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posted by janrinok on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the limit-to-unlimited dept.

Two separate submissions on the same topic here.

Verizon to Disconnect Unlimited Data Users Who Use "Extraordinary" Amounts of Data

According to sources of ours, Verizon is working on an Unlimited Data Plan Migration for the highest unlimited data users on their network. Starting tomorrow, July 21, Verizon will begin notifying users who have been flagged as using that "extraordinary" amount via mailer and through bill messages and explain to them their options to stay with Big Red.

What are their options? Verizon is forcing these out of contract "extraordinary" data users to move to The Verizon Plan (a tiered plan) by August 31 or they will shut down the line. If they don't take that option by August 31 and their line is disconnected, they will have up to 50 days to re-activate, but of course, they can only do so by switching over to The Verizon Plan.

Source: http://www.droid-life.com/2016/07/20/verizon-unlimited-data-rip-tetherers/

Verizon to disconnect unlimited data customers who use over 100GB/month

Verizon Wireless customers who have held on to unlimited data plans and use significantly more than 100GB a month will be disconnected from the network on August 31 unless they agree to move to limited data packages that require payment of overage fees.

Verizon stopped offering unlimited data to new smartphone customers in 2011, but some customers have been able to hang on to the old plans instead of switching to ones with monthly data limits. Verizon has tried to convert the holdouts by raising the price $20 a month and occasionally throttling heavy users but stopped that practice after net neutrality rules took effect. Now Verizon is implementing a formal policy for disconnecting the heaviest users.

The news was reported by Droid Life yesterday, and Verizon confirmed the changes to Ars this morning.

"Because our network is a shared resource and we need to ensure all customers have a great mobile experience with Verizon, we are notifying a very small group of customers on unlimited plans who use an extraordinary amount of data that they must move to one of the new Verizon Plans by August 31, 2016," a Verizon spokesperson told Ars. "These users are using data amounts well in excess of our largest plan size (100GB). While the Verizon Plan at 100GB is designed to be shared across multiple users, each line receiving notification to move to the new Verizon Plan is using well in excess of that on a single device."

The 100GB plan costs $450 a month.


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:49AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:49AM (#378882) Journal

    I have unlimited with Bell: it costs $80/month. Yeah, I'm sure they throttle me, but it is unlimited.

    450 for 100 GB???? Is that one of those
    1. Charge too much for internet
    2. Sit on your fat Verizon ass
    3. Profit!
        things????

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    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday July 23 2016, @03:58AM

    by Francis (5544) on Saturday July 23 2016, @03:58AM (#378913)

    In the US, T-Mobile has a similar price point for its unlimited. And even lower tiered plans are somewhat unlimited, it's just that you get a certain amount of 4G traffic each month and they throttle it way back after that point. But, from there on it's as much as you like at the slower speed.

    I like having a plan where I can use the data I want to use and if I go over, I just get slower data until my cap resets.

    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday July 23 2016, @03:29PM

      by Gaaark (41) on Saturday July 23 2016, @03:29PM (#379059) Journal

      Definitely, better to get throttled than to get that surprise bill I used to get when going over.

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 1) by Francis on Sunday July 24 2016, @03:27PM

        by Francis (5544) on Sunday July 24 2016, @03:27PM (#379422)

        Overage fees are rather ridiculous. Even worse are the cases where the carrier extends tens of thousands of dollars of credit to rack up even more penalties without even bothering to notify the user. I remember when the iPhone first came out those folks that were foolish enough to take them abroad wound up with huge bills because everytime the phone would connect to the internet, it would be a large sum for a tiny amount of data.

        Thankfully, my current phone makes you purposefully enable access to foreign networks if you want to use the data. Although it's less of an issue as T-Mobile provides better rates internationally than AT&T did.