Verizon Wireless: 'unlimited EV-DO' really means 5 GB a month

We've already heard reports where consumers have their unlimited EV-DO accounts shut down by Verizon Wireless. CyberNet News did some reviewing of the current Verizon Wireless TOS and it's now relatively explicit: if you're eating through 5 GB of bandwidth per month, you're summarily presumed guilty of using the service in manners not allowed, i.e.: streaming audio or video, running a server, etc...

While I can understand the business need to cap the service, I don't understand how the company can advertise that service as "unlimited". Yes, Verizon Wireless needs to ensure there's enough room in the pipe for all of their paying customers, but if you have a stated limit, then it's not really "unlimited", is it? I also don't get some of the restrictions as one of them is an "automated data feed"; you could loosely apply that definition to an RSS reader, Twitter, IM clients and more. Oh, and no redirecting a television signal either...the Sling and Orb folks might want to look into that one...

Comments

[Kevin White]

this is a pretty common problem. Comcast does the same thing, although apparently they will not divulge what the cap is. They simply say, 'excessive use'. If you look at your TOS (I don't think Comcast has contracts per se) you will see that indeed they can turn you off for excessive use.

The reason is probably because ISPs oversubscribe, meaning they sign up more users than their network would handle if each of them used their maximum allotted bandwidth. I seem to recall that airlines often do the same thing, selling more seats than are available on a plane with the assumption that people will cancel. (I could be wrong about that one.)

[Scotty]

Verizon's unlimited service has other issues as well. Zinio downloads were often interrupted for me and anything over 50MB generally got clipped at 50MB whether it was done downloading or not.

I had CIngular's HSDPA running at the same time and Verizon's behavior made Cingular the clear winner for me. (I'm now an ex-Verizon customer)

Some of the buses here in Seattle now provide free WiFi with what feels like Verizon Broadband service for the Internet connection. Free takes much of the pain out of the clipped downloads. :-)

But I find myself more often than not switching back to CIngular for better performance and the ability to complete downloads on the go. It's just easier to flip open the MBP and have it auto-connect to the bus than to the Samsung ZX20 (you have to USB tether to get more than ~500Kbps.) I guess I should break down and get the HSDPA Express Card...

[Shep]

I just had my air card acct cancelled today. Verizon would not reconnect my service but they did allow me to open a new line for a $35 fee. All this due to my watching YouTube videos...I had no idea. Now of course I don't dare watch any streaming media...this sucks big time.

[Tim Marman]

This is crap.

And with the speeds I've been getting lately, I'd be hardpressed to come close to 5GB a month.

As much as I loved EVDO, I think I'm going to have to move on when my contract is up. I wonder if Rev a is actually any better in a saturated market like NYC.

[Doc]

Why is nobody talking about Sprint here? Is it worse coverage? I've had my PPC6700 for a year and half and my Novatel PC Card for about the same time. I stream audio about 6 hours a day and video for another 3 hours. I know my usage is getting up there. I've never heard a peep about paying for excessive usage. Why are people just not switching to Sprint?

[MiniMage]

Doc, people say we Sprint users endure too many dropped calls. I haven't noticed this, myself (have you?), but I'm no cellular connoisseur. I've only been with Sprint, my first mobile carrier, since 2001, and I've no intentions to leave, though all my friends did. On the other hand, I did notice my Cingular phone (work) couldn't make calls to the job site tonight, while other phones could; wonder what that was about.

[shadizar]

I have been consistently using my V640 Verizon aircard for the last 4 months trying to see if verizon will shut off my service. This started about the time I saw the first report that Verizon was doing this. I have downloaded over 100Gigs of information in the last 4 months and have yet to receive a shut off notification or suspension of service. Throttling of the service is my only issue, but still 500kbps which is within the limits promised by the service.

[Christopher]

You guys really can't complain because you're the cause of the whole problem. If nobody had bought any locked phones or restrictive services, they wouldn't be selling it.

Vote with your wallet.. If you don't buy what they're selling, they will be forced to change. That's the way business works - big or small. Period.

But you NEED a cellular phone? No you don't. You got along just fine without them before they existed.