Enjoy your all-you-can-eat data plan while you can because mobile data’s future is tiered pricing. In a sign of where the industry is headed, Verizon has confirmed that its 4G LTE network will not use the “unlimited” model that’s in place today. Instead customers will be charged for buckets of data. PhoneScoop has the…uh…scoop:
Speaking at a conference this week, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said that it will not offer unlimited use of its Long Term Evolution network, and will instead use tiered pricing programs. McAdam indicated that customers will “buy buckets of data by the megabyte.”
RPadholic smartguy felt that this is what 4G would lead to and I agreed with him when he mentioned it. This is the first time I can recall an executive from one of the “big four” mobile providers confirming tiered pricing for LTE. While it costs a lot of money to deploy new technology, it will actually be cheaper for mobile carriers to send and receive data with LTE than it is with current tech. I’m curious to see what the new pricing schemes will be like; the cynic in me sees mobile carriers making more money than ever with data-hungry phones and tiered pricing. *sigh*
I wonder how the tiers will be. I hope theyre not like when data plans first came out for cell phones.
I read that as well. It seems a bucket of bytes for many devices. As in a shared pool. I don't like the way it sounds. Given their current pricing of what a meg costs ( see the price for the feature phones) I am not happy about the prospects.
Sprint is already charging more for data when EVO is released.
I seriously see a slap in the face of $50 for 750mb.
@smartguy
thats true, which for at&t data services for laptops it's $60.00 with a 5gb cap. I'd rather have that then your projected 750mb=$50
@tokz
yeah but it's so asinine of them to have such a premium price on voice minutes. Lower the cost of voice by at least 50% and then I don't mind the raise in data pricing. Or let me use VOIP instead of an old circuit connection. Amazing that they charge a premium on 15 year old and in some cases much older tech that was paid for a long time ago.
I bet it is something like $50 for less tha a gig plus a $5 surcharge on every device connected to the network. The goal is to get ppl paying overages or funnel everyone into the highest tier.
@smartguy
tell me about it. I read somewhere that people are texting more now than talking. If we are no longer clogging up phone lines why not reduce the voice plans. It just makes sense to the consumer but it doesn't make dollar$ and cents for them.
@tokz
if you pay for an alottment of bytes, shouldn't they guarantee a speed? With unlimited consumers can be somewhat forgiving but ppl become real furious when they are being nickel and dimed. Also since you pay for the bytes, I would hope they wouldn't restrict your tethering ability or how you use the data.
@smartguy
that's a good point. I never thought of that. if i'm paying for those bytes upfront or monthly then i should be able to choose the speed i get at it too, whether it's 3G, Edge, or 4G. I don't use my laptop outside of my home that much so tethering isn't much of a concern but it would hurt me a couple of months when i am on the road. *sighs* i hate you telco's!
@tokz
funny how a forward thinking company says the future is in the dial up pricing model.
I am willing to bet that Sprint doesn't do Tiers in order to steal business with Wimax. They need it. Tmo will churn HSDPA until it is no longer relevant. AT&T is an enigma. Either the greedy board will adopt the asinine model (the one where you get less but pay more and providing it is cheaper) or they will stick with buffet style to compete with Verizon.
I honestly can see a class action lawsuit in the future against the tiers that aren't reasonable.
I hope AT&T doesn't move to this because I use an average of 5gb per month currently. My last bill said 4,876,134 bytes used.
@smartguy
sometimes the best con's or the simplest ones.
@slicky
Wow, i've never bothered to check that. you use a BB phone right?
@Tokz
Yeah I use my BB Bold. But 99% of it is from being tethered at work (like now). Sometimes I like to "stick it" to AT&T and will torrent via my phone.
LOL
hahaha.