SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Verizon is making some changes to its unlimited data plan:
Well, now we know why Verizon Wireless was "testing" reduced Netflix streaming speeds last month. Today the biggest US carrier announced that its existing unlimited data plan is being divided into three new options: Go Unlimited (starting at $75 for a single line), Beyond Unlimited ($85 for first line), and Business Unlimited. Unlike the relatively straightforward unlimited plan that Verizon surprised customers with in February, these new monthly plans are chock-full of fine print and caveats. And in a move sure to anger net neutrality advocates, the regular "Go Unlimited" plan throttles all smartphone video streaming to 480p / DVD-quality. The new plans go into effect beginning tomorrow, August 23rd, so this change is happening fast. Existing postpaid customers can keep their current plan, but some things will change even for them.
Also at Engadget, BGR, and Tom's Guide.
Previously: T-Mobile and Verizon Mobile Plans Change; Probably Not Better for Consumers
(Score: 5, Informative) by meustrus on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:06PM (14 children)
Net Neutrality is not about charging customers more for better internet. It never was. Net Neutrality is about whether Verizon can charge Netflix extra to reach its customers.
That said, this move is sure to anger...everyone. We didn't buy 1080p+ smartphones to watch 480p videos on them.
(Actually, we bought them because the marketers said that's what we wanted and there isn't really another option anymore)
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:14PM (7 children)
Everyone? No, I'm sure the shareholders will be happy.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:19PM (4 children)
And we are supposed to care about their happiness why? This kinda greed is why we can't have nice things in this country.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:22PM
Because the shareholders' happiness is more important than yours.
If you disagree, you're free to not buy from that company.
(Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:22PM
You can, you just have to pay A LOT and OFTEN.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday August 23 2017, @10:28PM (1 child)
If you have a pension fund, you may be one of the shareholders that need to be kept happy.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday August 24 2017, @03:52PM
Unlikely. The collective stock ownership of the lower 99% of the population amounts to less than 1% of the total stocks. Nobody cares in the slightest how those hangers-on feel. And even the combined 1% are minority stockholders. The only stockholders that anyone really cares about are the comparative handful of ultra-rich investors who have their money scattered and redirected through so many convoluted investment schemes and shell companies that it verges on impossible for anyone on the outside to even figure out what they actually own.
And you'd better believe they like it that way - empires collapse on a regular basis, and the proles with pitchforks take out the kings, CEOs, and other visible agents of their suffering. But few recognize the real villains, the financiers who sculpted the situation to their liking, leaving them free to finance the "revolutionaries" and ensure that the next empire ends up just as friendly to their interests as the one that was overthrown.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:42PM (1 child)
Depends. If enough customers react by changing their provider, the shareholders might not be that happy.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 24 2017, @12:51AM
If all the providers are owned by the same umbrella corporation it doesn't matter.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by driven on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:23PM
Net Neutrality is about whether Verizon can charge Netflix extra to reach its customers
Does Netflix really have that kind of cash? They seem to spend most of their money on content. I suspect this is more about making their own video streaming service more attractive (which would be unthrottled, no doubt) than Netflix.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:37PM (4 children)
Wrong. Net neutrality isn't about money at all (although it certainly does affect whether such things can be done). Simply said, net neutrality means that you don't discriminate based on who sends/receives a packet.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Informative) by mhajicek on Thursday August 24 2017, @12:53AM (3 children)
Or what it contains.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @04:07AM
Modded Disagree in error.
(Score: 2) by dry on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:00AM (1 child)
So they can't block certain ports?
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:49AM
Not if they do it depending on the IP.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.