Verizon Wireless kills Pay as You Go data plans, data plans now mandatory
This has been rumored to be coming but VZW E dropped the bomb on us all by leaking a Verizon Wireless document detailing some drastic changes to Verizon’s data plans. Starting November 14th, 2008, all new PDA / Smartphones will require a $29.99/month or greater data plan. Gone are the pay as you go data plans, 1X data block plans and the 10 MB $24.99/month plans. The good news is that those who are currently signed up for any of the now canceled plans will not be forced to change. If you have a data block, you can keep your data block and continue to use Wi-Fi instead of EV-DO for you data connection. The bad news is that once you swap out your phone for any reason, you will be forced to upgrade to a $29.99 or higher monthly plan. The leaked document also notes that a similar plan will go into effect in 2009 for select Mobile Web 2.0 phones. Since the document mentions HTML web browsing capability as the criteria for a mandatory data plan, we assume this will affect phones such as the LG Dare, the LG Voyager and the new Krave ZN4. With this change, you will be forced to subscribe to the $15/month VCast plan that provides unlimited data for email and web browsing. This move, though controversial, is not entirely surprising. Verizon is apparently trying to better montize the growing interest in smartphones and generate a constant revenue stream by requiring data for all its advanced data-capable phones. Oh, one other thing. You know all of the hot new phones set to hit store shelves in November? Don’t be surprised if we see them become available after November 14th when this new mandatory data plan policy takes affect.
hmmmm i hate verizon my contracts almost up im going back to at&T only reasoni went to verizon is because my family switched to verizon which was because my sister wanted the chocolate and i like some of their pdas but when ur a college student working ur ass off and dont have a laptop or almost enough money for college wifi is very essential to my demand without xtra charges and thankyou verizon this is one mistake that was a huge no no that youll see many people pulling out for and i can guarentee that and plus with at&t i like how u can switch sim cards instead of going online to do all this bullshit with verizon thanx verizon i will never switch to you AGAIN at&t ftw
@ derrick and others like me or him thanx alot u guys at least some find this rediculous i will probably switch to at&t for the fuse or w/e its called or just buy an unlock omnia
instead of verizons bs thing is im worried about is if at&t and tmobile will start doing this but then agaion verizon just helped out at&t and tmobile and maybe a bit of sprint not sure but sprint is almost like verizon there like brothers almost but still sprint service sucks its like the younger brother of verizon and will probably start this rediculous idea as well im writing to verizon too screw this
What you all don’t seem to realize is that these are computers first and phones second. They are designed to use data. The real thing you should be complaining about is the idiots who buy these devices because they “Look Cool” when other phones that are pretty cool themselves would much better suit their needs. I work for a cell phone company (not Verizon) and I have seen bills in excess of 3000.00 due to pay as you go. I am all for finding reasons to demonize Verizon but this is not one of them. and it won’t be a bad thing when our company does away with Pay as you go.
it actually has not been a requirement for any smart phone, just blackberry and that was only because blackberry insisted on it or they wouldn’t provide devices to Verizon. This was for the consumers protection to avoid extreem bills
Well I understand that smartphones are designed for data usage but I was just looking for a phone which would make calls and remove an extra item from my pocket (ie…a pda which would play music and video as well do some Office things). 99% of the time I’m near a WiFi hotspot so I wouldn’t need the dataplan and I figure at this point I’ve had a cellphone for almost 10 years now and I’ve yet to get online with it…I think I can survive.
I just scratch my head that in this economy they think the best way to make money is to cram on an extra $30/month…or $360/year if you want to look at it that way.
Actually if you read the document its says mobile web 2.0 alot of their pda devices use this web feature nowhere does it mention any phone devise other than the pda phones so as far as I can see the dare and voyager and the krav will not require a data plan.Also if you thimk about it most companies already have some sort of data plan that is required for their phone the Iphne requires one.Also most companys that people work for will give some sort of discount off the persons monthly bill too.
DLB,
So I take you mean your are going to get rid of inpulse have pageplus or airvoice take it over?
Larry, if you read the picture devices with html browsers will be included in the mandatory data plan. This includes a lot of phones including some models used on inpulse, pageplus. My own audiovox 8600 has openwave.
Yea Larry they will require data plans but not the same as that of smartphones…they’ll require the $15 a month ones.
I just bought a xv6700 smartphone on ebay and had it activated friday 12/12. The website said i either needed to add pay as you go or 45/mo unlimited. I called *611 from my chocolate and talked to some guy. He put a data block on my line and activated the phone. BT and wifi work fine. Data is disabled…i confirmed by trying to get on the web/dun to a internet server.. both error on data is not enabled on the network.. so apparently this hasn’t occurred yet.
NO NO NO NO!!!!!
You CANNOT force someone to pay to use the internal wifi card on their phone. That is illegal, and if it isnt, it should be. It costs them NOTHING when you use the wifi antenna on your phone. I can understand, and support charging for using their HSDPA network – that costs them money to maintain, and to set up in the first place, but they have NO LEGAL GROUND to charge for the use of your home wireless access. If they attempt to charge me $30/month to use my own wireless that I already have to pay for from another monopoly, I will begin a class action lawsuit against them, and thats a promise.
cdog, that is exactly what i was thinking about doing. Can you still send ssm and msm?
I’ve been with Verizon for almost 8 years now, and I’m definitely switching to ATT because of this required data package. I wanted to get a new phone for the PDA use. I don’t need to use the Internet at all because I have it at home and at work already. I think it’s ridiculous that Verizon is forcing people to have this additional cost just because I want to combine my phone and PDA into one device. My husband and I would have to pay an additional $720 a year just for Internet usage when we don’t want it at all. I hope Verizon loses a lot of customers and money for this poor business decision.
sigh….the funny thing is that your all crying about this but for years most of us have been paying top dollar for our services…yes it sucks but for christ sake stfu and suck it up or leave….metro will take you and your verizon phone no questions asked…you can enjoy t-mobiles 2g phones, or ATTs terrible customer service and even worse billing dept, sprint…enough saidchoice is yours but please if you dont want to spend the money then get off my network cause i will
O and p.s. please hurry and decide because when they roll 4g out i want some good internet so the more people that jump ship into a flimsy raft the better for me
Likeabite
Are you saying that if you have prepay through
inpulse (Verizon prepaid service) or Pageplus, Airvoice or any other Verizon prepaid MNVOs? That I am going to have to pay a monthly fee in addition to the $25.00 purchase?
I getting a good deal with pageplus, right know
25.00 for 300 minutes, then I renew in 4 months.
If I am going to have a monthly fee for prepaid, I will have to find another prepaid service.
@startthinking?
1 MAJOR flaw in your argument. Even someone purchasing the phone for retail somewhere else is required to have the data plan. So arguing that the required data plan is justified by them offering you the phone for a cheaper price really doesn’t apply here….
bryan: I can still send text messages, havent tried pictures still..
Stop and think before you speak ! Take the new Omnia for instance. It has a 5 megapixel camera. It has Windows 6.1 with the Microsoft Office Suite. It has up to 16 GB of storage and will accept a memory card of additional 16 GB of storage. It has a FM radio. It has WiFi. Etc. Etc. In other words it has a lot of great features that don’t require internet access. Some people want a phone to talk on and to use for its other features and don’t need to access the internet from their phone over the carriers network. Verizon is going to pay for this mistake for a long time. Customers are not garbage and have a mind of their own. Ever thought of that !
I picked up an LG Voyager from VZW last spring because my chocolate flip was stolen – luckily I was eligible for an early refresh of my contract.
After reviewing the options available at the time I selected the Voyager. The speakerphone ROCKS! It plays music, and the sound quality of the calls was as good as I could expect.
I tried their “web” functions for the first 30 days (free) and found it to be only usefull if I was dying and just HAD to look something up or I would die unsatisfied.
At the end of my trial period on the web I called and had EVERYTHING blocked. No web, no email, no text messages, no music, no tv, no video.
What I have now is just what I need… a PHONE! Sure… it comes with an ok digital camera and a somewhat passable vidoe camera. I can also type notes on a full keyboard (Shopping list: Milk, Cheese, OJ, Tequila, limes, …)
I am a gadget FREAK! I have a desktop, laptop, home server, Nokia N800, Audiotron, bluray player, front projection HD in the livingroom and front projection SD in the garage, etc, etc, etc… so I LOVE gadgets.
Surfing on the road just doesn’t matter to me.
Force me to buy a data plan when I renew and choose a decent quality PHONE and I’ll leave. Some revenue is better than losing a customer.
I’m a little late to the game, my brother just tried to upgrade from one smart phone to another with Verizon and was told he couldn’t block data.
For those who are young, or new to smartphones (I quit reading after the first two pages due to all the people who obviously don’t have a clue), there are plenty of uses for a palm os or windows mobile smartphone without a data plan, and even without wifi. These are basically little handheld computers. Is a computer worthless without wifi or network connection (if you answered yes to that, you need a real job). There are some people (or jobs) where you can’t have your personal information bouncing around the “cloud” of the network. I currently have a Treo 755P on Verizon. I have a datablock on the phone. I use my phone everyday for calendar, data entry, and many other uses, none of which requires a data plan, or network access. I have no need for internet on my phone, I am within reach of a broadband connected computer 90% of the day, and I have wifi more than half of the rest of the time. I sync to a computer at home and at the office with a cable, what a novel Idea!! I have already contacted Verizon and informed them that I will no longer be a customer of thiers if this requirement is still there in August when my contract expires. I will go to another carrier that allows me to run a smartphone as a handheld computer.
My wife also has a treo, as a stay-at-home mom, she uses it to keep the kids’ schedules up to date, and managed. She has no need for a data plan either.
If we are forced to go to data plans with any carrier, then we will just get iPhones and live with the fact that we won’t be able to use them at my parents to make calls when we visit them in the middle of nowhere.
And I haven’t had a subsidized phone since the mid 90’s.
There are tons of people who have usage patterns just like mine. No need for data, but need the smartphone to do actual work.
Here’s the detailed info on the change. It’s correct that only new DEVICES require the plan. Older devices (Palm 755p) on according to this document can still have data blocks, etc. See the last page (use cases).
http://www.abttelecom.com/files/DataRequirementPDAs_QRG_PBI4075_PDD_VAD.pdf
Use cases:
Activation or Upgrade to NEW PDA launched by Verizon Wireless on/after 11/14 (Can not add/keep 1X Block or PAYG) — Data Feature / Plan
Activation or Upgrade to an EXISTING PDA launched by Verizon Wireless prior to 11/14 — No Data Feature / Plan
EXISTING PDA with PAYG or 1X Block makes no changes — Keep PAYG / 1X Block
EXISTING PDA with PAYG or 1X Block changes to same PDA (i.e. Centro to Centro FRU exchange) — Keep PAYG / 1X Block
EXISTING PDA with PAYG or 1X Block changes voice plan or adds/deletes other features — Keep PAYG / 1X Block
EXISTING PDA on Family SharePlan with PAYG or 1X Block adds new line & moves PDA to new line — Keep PAYG / 1X Block
EXISTING PDA on Family SharePlan with PAYG or 1X Block moves current PDA to an existing line on account — Keep PAYG / 1X Block
EXISTING PDA with email plan/feature or 1X Block wants PAYG — Add PAYG
EXISTING PDA with PAYG adds email plan/feature then decides they want to go back to PAYG — Add PAYG
EXISTING PDA with email plan/feature or PAYG wants to add 1X Block — Add 1X Block
EXISTING PDA with PAGY adds email feature/plan then decides they want to go back to 1X Block — Add 1X Block
Lot’s of info here on the smart phone’s. Wondering if anyone has any more information on the use of phones like LG Dare that work with Verizon’s Web 2.0 feature. Are existing plans going to have to add this?
Lol..Everyone get’s all pissy in self defense of a basic phone needs data plan..TRUTH AMERICANO’S = IDIOTS
Thanks. Its what I was searchin for.
A verizon rep told me to call and email a complaint. If many people do this, they will drop the data plan requirement. Everybody needs to call or write and complain. Don’t waste time. Let’s all get this money hungry fee out of here and let people have a phone of their choice with the plan of their choice.