4 ms·

They aren't changing your contract; they just won't give you the same contract when your current one has expired: LTE is our anchor point for data share. So as

by detst 14y ago

They aren't changing your contract; they just won't give you the same contract when your current one has expired: LTE is our anchor point for data share. So as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go onto a data share plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everyone into a tiered structure/data share type plan. [1] I could see this not being such a bad thing if they let us pay for bandwidth to use however we want. As it is, there are different rates and minimum fees for different types of devices and how that data is used on each device (i.e. "hotspot" feature on phones). Allow me to connect the netbook that I rarely need to use on their network and subtract from my allowance. 1. http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/16/verizon-cfo-unlimited-data-plans-going-away-all-users-pushed-onto-shared-data/ http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/16/verizon-cfo-unlimited-d...

Karunamon 14y ago
>I could see this not being such a bad thing if they let us pay for bandwidth to use however we want. Not in this universe. I'm pretty much convinced that cell phone companies are out to screw you as hard and as long as humanly possible.
- detst 14y ago
  Sure, I have no doubt that they will take every last penny they can get. I do think it could work out well for people that aren't really heavy data users and have a lot of devices to connect.
  - michaelcampbell 14y ago
    > I do think it could work out well for people that aren't really heavy data users Is there an option for a cheaper, low data tier? Last I checked, the cheapest option was the same price as the current unlimited data option, but with a cap.
- gcb 14y ago
  Why they wouldn't? It's a very solid regulated monopoly. Name one thing you can do. only answer is "exchange one $120/mo plan at company A to the same at company B"
  - nuclear_eclipse 14y ago
    You could always exchanged your $120/to plan at company A for a $50/to plan at T-Mobile, and actually get respected as a customer for once...
    - freehunter 14y ago
      "Switch to a new carrier" sometimes means "move to a different city/state".
    - Karunamon 14y ago
      T-Mobile is on its last legs anyways. Deutsch Telekom has made their desire known for a long time to get out of the US market. The ATT buyout falling through will keep them alive a bit longer, but honestly I'd be wary of signing up with them just because of the chance of them being bought out by a larger corp is very real.
    - gcb 14y ago
      The least i can pay at tmobile for: minimum voice, 5gb data is a total of 89 something. Stop spreading lies
      - Karunamon 14y ago
        $89 < $120, and there's the whole "Decent CS" thing too. Stop being a dick.
        gcb 14y ago
        not sure what's the decent CS. also, i took the 120 from nowhere. i pay it at att for two lines. and would be exactly the same amount for tmobile. so, no, changing operators is not an option. service and price is the very same.
- KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago
  Verizon: profit margin 5-6% Apple: profit margin 29% Google: profit margin 27-28% Who's screwing who?
  - sukuriant 14y ago
    citation wanted
    - AjithAntony 14y ago
      "Profit" is hard to measure. This may be good enough: Verizon Wireless FY 2011 http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactiveannual/2011/mda03_01.html http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactivea... Segment operating income margin 26.4% Segment EBITDA service margin 44.8% Verizon Wireless 1Q 2012 http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/2012_q1_fs.pdf http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/... Operating Income Margin 28.6% Segment EBITDA Service Margin 46.3% Interesting things I also learned from this report: - Verizon wireless is 55% Verizon, 45% Vodafone - $52 ARPU (average revenue per user per month)
      - KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago
        This is true, I was looking at VZ's chart: http://ycharts.com/companies/VZ/profit_margin http://ycharts.com/companies/VZ/profit_margin According to Yahoo Finance it's profit margin is 2.6% http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=VZ+Key+Statistics http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=VZ+Key+Statistics
  - Karunamon 14y ago
    Profit margin != Screwing.

by detst 14y ago

Karunamon 14y ago

>I could see this not being such a bad thing if they let us pay for bandwidth to use however we want. Not in this universe. I'm pretty much convinced that cell phone companies are out to screw you as hard and as long as humanly possible.

detst 14y ago
Sure, I have no doubt that they will take every last penny they can get. I do think it could work out well for people that aren't really heavy data users and have a lot of devices to connect.
- michaelcampbell 14y ago
  > I do think it could work out well for people that aren't really heavy data users Is there an option for a cheaper, low data tier? Last I checked, the cheapest option was the same price as the current unlimited data option, but with a cap.
gcb 14y ago
Why they wouldn't? It's a very solid regulated monopoly. Name one thing you can do. only answer is "exchange one $120/mo plan at company A to the same at company B"
- nuclear_eclipse 14y ago
  You could always exchanged your $120/to plan at company A for a $50/to plan at T-Mobile, and actually get respected as a customer for once...
  - freehunter 14y ago
    "Switch to a new carrier" sometimes means "move to a different city/state".
  - Karunamon 14y ago
    T-Mobile is on its last legs anyways. Deutsch Telekom has made their desire known for a long time to get out of the US market. The ATT buyout falling through will keep them alive a bit longer, but honestly I'd be wary of signing up with them just because of the chance of them being bought out by a larger corp is very real.
  - gcb 14y ago
    The least i can pay at tmobile for: minimum voice, 5gb data is a total of 89 something. Stop spreading lies
    - Karunamon 14y ago
      $89 < $120, and there's the whole "Decent CS" thing too. Stop being a dick.
      - gcb 14y ago
        not sure what's the decent CS. also, i took the 120 from nowhere. i pay it at att for two lines. and would be exactly the same amount for tmobile. so, no, changing operators is not an option. service and price is the very same.
KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago
Verizon: profit margin 5-6% Apple: profit margin 29% Google: profit margin 27-28% Who's screwing who?
- sukuriant 14y ago
  citation wanted
  - AjithAntony 14y ago
    "Profit" is hard to measure. This may be good enough: Verizon Wireless FY 2011 http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactiveannual/2011/mda03_01.html http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactivea... Segment operating income margin 26.4% Segment EBITDA service margin 44.8% Verizon Wireless 1Q 2012 http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/2012_q1_fs.pdf http://www22.verizon.com/idc/groups/public/documents/adacct/... Operating Income Margin 28.6% Segment EBITDA Service Margin 46.3% Interesting things I also learned from this report: - Verizon wireless is 55% Verizon, 45% Vodafone - $52 ARPU (average revenue per user per month)
    - KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago
      This is true, I was looking at VZ's chart: http://ycharts.com/companies/VZ/profit_margin http://ycharts.com/companies/VZ/profit_margin According to Yahoo Finance it's profit margin is 2.6% http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=VZ+Key+Statistics http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=VZ+Key+Statistics
- Karunamon 14y ago
  Profit margin != Screwing.