clear: segmented data plans like that might be ideal for Verizon Wireless, but they're the opposite for consumers who'll have to shell out overage fees. Especially when McAdam also conceded that the cost of carrying 1MB of data over LTE will be half to a third that of 3G data transfer.

Some brighter news came out of the talk: Verizon's expecting three to five 4G handsets on their network in the first half of 2011, with calls originating from LTE phones being carried over VoIP by 2012.

But the main message: a shift in networks means a shift in billing policy. I guess tiered data plans have been inevitable for some time now. I just didn't know it would be quite this depressing to see them looming on the near horizon. [Financial Times via Engadget]

Pretty much, verizon wants to get rid of the "unlimited data" when 4g rolls around and would like to have pricing tiers of how much data cap a subscriber can buy.


It seems like sprint is still the way to go.........

[Seanr]

I hope Sprint stays strong with their 'unlimited, non-tiered' plans. <3 Sprint 4Ever

[jmc]

I hope Sprint stays strong with their 'unlimited, non-tiered' plans. <3 Sprint 4Ever

Well, considering their first 4g phone is coming out...... in which sprint is mainly advertising how it can be used like a router for upto 8 devices. I really really hope they stay unlimited too

[Akucaen]

Old news really. Verizon's CEO was saying this a couple years ago. Just more reasons to hate the company, aside from their typical deceptive business practices. :\

[Krandor]

70 bucks a month for unlimited everything (if you can waste 450 minutes a month on landlines you need to stop with the phone sex) is about the only thing Sprint gets right, but it's all they need.

[Seanr]

minutes are free around phone sex time anyway

[Krandor]

True!

[FNH]

fuck I like verizon because it is a better coverage area than sprint and at&t where I am I hope they dont do this.

[Pikarya]

Eurofags laughing all the way down the street at us.

[Minions]

fuck I like verizon because it is a better coverage area than sprint and at&t where I am I hope they dont do this.

They will, which is one of the main reasons sprint chose not to. Anything to bring more customers in. Not complaining, just hope the unlimited 4g is still around next march when I pick up an evo. Would love to get locked in at truly unlimited (friend has truly unlimited 3g still because he got locked in with it)

[jmc]

Well, considering their first 4g phone is coming out...... in which sprint is mainly advertising how it can be used like a router for upto 8 devices. I really really hope they stay unlimited too

Ok, scratch this statement pretty much.

Went into inquire about purchasing a evo, to be told for the "mobile hotspot" feature to be enabled....... it requires a $30 extra charge. Dunno how I missed that before.

Yet this worries me, because with android 2.2 coming out with tethering..... whats going to stop sprint from saying you used enough data to qualify the same as the mobile hotspot feature and charge you that extra $30 anyways?

[sruon]

with a user agent and only enabling say, firefox... they have no real way to find out if you used it or not... if they randomly claim that you did, that's bullshit from them.

my carrier just check ports, anything on 80 is fine, anything on a different port might get billed.


But that's what openVPN is for :3

[Minions]

I've never been charged for tethering a single device on sprint. If you are broadcasting to multiple pcs (a hotspot), you may run into trouble. Powering a laptop from it however can be done without issues.

[Tymon]

Unfortunately, Sprint will probably be bankrupt as a company in the next year or so, based off of their reports from the past few months

Better hope AT&T gets their shit together.

[Tythera]

AT&T gets their shit together.

lol, and I say that as someone on AT&T

[Antithesis]

Unfortunately, Sprint will probably be bankrupt as a company in the next year or so, based off of their reports from the past few months

Better hope AT&T gets their shit together.

Source.

[Chun Liroy]

I am on sprint, and plan on getting a droid in august I hope this doesn't happen, though I don't use my phone for internet all that much now that I got a laptop, but I like using pandora.

[Krandor]

Source.

Audit Integrity said in late 2009 that Sprint was likely to file for bankruptcy in 2010, along with companies such as CBS and AMD. That has been the one and only source of that Sprint is apparently going to go bankrupt, yet people still seem to take it as fact 8 months later. At last check they're financially better off then most of the other cellular companies.

[Minions]

Audit Integrity said in late 2009 that Sprint was likely to file for bankruptcy in 2010, along with companies such as CBS and AMD. That has been the one and only source of that Sprint is apparently going to go bankrupt, yet people still seem to take it as fact 8 months later. At last check they're financially better off then most of the other cellular companies.

Better prices, and truly unlimited. They are trying damn hard to bring tons of people in, and likely will. I'd love to see the financials on other companies when you see the billions they are spending rolling out 4g (mainly verizons)

[Dmitry]

I really hope this doesn't go through. Verizon has the best wireless service around here and I was hoping to get a droid or a storm 3 for my upgrade coming up here, but don't want to get stuck with them for 2 more years if this is going to be how the plans are.