Verizon's New Plans Make Sense To Nobody Except Verizon (theverge.com) 32
An anonymous reader shares a report: Hey, did you hear? Verizon has incredibly, out of the goodness of its heart, revealed new phone plans that don't include "bloated" service bundles. How thoughtful! There's just one catch: they're kinda less expensive, except not really, because things that used to be included are now an extra $10 per month each.
On the surface, the new plans sound simpler than the current Get More, Play More, etc. There are two options -- an expensive one and a bit less expensive one -- and you add the extra services you want, like the Disney / Hulu bundle or Apple Music Family a la carte. That's nice in theory, but if you're switching from one of the current unlimited plans, it's very likely you'll need to pay more if you want the same things you used to get included in your monthly rate. [...] On top of all that, these plans are just plain confusing. There's an old plan called "Welcome Unlimited" and a new plan called "Unlimited Welcome." Great, makes perfect sense. Also, Verizon is still playing its cute little game of not including "Ultra Wideband" mid-band 5G on its lower-tier plan, only the much slower "Nationwide" version, which is largely just LTE dressed up as 5G.
On the surface, the new plans sound simpler than the current Get More, Play More, etc. There are two options -- an expensive one and a bit less expensive one -- and you add the extra services you want, like the Disney / Hulu bundle or Apple Music Family a la carte. That's nice in theory, but if you're switching from one of the current unlimited plans, it's very likely you'll need to pay more if you want the same things you used to get included in your monthly rate. [...] On top of all that, these plans are just plain confusing. There's an old plan called "Welcome Unlimited" and a new plan called "Unlimited Welcome." Great, makes perfect sense. Also, Verizon is still playing its cute little game of not including "Ultra Wideband" mid-band 5G on its lower-tier plan, only the much slower "Nationwide" version, which is largely just LTE dressed up as 5G.
why? (Score:3)
why on earth would someone pay $80+ a month for a cell phone plan when ~$35 from any of the MVNO's delivers roughly the same level of service?
Re:why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes and no. I switched from the usurious 3-figure plan I was on with VZW to their own "Visible" MVNO, porting the same number to them.
Same network, they said. Same great coverage and speeds, they said. Well, not so much.
I started with their $45 "Unlimited everything* (except the exceptions) plan and they could never get my VM notifications working and it broke the connection I had with Google Voice. Customer service is text-based and outsourced to the low bidder - they can do fuck-all to help with anything. So I stepped down to the $30 plan that said "you may be throttled after X usage or in congested areas". LOL ok whatever, it can't be worse. Narrator: "It was".
It seems desperation is kicking in, because I just got an offer to 'upgrayydd' to the old $45 plan for a mere $5 more. The catch is the price is no longer locked, and it can be increased whenever the CFO says "we need more revenue".
Fuck these parasites.
Re: why? (Score:2)
Re:why? (Score:4, Insightful)
Corporations get so big that competition is more theoretical than real and they can charge what the market will bear.
Re: (Score:3)
I have been using Visible for over 3 years, my wife in on Verizon. We get the same speeds in the same places. I have never experienced throttling.
And the ultra-wideband 5g will never be usable just like Sprint's WiMax.
Re: why? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
why on earth would someone pay $80+ a month for a cell phone plan when ~$35 from any of the MVNO's delivers roughly the same level of service?
When it comes to the general stupidity and incompetence of humans to survive on their own these days, "roughly" defines large areas where humans would normally DIE without service. And I mean that literally.
That, is why Verizon "nationwide" service sells. People are stupid and incompetent, and need that level of service.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
On top of all that, these plans are just plain confusing.
Yes, that's the entire point of having them. If 90% of the public can't figure out which plan they need and of the remaining 10%, 9% sort-of can but can't be bothered navigating the infinite options and variants to get the optimal deal, everyone ends up paying extra for a bunch of stuff they don't need and Verizon wins.
Re: (Score:2)
Not sure what a MVNO is...?
But I have Verizon....business acct.
I have my phone, a tablet and my watch on it with unlimited. I think with taxes and fees that's a bit over $100 or so? I'd have to go look.
But one reason I picked Verizon a long time ago and kept it...was coverage.
I'd had Sprint and ATT back in the days and in the New Orleans area where I live...it wa
Re: why? (Score:1)
What about international use... (Score:1)
I used to travel internationally often, and Verizon was not a great deal because you had to pay a fair bit for international data... T-Mobile is much better in that regard, with unlimited though slow speed, and you could pay extra for a faster connection while abroad.
Re:What about international use... (Score:5, Informative)
Now that we're in the era of eSIMs, I just provision a local eSIM on my phone via an app on wifi. Why the hell would anyone pay Verizon $15/day for data in a different country when you can get a local plan for $6/week? Sure, it's metered, but how much data do you need when you're traveling and not staring at your phone all day? Use WiFi where available, and if you run out, just top up for another $6.
Did this just last week while in Canada for a few days. All problems solved in 5 minutes for $6.
Verizon, ATT, and TMo can all piss up a rope.
Re: (Score:1)
Why the hell would anyone pay Verizon $15/day for data in a different country when you can get a local plan for $6/week?
Why would I pay $6 a week when I can get data for free in just about any country...
I have to admit eSim is a lot easier to make use of than traditional SIM cards, but I still find it annoying to have to think about it. But at least it's a good option if you have to have Verizon or AT&T for whatever reason.
Re: (Score:2)
It's funny when VZW & others say not 2 use random open WAPs & 2 stick with cell for better security.
As a long time VZW subscriber... (Score:3)
One word for all the fuckery:
Brand.
US Mobile for the win (Score:3)
$25/month for 15gb of data, unlimited talk and text. Switched from Verizon, cut my bill by more than half on two lines.
Fuck Verizon.
Re: (Score:2)
Where I live, I can get Tracfone, ATT or VZ, that's it AFAICT. Nothing else has offered to let me have an account at this address. Verizon it is, sigh.
Re: (Score:3)
The verizon network is the common denominator, but only Verizon Wireless-branded service will get you "premier" network priority; all others are a notch lower on the priority list when the network is "congested."
Re: (Score:2)
Alas, I live in a little town and Verizon gives zero fucks about us. My signal at home is piss-poor. We had a quake with an attendant power outage and Verizon failed to bring us a generator that they claimed they were deploying, so my phone did nothing for over a day.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, to be fair, I don't expect to have a 10 acre plot of land, living in the city either.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know where you're going with that. I used to live on 13 acres in the country, and I had poor cellphone service there but I expected it. Now I live on no acres in a "city" (albeit a tiny one) and I still have poor cellphone service, and it's because Verizon is a bad joke at my expense (and that of others.)
Re: (Score:2)
Simply that it is important to have realistic expectations.
If you live in an area of poor Verizon coverage, you can't expect to have good Verizon service.
Re: (Score:2)
If you live in an area of poor Verizon coverage, you can't expect to have good Verizon service.
Wow, syllogism. What an amazing addition to an already boring conversation.
Makes sense to me (Score:1)
If you don't watch the garbage like Disney plus, then what exactly is so confusing to the "Anonymous reader"?
I think he's not so smart. If you want those extra services, then why would you look at the non-bundled plans that don't include them??? It's clearly meant for people who don't want them.
I MUST be missing something here because the poster seems to be really confused.
Re: (Score:2)
Second, that sarcasm is how VZW is charging the same price but without the bundled services. Those bundled services are easier to add-on at a flat $10 monthly. So if your plan included Disney+ but you never used it, you'll have the luxury of paying the same price but without the bundled services. EASY PEASY, VERIZON MAKE MO' MONEY SUPER EASY.
5G Home Internet (Score:1)
If you're looking for home internet, Verizon's plans are nice in terms of speed and are competitively priced. I recently purchased it for more bandwidth, and it keeps up with more demanding things.
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Sounds illegal.. (Score:2)
Similar sounding and confusing names sounds like what the Better Business Bureau used to be called for. Not sure if anything happens these "post-law" days.