3 ms·

Verizon is doing away with contracts

9 points by denzil_correa 11y ago

ocdtrekkie 11y ago
Isn't this basically the More Everything plan? Line access fees plus data buckets aren't new here. The lack of a two year agreement is new though. I wonder if the whole "we'll buy out your plan for you to switch" thing is the big motivator for this. By killing off contracts, these carriers end their need to buy out each others' ETFs and such.
mtgx 11y ago
Source: https://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2015/08/simplified-data-choices-match-customer-lifestyles.html https://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2015/08/simplif...
Someone1234 11y ago
I just want to say, them charging more for smartphones and then again for data is nonsense, if they aren't subsidizing the phones themselves, then there is no rational reason why a smartphone would seek a premium. It is just double-dipping. And tablets costing $10/month while smart watches are "only" $5 a month is again nonsensical and one doesn't cost more than the other, and they aren't offering more value either. Now that they're no longer subsidizing phones, it is easy to see just how horribly expensive cellular service is in the US. Their cheapest smartphone plan is $20 + $30 a month plus a million little fees and charges. That gets you 1GB of data, unlimited calls and text. That's £32.27. 1 GB of data is only £12 (4G speeds) on GiffGaff in the UK, with 500 minutes calls/unlimited texts. If you have £32 to spend you can get 5GB of 4G data and 5K minutes of calls if you wish. I like T-Mobile the most out of the big three in the US, but even T-Mobile charges $50/month starting rate for a smartphone. Now, yes, you get some cool value adds with T-Mobile (Canada/Mexico calling, free music streaming, basic international data/texts, and so on) but still, the US remains a very expensive place to own a cellphone. If they were smart (any of them) they'd only charge a setup fee for tablets/laptops/smart watches/etc and then after that keeping the devices on the network is "free" indefinitely and they just charge you data usage. This encourages more data usage on the network, which is a much safer long term prospect than scaring people into adding their devices due to the silly monthly fees. I'm not going to go to the hassle of adding my tablet just for a short vacation, but if it was on the network indefinitely, I am going to enable the 3G/4G modem and use it for that vacation. Their supposed greed ($5/month, etc) is actually costing them more money than it makes them.

9 points by denzil_correa 11y ago

Isn't this basically the More Everything plan? Line access fees plus data buckets aren't new here. The lack of a two year agreement is new though. I wonder if the whole "we'll buy out your plan for you to switch" thing is the big motivator for this. By killing off contracts, these carriers end their need to buy out each others' ETFs and such.

mtgx 11y ago

Source: https://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2015/08/simplified-data-choices-match-customer-lifestyles.html https://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2015/08/simplif...

Someone1234 11y ago

I just want to say, them charging more for smartphones and then again for data is nonsense, if they aren't subsidizing the phones themselves, then there is no rational reason why a smartphone would seek a premium. It is just double-dipping. And tablets costing $10/month while smart watches are "only" $5 a month is again nonsensical and one doesn't cost more than the other, and they aren't offering more value either. Now that they're no longer subsidizing phones, it is easy to see just how horribly expensive cellular service is in the US. Their cheapest smartphone plan is $20 + $30 a month plus a million little fees and charges. That gets you 1GB of data, unlimited calls and text. That's £32.27. 1 GB of data is only £12 (4G speeds) on GiffGaff in the UK, with 500 minutes calls/unlimited texts. If you have £32 to spend you can get 5GB of 4G data and 5K minutes of calls if you wish. I like T-Mobile the most out of the big three in the US, but even T-Mobile charges $50/month starting rate for a smartphone. Now, yes, you get some cool value adds with T-Mobile (Canada/Mexico calling, free music streaming, basic international data/texts, and so on) but still, the US remains a very expensive place to own a cellphone. If they were smart (any of them) they'd only charge a setup fee for tablets/laptops/smart watches/etc and then after that keeping the devices on the network is "free" indefinitely and they just charge you data usage. This encourages more data usage on the network, which is a much safer long term prospect than scaring people into adding their devices due to the silly monthly fees. I'm not going to go to the hassle of adding my tablet just for a short vacation, but if it was on the network indefinitely, I am going to enable the 3G/4G modem and use it for that vacation. Their supposed greed ($5/month, etc) is actually costing them more money than it makes them.