By Verizon have announced their new “Share Everything” family plans, a crop of options that’ll allow you to share a pool of allowed data, text messages, and voice minutes with others on your plan. The new options will become available June 28th.
The idea is that it’s supposed to help people save money by allowing all lines (up to 10) to sip from the same pool. Take a look at how exactly this works:
How Share Everything Plans Work
To get started on a Share Everything Plan, customers first select the devices they want on their accounts. The next step is to choose a plan that includes unlimited minutes, unlimited messages and a shared data allowance that begins at 1 GB for $50. Customers adding a tablet on their Share Everything Plans can do so for an additional $10, with no long-term contract requirement. The following matrix shows pricing for an account with several different devices, such as a smartphone, a tablet and a basic phone, billed to the same individual.
Along with the 1GB for $50 plan scenario mentioned above, they’d also have 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, 8GB, or 10GB for $60, $70, $80, $90, and $100 respectively. Get more details regarding the plan options using this handy PDF file.
After doing some quick math on my own grandfathered family plan with unlimited data, this would actually cost more per month than what I’m currently paying for two phones.
Many will surely benefit from these new options, but there are sure to be some who won’t. There’s belief that these plans will benefit certain tiered data users more than anything, but this probably isn’t beneficial for a large amount of Verizon’s customer base who are likely still grandfathered into better options that Verizon’s since gotten rid of.
Regardless, most folks are grandfathered in and will remain so. This’ll change this summer, of course, when Verizon will force those who wish to upgrade their phones on-contract to switch to tiered data, but that can be avoided by buying any new smartphones and devices off-contract. If you do wish to switch to the new plans, there is no fee or contract extension for doing so.
What do you all think of these new plans? Is this something that will save you money and be beneficial to the way your family uses data, or is there a negative effect for your specific situation? Go ahead and let your thoughts be known in the comments section below.
Beat the scam and go prepaid!! You won’t miss a thing!
I think a lot of people will miss that lightning fast LTE. Once prepaid gets that though, game over. Additionally, before LTE was a thing, prepaid was also an amazing deal. $45 for unlimited everything? yes please!
If I changed I would miss LTE as I’m in a VZW LTE location, HOWEVER the things I do (music streaming, webpages) will be just fine on HSPA+
In this country (and economy) it’s all about the bottom line anymore.
HSPA+ on verizon? wut.jpg
I was referring to the AT&T “4G” network in my area. VZW is LTE where I am…I’m switching.
OOOOOH, I completely misunderstood your comment but yeah, We have lte for both here in my city an ATT’s is much faster but if only verizon had it, I would switch :/
The 3/1 I get now is more then enough for me on a mobile..I can stream Netflix etc with no issues..
LTE is a complete waste of speed for me and I cant think of what I would need it for anyway..
I have been thinking about switching to prepaid since I have a couple of unlocked GSM/HSPA+ phones, but I’m trying to figure who offers a best deal. I’m guessing T-Mobile will be it, but I’m curious which service you’re recommending. I see T-Mo has a $60 unlimited plan, but only the first 2 GB are not throttled. Is that what you’re referring to?
I have a Galaxy Note so tmobile wasnt an option for me..I am using Straight Talk which can be either tmobile or at&t..
I pay 49.56 a month for unlimited everything and havent had any issues at all..I have never went over 2gig’s.
4G LTE
> Prepaid. You won’t miss a thing.
Huh?
Will I get 200-400 LTE markets covering 10,000 individual cities?
What do you possibly need a 56gig connection to your phone for? So yes if you need a LTE connection so you can get your FB updates .000000000000001 seconds faster then me then yeah keep getting shafted by the man.
These plans are exactly what I feared. I lose unlimited and my cost goes UP? No thanks. I was hoping to save some money with these plans but it looks like that is not going to be the case.
I felt the same way. I was telling friends that this would likely save me a little bit. Instead it creates a much bigger risk and costs me even more.
This is where capitalism breaks down due to collusion. If we had REAL competition in this space this wouldn’t be happening. No one is going to convince me that they couldn’t run a successful cell phone business for half what we’re paying now.
Vzw sucks. If they would just bring their pricing and restrictions down to a reasonable level, they could rule the freakin world.
Sounds like a bigger rip off to me.
That is what they are hoping that some people dont see the rip off behind it. Normal consumers that is that dont follow the smartphone world closely
5 lines right now… that’s $150.
We use between 6-8GB a month…this will actually *save* us $50 a month.
Bring it, VZW…why the long wait?
What type of devices?
For all smartphones it’d be 40×5 + whichever amount of data you are using. That’s $200 + data. Even with 1 smartphone and 4 dumbphones, that’s $160 + data. And even with all dumbphones, that’s $150 + data. With a minimum of 1GB for $50, I’m not sure how you’re saving money unless you have a good amount of tablets or hotspots on those other lines.
So wait…the $60 for the first line and $10 for each additional line is now going to $40 for each line?
I read that wrong if that’s the case.
*laughing*
Thank you. Damn…that’s just …a really bad idea. VZW is going to lose some customers.
Yep, 40 for each smartphone line, 30 for each dumbphone line. The kicker is that you get unlimited voice and text, and that isn’t really an option. I keep my plan cheaper than the average family because I don’t need or use a lot of texts or voice. This one forces unlimited on me, so I’m paying for that + paying more for less data by losing unlimited for $30. Lose lose for me.
Looks like it’d be lose:lose for anyone at this point.
VZW will be losing some customers.
I must be one of the rare few because I have 2 smartphones on my account and I’m currently paying 215 a month for them due to my job (it’s a write off though) with this new plan plus my insurance I’ll see a saving of 20 bucks with the 10gb plan. More than that is you consider my wife and I only use around 4gb a month currently.
How is that? That is what we have and to get to that price we have to get the 6GB plan
I have unlimited minutes, text and data currently plus my insurance. Based off of unlimited voice is 120 plus unlimited text is another 30 plus another 30 per phone for data so 120+30+60=210. Then include insurance at 10 dollars per phone and the 10 dollar line charge so 210+40=250 before discount.
Where as with the new plans 10gb is 100 and each phone is 40 dollars that’s 100+80=180 then include 10 per phone for insurance and lets say they still charge the per line charge of 10 per line so 180+40 is 220 prior to discounts. So that’s a saving of 30 dollars but since it looks like the 10 dollar per line access charge is included it would actually be a savings of 50 dollars.
I may be the exception because my job requires me to have unlimited minutes which jumps my price up a good bit but most people aren’t already paying for unlimited so the plans are actually higher for them.
Verizon wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t to make money. They’re not going to save most people anything.
“After doing some quick math on my own grandfathered family plan with unlimited data, this would actually cost more per month than what I’m currently paying for two phones.”
– Of course. This is another scheme teleco companies will use to milk more money from their customers. You didn’t think this would be cheaper for us, did you?
GREED is the motivational force that drives corporate America.. and not only.
Wow talk about shoving it up a consumers ass. Thank God I have T-Mobile. Unlimited talk+text on 4 smartphones and unlimited data (5 GB high speed) and then throttled down a bit. All for $260/mo. My plan on average uses approx. 18 Gig of data between the 4 phones. So on Verizon I would be paying at LEAST $260 + 8 Gig overage. Sticking it to the consumer every chance they get. Switch now while you can.
I feel bad for people with kids who will use up all that data without discretion. When the parents get hit with the overage fees, they’ll be broke.
Just did the math. I’m on a family plan with four smartphones, all with unlimited data/text and about 400 minutes (we don’t talk a lot and most people we know are on Verizon). We pay $66 a month each. With this new pricing scheme (10GB data plan), we’d be paying the same amount, but we’d each only get a fair share of 2.5GB a month. That’s horrible. Boo you Verizon.
DATA is King. I don’t give a crap about minutes or messaging. Make your data cheaper. $50 to share 1GB are they f-in nuts.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/shareEverythingCalculator.jsp
Notice the Verizon “calculator” isn’t a “calculator” at all. You tell it what *YOU* want… and it gives you a totally different price of what Verizon *SAYS* you should get instead of what you picked.
What you select… is NOT what you are actually going to get.
Very misleading, Verizon.
> $50 to share 1GB are they f-in nuts.
Where are you seeing that?
You can’t “share” unless you have (at least) 2 phones: $80.
Plus an ADDITIONAL $50.
You will be paying Verizon $120/mo (minimum) and still have to share only 1GB.
What a rip off. Currently paying around 240 a month for 3 phones with unlimited data. Would only be paying 220 a month under the new crappy plan but would only be sharing 10GB. Where is the incentive? Going to grandfather my plan by purchasing phones full retail (from other retailers not verizon) for as long as they will allow it and then move to sprint if they take that avenue away.
so the basic phones on my plan go from $14/mo to $30?!
Only if you wish to switch to these new plans.
They’ll force the change the first time I need to upgrade a phone.
Well that too, but that would depend on when they start enforcing that policy. They haven’t mentioned anything specific about that yet.
Looks like I’ll be buying all my phones off contract from now on.. especially if they are going to try to kill my grandfathered data plan
I don’t even have verizon and I am still pissed they are doing that.
They want to charge me $40 per device per month…..then charge me $50 for 1 GB on top of that?
They are forcing people to have unlimited minutes and text buckets.
Honestly guys this is only $10 more than an exact comparable T-Mobile plan which is SHOCKING!! Four new lines on a Classic Unlimited plan with ALL 4 phones having 2GB on T-Mobile right now would be $239.98
$100 or the first two lines and $30 for the other two for minute/text access PLUS $20 for each line to have 2GB/mo. That’s $240
With this VERIZON plan its $160/mo for 4 line access to minutes/text PLUS $90 for 2GB/2GB/2GB/2GB = the same 8GB. That’s $250
I’m not saying this is cheap, I’m just saying that it is not expensive compared to my “cheap” T-Mobile under the same conditions.
TMO Value 4 lines @ 24 months = $4,079, 4x phones @ $500, Total $6,079 @ 2 years
TMO Classic 4 lines @ 24 months = $5759, 4x phones @ $229, Total $6,675 @ 2 years
Verizon Shared 4 lines @ 24 months = $6,000, 4x phones @ 199, Total $6,796 @ 2 years
Rough estimates, phone prices vary of course, 2gb lines
i live in america and own an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus that i purchased for $500 dollars. Im on a prepaid carrier with HSPA+ and unlimited everything for $45 dollars a month. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
My phone was free. Yours was $500/24months=$21 extra per month. That means you are paying $66 dollars a month for your phone. The exact same price I am paying on Verizon in my unlimited family plan.
The difference is i am not bound by contracts or ETF. I can also pay my bill when ever i want. I’m curious though, how is it that you have a 66$ dollar family plan on the most ridiculously expensive carrier in the world whose top ceo makes 24 million?
Mine is only $60 per line, unlimited shared data monthly. Family plan + employer discount.
What is it like 8 of you guys on it? I was on a family plan before with sprint and the savings usually only come when you have multiple parties that sign their wallets away. I’m sorry if I’m coming across angry I just can not stand the arrogance of these wireless companies who continue to manipulate their customers into accepting these bogus charges. This completely disgust me and i’m honestly surprised and appalled that companies like this are still able to thrive with the majority of their customers still accepting the slaps to the face.
3 lines, all smartphones, all unlimited data, unlimited texting, 700 min/month…
I think others have just done their research on the major carriers in their area and found great service for a reasonable price.
And yes, you do seem a touch angry.
No contract is nice, but if you have a good deal, you have a good deal … contract or not. I have been with Verizon for a long time, so I get a “customer appreciation” discount … or something like that. Plus my company gets another 15% off on top of that (many companies have this available). We have three lines, so that helps bring the price down too. So, I am not paying the ‘typical’ off the street customer prices. Don’t get wrong, pre-paid is the way it should be, and I am glad to see them getting some limelight. God knows Verizon and ATT needs some competition.
I have a Tmobile family plan with 1000 minutes/unlimited text/”unlimited” data (5gb soft cap) for 110/month. That is with a contract so I get subsidized phone prices. And why pay the full $200 for subsidized phones when customer loyalty has your back. Not to mention all the BOGO / free phone promos tmobile runs. There isn’t a prepaid plan that can touch that (Yes I could save $10 a month if I wanted to have 2gb soft caps with prepaid).
are these prices also for single-user plans?
Yes you will be forced into the “family” plan when you upgrade. Whether one phone or multiple. You will start out with a bare minimum of $90 a month for 1 device and 1 GB of data.
Wouldn’t it be nice to pay 100$ and get 10 gigs data and unlimited voice and text?
What an absolute scam. How can anyone think this is a deal? $50 for 1 GB of data, and add $40 for each device. $90 for one smartphone. Now if I want 4GB of data, it’s $70 + $40 for $110 a month. Right now I am paying $80 a month for unlimited data, unlimited text and 450 minutes. So a difference of $720 for 2 years. Think I will pay full price for my phones from now on and save almost $100 over a 2 year period. Verizon must think most of it’s current customers are idiots, and most likely they will prove them right.
They want you to be happy you will have all the unlimited minutes….that we don’t use….
So now we must upgrade our phones prior to June 28th to keep our unlimited data plans, eh?
Not necessarily. Verizon haven’t confirmed that the forced switch will come right alongside this change. But anything can be announced between now and then, so we’ll keep you posted.
WTF? Save money, how? I pay $150/mo for two phones sharing 1400min (we used 600min last month) and unlimited data. Basic breakdown is that the plan is $60 and each phone is $40 (taxes and etc $10). By Verizon’s own admission the average usage is between 1 and 2GB so two devices is between 2 and 4. In order to avoid overage charges (on average) I would need to pay $10 more per month.
This would be about the same for us, and we’d get more. We have 3 basic phones, 2 smartphones, and a tablet, and use less than 3GB a month. We get a 22% discount overall. We currently pay $190 + ~$10 worth of usage charges on the lines that it’s not worth paying for messaging plans. With this, it would be $195, and unlimited messaging. So it would actually be a little cheaper, and should anyone decide to switch from a feature phone to a smartphone, it would be $10 more as opposed to $30 more. It’s not as good as I was hoping, but it’s still better than what we have now. And less than $200 for 5 people and 6 devices isn’t bad.
I think your math is off. plus the discount is not off the top anymore.
Math wasn’t off, but you are right about the policy. Upon further review, the discount is only applied to plan charges, not the line charges. So it would be $234.60, not $195. so it WOULD be more expensive.
Lol @ Verizon thinking this is some sort of deal. 40 for each smartphone is reasonable considering you get unlimited talk and text but the data add on is a joke. Verizon is forcing customers to pay more for less data.
For my Family with three smart phone ($120) and 4-6 GB of use with tethering between the three of us, this saves about $40 per month. This makes it reasonable to add an LTE connected tablet or laptop and switch the battery drain to that instead of the phone.
THE TOP CEO AT VERIZON LOWELL McADAM CURRENTLY MAKES 24 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR OFF OF YOU SUCKERS!!!!!! Only slightly less than what a RETIRED verizon ceo makes.
http://stopthecap.com/2012/03/21/top-paid-verizon-ceo-earns-windfall-salary-in-2011-despite-retiring-last-august/
Who in their right mind would think this is a “good deal” ?
what the best prepaid option? Cricket? Virgin? Have another 14 months until my family contract is up..Hope my Galaxy Nexus can tide me over for a while beyond that..Once I am ready for a new phone….prepaid here I come.
The Man holding us down.
depends on what network and what kind of device you’re looking for. If you want another nexus odds are it will have to be a GSM prepaid. Straight Talk uses AT&T’s network (or T-mobiles, you can choose), you bring your own phone and it’s $45/mo unlimited everything.
If you go to a GSM phone, I just did the STRAIGHTTALK SIM program and it worked like a charm. Just buy the sim for $15 and there $45 unlimited plan (data, minutes and text) and follow the instructions and it works great. Number porting is also quick and easy as well.
What network does straightalk use
TMobile , depending on your usage their $30 plan with 100min/unlimited text/unlimited data (5GB “4G” Data)
So will there still be non-family plans after June 28th? I have a single-line 900 min. 1000 text plan with unlimited data. It’s only me on my account so shared anything (minutes, data, etc.) does me no good. Likewise I don’t need unlimited minutes or text but I don’t want to lose my unlimited data. Do these shared data plans replace even single line plans or just the family ones?
So….currently I have 1 smartphone and 1 feature phone between myself and Mrs. Dukenilnil. We’ve been a long time customer, so we are on the “loyalty” minutes plan and we don’t text much at all on Verizon (Google Talk is free, ya know), and we have unlimited on the smartphone and no data charges on the feature phone as we are grandfathered in on that one too. So, right now our current bill is:
$50/month for voice for 500 minutes (unlimited mobile so we never go over)
$10/month ($5/line for 200 texts to cover incoming texts which we never go over)
$30/month for unlimited data (discounted to $23)
_______
$90 a month for ALL of the Voice, Text, and Data we need for 2 phones. We have more of each than we use, so “unlimited” talk and text is no benefit to us as its just paying for something we don’t use
Now, if we signed a new contract with Verizon, our charges would be (for tiered data!)
$40 for the smartphone
$30 for the featurephone
$70 for 4gb of data (we usually use over 2gb but under 4 per month although we have gone near 10 when watching a lot of movies on the road)
_____
$140!!!!
Thus, for less service, we would get the benefit of paying over 50% more than we currently pay. Awesome!
If one person on a family plan upgrades their phone, will it force the whole plan into this structure? For example, my dad will be upgrading in August, when he does so, will I lose my unlimited data?
What about mobile Hotspot? Is that a freebie now? (hey, it could happen…)
I wouldn’t even be surprised if mobile hotspot was now free to use as they know there will be plenty of people going over their usage with it.
Secondarily, I thought 1GB overage was $10 before, it now says $15 (I could be out of the loop on this one)
I didn’t see anything about overages. Where did you find $15?
http://solutions.vzwshop.com/shareeverything/pdf/verizon_share_everything_plan_details.pdf
Under the “Step 2” table in fine print.
Mobile Hotspot is now an unlocked feature with this plan—
but that too, obviously, counts towards your data usage.
Free for the Share-Everything plans, not for the Data-Only plans
I don’t see how this saves anybody money, but exposes everyone to higher costs due To unpredictable usage. After all who keeps track??
@J.A.V. You need to go eat a bullet.
So this is just 1 type of family plan correct? If I’m currently on the 1400 shared with unlimited data and decide to upgrade a line…I can still stay on 1400 shared with the current $30 for 2GB pricing structure?
WOW!!! Unlimited voice and text??? Where do I sign… oh wait – I already get that by using Skype to Skype and still have unlimited data and free tethering (for now). I have a smart phone because I want data. If I want to talk, I’ll get a feature phone. Companies that are pushing cloud and streaming services should really have a talk with the data providers.
I just came to VZW in March and for 2 lines with 4GB and 1400 minutes the cost is $180 before taxes, this plan will save me $10 a month plus I get Unlimited minutes.But I can see how loyal customers could be upset.
I hope the Droid Incredible 4g comes out before this .-.
Me too! Need to get my girl on a 4g phone, that she can’t deal with, before the 28th!
Yea, this would cost me more money. Only two of us on the family plan and we don’t use much data but to share I think 4GB is the only reasonable option. That would be $70 compared to the $60 we pay now for unlimited data. However, since this takes affect on the 28th, does anyone know for sure if the pre-order for the S III counts as a renewal BEFORE it’s activated?
I’m really not sure who this would be the right choice for except for of course Verizon shareholders, quite a bit pricier than I was expecting even for Verizon.
Comparing it to my current (grandfathered) T-Mobile family voice plan with add-on data plans, currently we pay a total of $130 (before taxes and BS fees) for 4 lines including 3 data plans.
On a current T-Mobile (subsidized – trying to compare apples to apples as much as possible) plan we’d be looking at about $160 (which is more than we pay now including taxes and BS fees)
Looking at AT&T (comparing apples to apples would want to have LTE as an option) it would be about $170
On these new VZW plans we’d pay $210 to share a single 2GB data pool (which I think we could do but would be pushing it)
It gets really sad If you compare it to the current VZW plans we would be looking at about $180 for four lines and three 2GB data plans, paying less for a total of 6GB of data.
These new plans don’t even make sense if you have a tablet you want to add on, you could get a smartphone and a tablet and have them both share a 2GB data pool for $110, compared to $100 for two 2GB plans under the current plan structure.
I guess you could say VZW doesn’t fail to disappoint in delivering disappointment.
They should just be honest and call it the “Screw Everyone” plan.
This is seriosly a scam and rip off. Way to go Verizon. Your usual BS to get more money out of people.
I just activated a Samsung Captivate on Straight talk with there SIM program and it works like a charm and everything is unlimited and none of this fee for this and a fee for that crap that Verizon charges.
Verizon is simply shifting their offering so they can make more money.
Believe it or not, less than 4 years ago data plans were NOT mandatory on Verizon (this ended Nov. 14, 2008). At that time they also disabled Wifi on all of their devices to force customers wanting connectivity into paying for a data plan. When they weren’t making enough money doing that, they made data plans mandatory and allowed Wifi on their devices (they wanted you to pay for data, but the less you used it, the better for them). At that same time, shared pools of voice minutes started small – often too small.
Now that most people want unlimted data and few (if any) minutes, the tables have turned – unlimited voice minutes are the only offering and data is available in only dribs and drabs.
Verizon listens to it’s customers; they ask the customers what they want, and offer them the opposite!
In who’s reality does this make sense for smart phone plans. $50 for 1GB, TO SHARE! I’m paying $30 for 4GB PER LINE.
you got the double data, most user only have 30 for 2gb or 60 for 4gb obv.
But 2GB is still more than 1GB and cost less under this Family share plan.
well not if you have 5 phones… 5 x $30 for 2gb each = $150 for 10gb.. now it is $100. With less phones it is more expensive and with more it is less.. but what do i care, I got a SIII and grandfathered unlimited to I still don’t care :)
yeah in your case that works but I was just point out that there would be a lot of different variations, those who signed up with a non lte phone have a gig less than you! But I think this will not benefit not nearly as many people as they say…
also wait til you see what att is going to have in the way of family plans ;p glad I stayed with the orange!
yeah in your case that works but I was just point out that there would be a lot of different variations, those who signed up with a non lte phone have a gig less than you! But I think this will not benefit not nearly as many people as they say…
also wait til you see what att is going to have in the way of family plans ;p glad I stayed with the orange!
This is a ripoff!!
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/shareEverythingCalculator.jsp
These plans really are a joke. Verizon could have done this one right, and it would have been awesome. But I mean, $50 for 1 GB? I would rather pay my tethering fee and share my unlimited internet with other devices. I will keep that plan grandfathered until the end of the world if I can.
Right now, i paid 80$ each month for individuals plan with unlimited data, but i only can use up to about 1.5gb each month. So, i am not really sure is that a good thing or bad thing….
I was paying about $72 on Verizon (with company discount) for 450 minutes, 1000 texts and unlimited data just for myself. I bought an unlocked Galaxy Note for $460 and switched to Straight Talk where I get unlimited everything for $45 per month and can buy a new phone whenever I want without worrying about “upgrades”. $460/24 = $19 per month for the unlocked phone over 24 months. $45 + $19 = $64. I am saving $8 per month and getting more for my money. I also got the phone I wanted since Verizon doesn’t offer it and it has no carrier bloatware or limitations.
So… My current plan… 2 Flip phones and My smart phone with unlimited data, 500 txts on 2 lines and 750 shared minutes. 140ish a month. Under the new plan, 100 just for the phones, then a minimal of 50 for 1 gig of data? Then add taxes and fees on top and I am looking at another 30 or so..
My bill would go up to nearly 200 bucks… Yeah that won’t fly. I have a sneaky feeling that updating any phone in the future, smart or flip will force you to upgrade your data plan. It is what I would do if I wanted to be a mega douche and alienate all my customers.
It would actually be $110 for the phones, even worse.
2 feature phones 2x$30 = $60 1 smart phone = $40
$60 + $40 != $110
Good thing you are blogging Quentyn; your math sucks. LOL! No discount on that 100 or for Quentyn, 110 either.
I need to confirm with VZW, but as it stands I have 3 lines (smartphones), 700 min, unlimited text, unlimited data and it’s around 60 a month per line. (Corporate Discount)
If I upgrade I’ll get unlimited talk & messaging and should be able to get 10GB shared data for the plan for about the same price if they keep the corporate discount on the data plan.
This may actually be acceptable….but for anyone without employee discounts (especially those on individual plans) you better start shopping around.
So we can still avoid this and keep our grandfathered beauty for a little while if we don’t upgrade? Because that’s fine with me, just bought my phone a few months ago. Anyone know any more details about that?
Well, I did the math (even figuring in the taxes and insurance and such) and currently it will save us about $10. (2 smart phones, 2 dumb phones) But that’s with 4GB. I currently have unlimited on my Droid, and my son has 2GB on his. Together, we have not gone over 2 GB except for one time. However, I don’t like having to worry about it for myself. I do get notifications if my son gets anywhere near his data usage…
Now, when my other two sons graduate to smart phones in the next couple of years, then i think the savings will really kick in (as will the data usage, sadly). What I worry about is the tethering–really going to have to keep the boys reined in on that one!
All that being said, I’m not happy about being forced and I would most likely look around for a better deal, except that in my area Verizon is by far the best for coverage.
So you’re paying 50-100 per month for a phone. You are paying vz to finance your phone. That’s why this costs so much. Stop having the carriers subsidize your phone purchase. We’re all overpaying and getting screwed because of this business model.
Not a good deal considering I used 22 gbs last month and I have a family plan which costs 247 a month for 4 lines and 2000 minutes with all unlimited data on Verizon. Kroger/Fred Meyer discount 20% off helped
Two words: rip-off
This may be a rip off for some but it isnt for all. Right now I pay $197 a month for 2 smart phones and 1 dumb phone. We pay for 4G of data for each smart phone and unlimited text. With their pricing, Id have to pay $110 for the phones and 90 for 8Gs of data. All that comes out to $200. After fees but minus the 15% discount I get for being in the military, it equals about the same or slightly under. Id also get unlimited minutes instead of 1400.
goin’ to work out pretty good for me with my 23% corporate discount.
I don’t think Verizon wants to know anything about reasonable rates. Shared Everything is a lot cheaper on Ting. $6 per month to add a device of any type. No unlimited plans, but most people don’t need one. Two caveats: (1) Sprint, so make sure you are in their coverage area, and (2) no subsidized devices, and relatively limited selection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7iOGfUdn0o
ShamWOW guy was a scammer. Verizon hired him to do the books. Why is everyone so surprised that he created such a fee structure? he is turning Verizon into a scam.
Yes doing lots of math on this for some it could actually be a rip off. But for my wife and I who use our smart phones… as phones first and foremost this saves us money. Currently after taxes and everything we pay ~$182 and since we are always using wifi for our data (except when driving and we don’t use our phones when driving as it is unsafe) we barely crack 2Gb per month for both of us. So doing the math with estimated taxes, insurance and my work discount it puts us around $147 a month. Hell that’s a savings of $35 or more depending how they apply my work discount. I’ll take it.
I was just chatting with a sales rep via Verizon’s site (granted, they’re not necessarily the best source of truly OFFICIAL info until the plans have actually launched), and she said that the new “share everything” plans WON’T be replacing single-user, one-device plans.
It’s not clear whether individual’s will still be able to buy the current $30/mo=2GB plans, but it seems like we WON’T have to pay the flippin’ crazy $90/mo for 1GB of data that’s currently being reported.
I’m staying with my current plan. I use 25GB per month there is no way i could afford to switch my plan. I have an older voice /msg and data plan with a discount for $110/ month
I guarantee that a company like Veri$on has run a ton of reports and analytics and they are sure that these new plans will benefit them way more than the customers. Companies like this NEVER do anything that benefits the customer unless it benefits them more. These new plans are a joke.
As of today, I’m going off contract. VZW has a nice network and phones, but they treat their contract customers like crap.
Why would my 4G data-hogging tablet cost 1/4th the price of my cheap 2G-3G cell phone?