Verizon explains why it’s throttling its ‘unlimited’ data customers

[Mooshi]

I'm still snickering how Canadians thought Verizon in their country would have been a good thing.

[Zims]

Are they not open for a class action law suit?

Breaking contracts and so on.

[dalekphalm]

Wind Mobile Unlimited Master Race reporting for duty.

 

Does the lack of service in some area suck? A little. 

 

Does the 30 a month for unlimited everything for as long as I stay with them rule? Yup. Especially since its fair game with ANY phone I ever bring over, and since WP8 phones have AWS and Apple got on board the unlocked phone bandwagon (with all bands unlocked), I have little reason to ever leave Wind.

I would jump on Wind Mobile in a heart beat if they had but one thing: LTE

 

Unfortunately their entire network is legacy 3G HSPA/UMTS. Now, granted, it's not entirely their fault:

1. The spectrum auctions in Canada are heavily biased towards the big 3 incumbents (Bell, Rogers, Telus).

2. Their financial backer for the auction backed out.

 

However, as an end user, unfortunately that's not my problem. So now I must decide between:

Fast service from the big 3 (or their subsidiaries like Koodo, Fido, Virgin, etc) but with limited Data Plans, or

Slow service but Unlimited Data/Calling from Wind Mobile.

 

Also one thing of note is that Wind has a Fair Use policy that will throttle data connections down to, what, 2G speeds? past a certain usage (No idea what that usage is, mind you). So it's basically the same thing that Verizon is doing...

 

Edit: Here's the doc: http://www.windmobile.ca/docs/default-source/default-document-library/data-fair-usage-policy

 

Basically regular Wind Mobile customers get 5GB of Data, and Premium subscribers get 10GB of Data. After either, your speeds are throttled to 256 KB/s down, 128 KB/s up.

[bob345]

i  really hate how these companies are allowed to get away with these kinds of things. Well, at least they are telling their customers about it this time around.

[Xquisite]

I hate Verizon even when I'm on the other side of the globe.

[BallGum]

This is so stupid. Don't throttle your highest paying customers. Buy better equipment (does it work that way?). Now I'm going to be throttled. Just plain stupid.

B-b-b-but that's how good companies operate...

[SixtyDashOne]

They're trying to coerce people out of their unlimited plans. ATT is doing the same. I've read reports of people with "unlimited" plans in some regions receiving notification and then being throttled after going over 2 gigs of data in a month. 2 gigs! With an "unlimited" plan. WTF are you kidding me? And they throttle it to prehistoric dialup speeds to the point where it's basically unusable.

 

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the tethering plans these ISP's have. If I'm already paying for "unlimited" data, what does it matter whether that data is going through my phone or tablet or whatever else. Why should I have to pay extra to create a wifi hotspot and route my "unlimited" data through my phone and into my tablet or laptop. It's total bullshit.

 

The biggest swindlers in the USA nowadays are these ISP's. They rape their customers every which way from Sunday and the government apparently doesn't give a shit so we have nothing to keep them in check. They just do as they please.

[Jodomcfrodo]

B-b-b-but that's how good companies operate...

They're in the business of making money. Not in the business of making their customers happy. Besides ISP's, what other industry can displease their customers and still be in business?

[dalekphalm]

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the tethering plans these ISP's have. If I'm already paying for "unlimited" data, what does it matter whether that data is going through my phone or tablet or whatever else. Why should I have to pay extra to create a wifi hotspot and route my "unlimited" data through my phone and into my tablet or laptop. It's total bullshit.

While you're right, it's all just Data, the justification is that using a PC or Laptop is going to naturally use more bandwidth than a phone. I know there are some power phone users who use upwards of several TB of data, but generally speaking it's significantly easier to use more data on a PC then on a phone.

 

With that in mind, I do think that ISP's who offer unlimited should actually offer unlimited.

[SixtyDashOne]

While you're right, it's all just Data, the justification is that using a PC or Laptop is going to naturally use more bandwidth than a phone. I know there are some power phone users who use upwards of several TB of data, but generally speaking it's significantly easier to use more data on a PC then on a phone.

 

With that in mind, I do think that ISP's who offer unlimited should actually offer unlimited.

 

Right. I think for most consumers when they think "Unlimited" they think "Unlimited". Not "Unlimited to a certain point and then we nerf your connection to the point where it's so slow you're going to stop using it."

[dalekphalm]

Right. I think for most consumers when they think "Unlimited" they think "Unlimited". Not "Unlimited to a certain point and then we nerf your connection to the point where it's so slow you're going to stop using it."

You're right, but the average person doesn't read their mobile or internet contracts to begin with... They sign away without a care. Half the problem is education of the masses. READ YOUR FUCKING CONTRACT/SERVICE AGREEMENT! In a nutshell

[Kingofpants]

Guys, it's completely fair they throttle people using a LOT of data in congested places.

First of all-

Is it fair you would have to upgrade to unlimited if your don't want bad speed?

Second of all-

This won't be an excuse to making more equipment. Due to the way Cell towers work they will put down a new one but it takes time.

[dalekphalm]

Guys, it's completely fair they throttle people using a LOT of data in congested places.

First of all-

Is it fair you would have to upgrade to unlimited if your don't want bad speed?

Second of all-

This won't be an excuse to making more equipment. Due to the way Cell towers work they will put down a new one but it takes time.

Well first off, Speed and Data usage are two different things. If you pay for a specific tier of package, with a certain speed, you should get that speed.

 

Now yes, congestion can become a localized issue. But what Verizon should have done is this:

Announced the throttling with a clear and concise timeline of when new network expansion would be implemented that would alleviate the congestion, along with a written, legal contract saying that the throttling will only last until that time, with discounts (or other penalties to the ISP) if aforementioned timeline was not adhered to within reasonable means.

 

But that's too much to ask for with these companies, since they only give a shit about customers in so much as how much money they make from them.

[SixtyDashOne]

You're right, but the average person doesn't read their mobile or internet contracts to begin with... They sign away without a care. Half the problem is education of the masses. READ YOUR FUCKING CONTRACT/SERVICE AGREEMENT! In a nutshell

 

How about the people that signed up for "unlimited" when there was nothing in the contract about throttling? Isn't ATT breaching contract when they decide to throttle thereafter? In fact I just checked my contract and there is nothing in there about a cap on data usage or throttling.

 

You seem to be vehemently defending ISP's? What's your defense on this one?

[dalekphalm]

How about the people that signed up for "unlimited" when there was nothing in the contract about throttling? Isn't ATT breaching contract when they decide to throttle thereafter? In fact I just checked my contract and there is nothing in there about a cap on data usage or throttling.

 

You seem to be vehemently defending ISP's? What's your defense on this one?

Actually if you read my statements, I'm most certainly not defending the ISP's. But rather, I'm forcing people to think critically. First off, for your contract, does it specifically state that it disallows throttling, or guarantees that your speed will be uninterrupted?

 

And guess what, if you read it and find that these new practices ARE in violation of your contract, then you should consult an attorney and sue them for breach of contract. Unfortunately the legal system in the US isn't exactly very sympathetic to people without money though so finding someone to represent you that is affordable? I can't say how hard that would be.

 

But come on, you have to admit that most people do not read their contract. That's half the problem. If everyone read their contract and actually realized what they're signing up for, the ISP's would never have gotten away with half the bullshit they do in the first place. Part of that is the fault of the ISP for using difficult to understand "legalese" but part of that is also because most people don't even bother reading the contract at all.

 

Here in Canada, recent legislation has been implemented to help make contracts easier to understand by the average person, so that they know, in plain English (Or French, oh-HO *ba-da-ding*), what they're signing up for.

 

As I said, half the problem is education of the masses. They get away with this - in part - because we let them. I would be very surprised if there wasn't some legal notation in your contract giving them the power to alter the terms of the deal within certain parameters, especially of said parameters (such as throttling) were never mentioned in the contract to begin with.

 

Again, if this violates your existing contract, then do something about it. Raise awareness. Start a petition. Hire a lawyer. Call Verizon and demand they stop or demand a discount/refund for the inconvenience.

[JAKEBAB]

OMFG u have so much god damn money upgrade your network so there is no god damn congestion even if everyone was on unlimited!