Verizon plan changes!

[coolmom42]

Check out the new Verizon rate plans HERE.

All plans have unlimited talk & text, you pick the data amount and pay accordingly. $20/month line fee per phone, less for other devices.

Dropped my bill $16/month.

The site shows you a before/after bill comparison, so it's easy to see how much you may save (or not.)

There are also now similar prepaid plans. Not too long ago Verizon did not support any 4G prepaid devices. Now there are lots. You can also use a phone you already have and get a SIM card kit for $50, with 1 month service included. 1 GB data is $45 and if you auto-renew you get another free GB.

Verizon is the ONLY carrier in my area with usable coverage, so I've been reluctant to switch to Straight Talk or other discount carriers. Straight Talk runs off ATT towers, and ATT coverage around here stinks. I've also found that Verizon has best coverage over all the country in rural areas(at least east of the Rockies.)
Very important for those of us who prefer to travel in the boonies.

[coolmom42]

rk911 wrote:

lc0338 wrote:
My understanding is that Verizon will no longer provide free phones. In the past people would get a free phone when they sign up for service. The phone has to be paid for so it was added to the cost of peoples plan. Now that the free phones are taken out of the plans the cost should go down. I was skeptical that the cost would actually go down. Hopefully it is true but when you need a new phone you will have to pay for it out of pocket.

most phones weren't "free" as the cost between the discount you paid up front was simply figured into the monthly line cost. ain't nuttin free.

Yep.

[Dave_H_M]

YO coolman, thanks for the link.

We were getting 10G for what they now offer for 12. I just got of the phone and had a 2 G bump on our plan and all costs remain the same. :C

[dahkota]

While we have a limited voice plan, we have unlimited text and unlimited data. Considering that, between the two of us, we regularly go over 30G per month of data but only use about 1/2 our voice minutes, we will stick to our old plan. The new plans would cost us a couple of hundred $$ per month and we would still have to pay for our phones.

[TechWriter]

coolmom42 wrote:
The site shows you a before/after bill comparison, so it's easy to see how much you may save (or not.)

Last October when Verizon was running a special ("More Everything") after killing off Millenicom, I picked up a 40GB data plan for the price of a 20GB plan.

If I tried this with Verizon's newest plan, I'd end up paying about $100 more.

I'll stick with More Everything.

[DSDP_Don]

I can guarantee you that Verizon, ATT, Sprint and others never make changes that they don't profit from. This latest change has been carefully crafted to save some people money, but in the overall picture will generate more money for Verizon. It's the American way!

[GordonThree]

This again? How many of these threads are there running concurrently?

[lc0338]

The following is a copy/paste from website. website location at bottom.

Verizon Wireless Is Now The Destination For Cell Phone Plans With Their New Data Add?

Verizon Wireless has the best coverage nationwide than any other cell phone service in the country, and they know it. Which is why their cell phone plans can be high. I am not one to hate on Verizon though, as they are at least trying to be a better service. On top of that, they do indeed have the best coverage in America and it is truly not just a slogan.

Verizon has now decided that it would be a brilliant idea to add data to the cells of their contract customers. This is a way for them to keep bringing in people while also making current customers happy I suppose. Here is the skinny of what the entire plan entails:

For Storage: Each customer will now get 25 gigabytes of cloud storage. Previously, this type of storage would cost around $2.99 a month.

For Messaging: Unlimited international messaging, including pictures and video.

When it comes to discounts: Customers with the “Edge” plan, which allows faster upgrades but requires paying the full price of the phone, will be eligible for a monthly discount of up to $20.

The deal does not seem like a bad one, in fact, it’s possibly making fans of Verizon quite happy as it does save a little bit of money. The issue with it still is the price for a contract. You might get a lot for what you see, but due to the rise of non-contract plans like Straight Talk,Verizon sadly will be seeing customers leave if they are unable to bring prices down.

The average price for unlimited everything is about $80 for Verizon. For unlimited everything with Straight Talk, it’s about $50. For International rates with Straight Talk, you only see about a $10-15 increase for their cell phone plan. Meaning there is still a savings of $10-30 without question.

So really, is Verizon doing enough to keep customers when a place like Straight Talk can still use their towers for a Verizon phone and pay less for it? Sure, the data increase helps and discounts are great. Is that enough to keep Verizon customers however? It seems not.

The same can be said with AT&T, who have a non-contract plan in their service. It is also $50 a month and largely offers the same thing Straight Talk does for it’s carriers with a few differences.While you do still have to buy an AT&T phone to use this service AND there is no international coverage, it is helpful for the American citizen who does not plan to use a cell outside of the USA.

Only with a contract can you see International coverage with AT&T it seems. While Verizon has had pre-paid cell phone plans in the past, and still carries them, there is a lot of hoops to jump through. And it has no comparison to what other services provide. At times, Verizon only allowed for you to pick unlimited talk or unlimited text for your card. Meaning you had to pick which you did more. All of this combined has scared some people off of using the service while others enjoy it.

The deal for AT&T and Verizon as well as any other cell phone service has always been to lock you into a contract. This has made many unhappy for years. Now we have the fact that the non-contract plans have had similar coverage at $30-40 cheaper; it starts to make you really wonder why the contracts are still in play for the big 4 cell companies.

The major cell companies have decided to add “family plans” to their rates so that money can be saved. So it seems all are trying to stay alive in the cell phone race. Cell phone plans that Verizon or others offer, even with better data may not be enough for the average Joe to sign a contract with them. Today, it’s all about saving money.

Contracts may save money in some ways, but it’s just not enough to mean anything for many. If you could save $30-40 a month just by switching services and you knew your coverage would be similar, would you do it? I know I would. This is why the added family plan for the major services will be helpful to their bottom line, because they know people will go for something like this over a contract.

It seems that the average cell phone plan has been changed, which is making cell phone services angry. Yet it makes the customer happy, and really, aren’t we the one’s that count most anyway?


Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1143125/verizon-wireless-is-now-the-destination-for-cell-phone-plans-with-new-data-add/#jhFpBIg4GrgZJSeW.99

[mich800]

lc0338 wrote:
This should ultimately help reduce the cost of phones. In the past phones were made so that they would work on only one carrier's plan. Now when you buy a phone it will work on any carrier's plan so it is easier to change carrier's. I think verizon knew that their coverage was king and wasn't worried about people moving from their service.

The law where companies cannot lock their phones to a carrier most likely precipitated this. Before even after your contract ran out that phone could only be used for that carrier. So even if someone sold it the carrier still wins. But now mobile phones are portable to any carrier so there is nothing holding anyone to a specific company any longer.

[WyoTraveler]

rk911 wrote:

lc0338 wrote:
My understanding is that Verizon will no longer provide free phones. In the past people would get a free phone when they sign up for service. The phone has to be paid for so it was added to the cost of peoples plan. Now that the free phones are taken out of the plans the cost should go down. I was skeptical that the cost would actually go down. Hopefully it is true but when you need a new phone you will have to pay for it out of pocket.

most phones weren't "free" as the cost between the discount you paid up front was simply figured into the monthly line cost. ain't nuttin free.

Yes BUT. If you buy one or two phone there is one price. If you buy a half a million phones like Verizon cost does go down. Of course how much profit they make is another thing. We have ATT and Verizon Jet pack. If Att area is down when traveling we switch to wifi with Verizon jet pack. I really need both when traveling to get full service.

[RAS43]

rk911 wrote:
most phones weren't "free" as the cost between the discount you paid up front was simply figured into the monthly line cost. ain't nuttin free.

I have been very fortunate as a long time Verizon customer as my original plan was grandfathered and does not increase in cost except when I added data so I could get a "smart phone". It is a limited plan but works for me. And every 2 years I have changed phones at no cost or increase as long as I picked a free phone. My present phone is a Motorola Android Maxx which works great.
I did check on Verizon's new plans and I would pay $30 more to change since I would have to pay a line charge which I don't pay now. guess I'll stay put.

[GMandJM]

Thanks for the info, CoolMom42.

Some of the phones are kinda pricey. I hope Ic0338's prediction is correct.

[rk911]

lc0338 wrote:
My understanding is that Verizon will no longer provide free phones. In the past people would get a free phone when they sign up for service. The phone has to be paid for so it was added to the cost of peoples plan. Now that the free phones are taken out of the plans the cost should go down. I was skeptical that the cost would actually go down. Hopefully it is true but when you need a new phone you will have to pay for it out of pocket.

most phones weren't "free" as the cost between the discount you paid up front was simply figured into the monthly line cost. ain't nuttin free.

[bgum]

Straight Talk will use either Verizon or ATT you choose when you purchase a device.

[dodge_guy]

I'm leaving Verizon as soon as my contract is up! THE worst customer service for cell phones we ever had! My bill is more than what we paid with ATT and for some reason since the switch we were going over the 10GB of data every month. Almost as if data is just disappearing! Never had that issue with ATT. I now pay extra$$$ per month for Family Base to make sure I don't go over! The only thing better they have is the coverage.

[Andymon]

I just switched from Credo (Sprint) to US Cellular. got a brand new iPhone 6, unlimited calling, unlimited text and 2 gigs data for $60/month. Saved myself over $15/month.