By 
Everyone at Verizon Wireless knew it wouldn’t be a popular decision to begin throttling their heaviest unlimited data users, but they went and made the announcement anyway. The change, which was scheduled to go live yesterday, was met with tons of backlash and scrutiny. It seems your heavily-voiced opinions have worked as Verizon has decided to ditch the idea. Here’s a statement from the United States’ number one wireless carrier:
Verizon is committed to providing its customers with an unparalleled mobile network experience. At a time of ever-increasing mobile broadband data usage, we not only take pride in the way we manage our network resources, but also take seriously our responsibility to deliver exceptional mobile service to every customer.
We’ve greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and we’ve decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans. Exceptional network service will always be our priority and we remain committed to working closely with industry stakeholders to manage broadband issues so that American consumers get the world-class mobile service they expect and value.
Verizon’s explanation for throttling heavy users of unlimited data was that this was a “network optimization” move, though many quickly called them out on their inconsistent criteria. Said criteria was that an unlimited data customer had to be using at least 4.7GB of data in a billing period during a time of network congestion. Note that folks on Verizon’s latest tiered data plans were not subject to these terms.
The argument by the opposition was simple: how do 4.7GB of unlimited data and 4.7GB of data from a pool differ in terms of network impact? Simple answer is that it doesn’t. It simply doesn’t. And thus, Verizon found themselves trying to justify a move that smelled more like nickle and dime revenue-packing tactics than anything else.
Verizon has attempted to make life hard for users still on unlimited data for quite some time. The company was quick to plug up any loopholes that would afford those customers discounts on upgrades and service, and other perks you’d get for being on Verizon’s latest and “greatest.”
Most people still clinging to unlimited data have found a way to manage, whether that’s buying their smartphones outright, using multiple lines to fuel upgrades without losing unlimited data or simply dealing with the situation and using their smartphone until it refuses to turn on. Verizon has been hesitant to outright pull the rug from beneath these customers and demand they hop onto MORE Everything, and the reason for that is clear today more than ever before — people won’t just accept this stuff lying down.
[via GigaOM]
WE WON THAT ROUND!
Reading their press release it reminds me of “The art of making shít smell good”.
More like they’ve seen the numbers that they’ve lost to T-Mob in the last quarter and don’t want to get anyone else getting in that boat too.
da answer t-mo 30 buc 5g prepaid data solves it all
Except it’s not unlimited. What are you talking about?
Call thru data i never use my 100 mins. Think outside the box
U are very pathetic.i will pray for you
Improve your typing and English grammar or gtfo. You’re not making any sense.
money talks, BS walks.
What money are you talking about? Money that people who got grandfathered into unlimited plans are not paying (compared to those signing up now)?
Compared to those grandfathered people leaving for t mobile and taking the test of their family plan with them
I am really impressed with the power of the customers. Keep it up everyone.
They probably did it because the FCC fired off a letter to them asking them to explain.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Starts-Throttling-Unlimited-LTE-Users-Or-Not-130675
Lol good news big red. I won’t go to T-Mobile now. Now lemme go use 500 gb of data lol.
How did they plan to throttle us for using five gigs when they’re allowing people to buy like 300 gb
key word there is “buy”.
I already purchased unlimited. That includes that. Try again.
Sure, so did I about 5 years ago.
If they’re going to change our data plan’s function they should simply be explicit about it, and phase it out for something like T-Mobile’s “unlimited data” (high-speed only to # GB), rather than dance around it quietly with this “network optimization” nonsense.
They obviously wanted to avoid press for any negative changes like this, but got caught. Many/Most people with unlimited would probably just switch to AT&T if it was taken away, when it comes time to change phones.
Great news for now…this will only buy us some time until some F-tard moron in Verizon management think of some other way to justify shutting down unlimited data legacy users for good without FCC on their back. Perhaps they will just up the amount of money they “donate” to lobbying and find another way soon. Hopefully consumer will vote with their wallet and go somewhere else like T Mobile to teach them a lesson
Yea for the people that hung in there and kept fighting (myself for one), “Unlimited” does truly mean unlimited, well until VZW figures out another scam.
Now to find a nicer phone off contract to celebrate with. Thanks FCC.
Now if we can get the Verizon subsidized pricing (at least $20 per line) to end at the end of the contracts fulfillment instead of continuing on afterward, we would have it made. Paying for subsidizes even after you start buying your own phone to keep the grandfathered unlimited is crap. Verizon is still getting extra cash from unlimited users, so stop the whining VZW the unlimited crowd are “buying” that extra data still.
I was all excited because i managed to keep my unlimited and use one of my other lines upgrades for a subsidized LG g3, but I thought my LTE speeds had just gotten bad because my old droid4 was broken, but really Verizon’s network is just too clogged, I only get between 4-15mbps at my house. I got 10-22 when my d4 was brand new. And it’s super inconsistent speeds should go up not down
Using Speedtest.net is not a proper way of testing data speed!! I used it and then used my Xbox One and got speeds tethered to the Xbox between 15 and 20mbps but using Speedtest showed 3 to 5mbps. So those apps are horrible ways to test.
How did you test then?maybe you were using a bad server, location doesn’t determine ping counts. Are you sure you weren’t looking art link speed? I used to get amazing speeds, even cracked 25mbps a few times, but the last year speeds have tanked. Its defintly congestion because 4am is always better than 5pm testing you could set your clocks to their congestion flows. Don’t even get me started on when I was in NYC. Verizon’s service hats Brick buildings
lol I’m just gonna sit here and enjoy the fact that I’m a T-Mo customer with 101.7GB used this cycle (no torrents or anything) and still good data speeds. :D
When i start working i’m gonna switch from verizon lol
Sweet merciful heavens! How do you use that much data? That’s about 75 HD TV show episodes worth of data and you didn’t torrent. Use your home Internet, man. You’re killing the network.
Well my other two roommates outvoted me and we did not stay in a contract with Comcast, so until February when I move out on my own, I’ll be using that much over the T-Mobile network. (Most of it IS HD episodes of shows through Play Movies & TV, those suckers are ENORMOUS, and Netflix, and music since it doesn’t appear that they haven’t begun not counting Play Music.) It’s kind of a shame since our internet was so fast I could download an episode in under two minutes, but ah well.
STFU!! Go away.
The day they attempt to take my unlimited data away, is the day you can no longer count me among the ranks of the Verizon faithful.
The 4.7gb was prob made because everyone was one a 450 min legacy plan with unlimited txt and data for $90. Making people switch to the 6gb plan was $100. They were reaaallly banking on that. Maybe want u to add a tabfor $10 too lol
Great article!!!
I’m a data hog but anyone willing to pay Time Warner to run new lines for thousands and thousands to my house I’ll quit using a 1000Gigs a month. I have College, EBay store, Amazon Store, Controller Modding company, YouTube and normal everyday use. And before anyone bashed me look at at how much data you use a month on Comcast, Uverse, Time Warner, and then say another word to me! Only difference is you have a faster more reliable connection then I do.
Glad I I kept my unlimited and unlimited mobile hotspot they were giving out when they were the phone company everyone wanted. My girlfriend and I both have unlimited with unlimited mobile hotspot. My thing is why give us unlimited and unlimited tethering for a extra $29 a month then try to rip it out from under us and say you can only use this little bit??
We pay $150 for just data on 3 lines. 3 with unlimited data for $29.99 and 2 of those lines with unlimited mobile hotspot for $29.99 each for 2 lines, then with the plan my bill is about $300 to $350 a month. Point being I pay for my data and use and most people don’t pay that for home data that is twice as fast and more reliable.
I know when I asked Verizon if I went on Share Everything with our lines and got a ok data plan they said it would cost me over $100 more then what I’m paying now. To me I’m already paying out that ass and can’t afford another $100 or possibly more.