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Verizon Considers Plans Based On Speed, As Well As Data

Article Comments  25  

Nov 17, 2010, 6:26 PM   by Philip Berne

Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg recently suggested that Verizon Wireless could base its plan rates not only on the amount of data a user consumes, but also on the speed of that data connection. Seidenberg said that the wireless carrier's move to faster LTE networks would give it more room to offer a variety of speed options. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo concurred, saying that customers could balance their plans by either paying for a faster connection and consuming less data, or skimping on the connection speed to download more bits. The move comes as most of the large wireless carriers in the U.S. move away from unlimited data plans towards tiered pricing plans based on data usage.

The Wall Street Journal »

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Globhead

Nov 18, 2010, 7:07 PM

A way to ration bandwidth without(?) overage charges

Until we have a system which can handle truly unlimited data for all users, people will just have to get over the fact that there are going to be different prices for different usage levels.

This is one way to deal with that without (hopefully) having overage charges. Most high-volume users are going to be using the Internet for applications for which speed matters (e.g., streaming movies). People who only use the Internet for news, blogs, etc, don't use a lot of data and are less likely to even notice a speed difference.

I would rather have a simple $/kilobyte billing system. But carriers don't like the lack of a guaranteed revenue stream (especially not with expensive subsidized PDA phones), and sadly a lot of consumers are idiots...
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I wouldn't be surprised to see something like "$10 off per month if you accept a 1 Mbps cap speed."

That would make the most sense to me. Build plan buckets that charge based on fast delivery rates, then offer a discount for customers who don't n...
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retrolike

Nov 17, 2010, 7:40 PM

Big Red Sucks!

🤣
So much for the network.

If every carrier starts doing this, I'll happily go back to a good ol' fashioned prepaid phone that just calls. It will be enough.
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mycool

Nov 18, 2010, 9:41 AM

Why?

I can understand the data tiers, but the speed tiers? Seriously, bad move.
Why? Most home connections are structured the same way, except the majority don't allow you to change the data cap. I'm not saying I like it, but it isn't out of the ordinary, either.
flip mode

Nov 17, 2010, 9:39 PM

argh...lets just return back to pagers

whats the point of faster speeds? you guessed it. to help make verizon and the rest get richer faster. not for the benefit and ease of communications for man-kind and our children's futures.

it was simple, pick your amount of numeric or alphanumeric pages per month or pay all at once and you're straight. no caps/throttle/trickery.

it's crap like this that makes me really consider just going old school and rockin a pager or just have a smartphone on a prepaid sim 👿
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netboy

Nov 17, 2010, 8:40 PM

what is the freaking point moving to LTE??

if you going to offer plans that throttle the speed down to 3G speed!
that is like going to Mercedes dealer, and they sell you a toyota cus you cant afford a mercedes! haha
It would still be a Mercedes....in name only.

This is pointless. They already said that 'bucket of bytes' was 'inevitable'. But this...really? sure, brag about 4g speeds and then make it slower than EV-Do.

Also, this could be very complicated f...
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It's all about profit margins. If they can provide 50% less service while only charging the customer 25% less on their bill, profitability just took a huge shot in the positive direction.
Jayshmay

Nov 17, 2010, 8:57 PM

I knew Verizon was going to be evil about LTE

Can someone tell me what the whole point is in having a fast network, and not use it for mutltimedia? That's what speed is for, video. It won't be much longer til the details of the LTE rate plans are announced, everyone will see what I mean.

When I was with Clear I was using 30-35gb's a month watching a lot of Hulu, news, and porn. And I didn't have to pay $80/mo for it neither!
Jayshmay said:
Can someone tell me what the whole point is in having a fast network, and not use it for mutltimedia? That's what speed is for, video. It won't be much longer til the details of the LTE rate plans are announced, ever
...
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Jayshmay said:
When I was with Clear I was using 30-35gb's a month...


Can't make any real judgments until actual pricing is leaked/announced, but I think what you'll find is that they will price the service such tha...
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CellStudent

Nov 17, 2010, 7:39 PM

I would buy it

All I really want my cellular connection for is my email feed and downloading apps. Most of my heavy usage like Pandora and youtube occurs when I'm in a wifi hotspot.

I would happily pay $15/month for a 1GB 2G data package.

This is the pricing model used by wired internet providers. Why should anyone be shocked that it is being considered for cellular internet?
Agreed. I would for sure throttle for more data. Especially if I wound up with a 4G device early in the commercial deployment because even You Tube and Pandora are designed with 3G speed and limitation in mind. Unless you're a data card user, I expect...
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gotjpeg

Nov 17, 2010, 6:40 PM

AND IT BEGINS!

watch as wireless carriers begin selling their phone service like the cable and dsl internet companies sell it these days. Imagine instead of paying for minutes you pay for connection speed on your phone. Want faster speed to dl movies and music at blazing speeds? Upgrade to blank package today.

I dunno if this is a good thing or bad thing but hey in the grand sceam of things it would be good compitition.
I hope they don't mess with grandfathered plans.
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