Verizon announces month to month service

[Tony Perkins]

Announcement from verizon... this sure sounds like having a month to month data connection (data card) could be a possibility if you buy the card outright. Keep your fingers crossed.

Snippet:

Verizon Wireless new Month-to-Month agreement gives customers the freedom to purchase new devices at full-retail price, or use their own CDMA devices without the commitment of a one- or two-year contract. Additionally customers can terminate their agreement at the end of any month without paying an Early Termination Fee.

The companys Month-to-Month agreement is now available on all Nationwide Voice and Data plans for both new and current contract customers. Current contract customers must fulfill the terms of their current contract before moving to a Month-to-Month agreement.

 

[Tim Kosier]

That would be great news,Tony do have any idea how much the new data card cost retail? I have had the 1st card they put out for a long time and way past my agreement. It would be nice not to pay for this all year long when only using it part of the year

 

[rdale]

I'd highly suggest you get a card for that purpose off E-Bay. If you click the link, you can see Verizon's hardware prices, then find similar parts on auction.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

This is exactly what I did with Altell. I bought my card on eBay. Then, I went into a store and had it activated. Just be careful and remember to turn it off after chasing season is over. If buying a card from eBay, make sure you get one with a clean ESN number and from a company with a very high positive rating. A card with a used ESN could very well have a very high balance still outstanding that the cell company tries to nail you with when you go to activate it.

 

[Melanie Kern-Favilla]

I'm not sure how this stuff works, but...

On verizon's site, I found this card: AirCard® 595:

I can't really seem to link to this page, but it retails for $269 on the month-to-month option.

I can just do an ebay search for this card and purchase it, then taking it to a verizon store and they'll activate it? If it's listed as 'new in box', should I be safe if the feedback is good?

thanks...

 

[Jason Foster]

and an answer to the bandwidth issue.

This could also be the answer to the 5mb bandwidth restriction.....as you just add one or two more accounts during high chase season traffic times. Track your usage....then when the limit approaches, just switch to the next account...and boom you got another 5mb to play with.

 

[rdale]

At $60/month, that's a lot of money per account!

 

[Richard Dickson]

I agree that $60 per month is quite a bit for multiple accounts, but in one respect you are paying $720 per year now and actually using it for one to six months depending on your chasing location and desires. If you are only out for two months a year, you could have four accounts and still be cheaper than you are now. Having to acquire a seperate aircard for each account would mitigate part or all of the savings.

It would also be helpful to know how much bandwidth you actually use. I was VERY surprised to find out that I had only used 240mb of data during two seperate one week chases. I expected a lot more that that considering all of the pages that I looked at and the charts that I downloaded. You may not even be anywhere close to the 5gb limit.

Either way, having the option for month to month is outstanding in my thinking.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I can just do an ebay search for this card and purchase it, then taking it to a verizon store and they'll activate it? If it's listed as 'new in box', should I be safe if the feedback is good?

thanks...

Check the eBay ad. If it says that it will work on Verizon's network, is brand, spankin' new, and the seller has a good feedback rating, there shouldn't be a problem. As far as I know, nothing says you HAVE to buy the equipment from Verizon. For all they knew, your cousin's, father's, brother's, former roommate bought the card, then changed their mind and gave it to you.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Altell and AT&T have had this for years so I am not sure why its that big of a deal. And remember if you are still under an old verizon account you are grandfathered at the unlimited use plan untill you cancel it .

 

[Brian Hurst]

Alltel and verizon should work on the same network won't they.When you activate with alltel they charge you an activated fee that first bill is scary!

 

[david diehl]

Altell and AT&T have had this for years so I am not sure why its that big of a deal. And remember if you are still under an old verizon account you are grandfathered at the unlimited use plan untill you cancel it .

I think I am confused here, you are talking unlimited plan, does this mean the 5gb cap is gone, or just a figure of speach?

 

[Jim Zandonai]

I have a verizon Wireless account and used the cell phone as a tether to the laptop..This way I pay 60.00 mo. for the data plan but not on a contract and go month to month. My understanding is if you go with a card its like getting a second phone number thus the contract. With tethering from a cell you can go mo. to mo. since you are still using your existing number. Thats the way it worked as of a couple months ago.
It worked well..sometimes I would lose the connection but that could probably happen with a card as well. but the Mo.-Mo. option with tethering was alot better then paying 60.00 mo when not chasing.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

Altell and AT&T have had this for years so I am not sure why its that big of a deal. And remember if you are still under an old verizon account you are grandfathered at the unlimited use plan untill you cancel it .

Are you referring to an unlimited plan or a 5 GB cap? I can tell you for a fact that as of this season, Altell did not have a cap.

I have a verizon Wireless account and used the cell phone as a tether to the laptop..This way I pay 60.00 mo. for the data plan but not on a contract and go month to month. My understanding is if you go with a card its like getting a second phone number thus the contract. With tethering from a cell you can go mo. to mo. since you are still using your existing number. Thats the way it worked as of a couple months ago.

The contracts have nothing to do with getting a second phone number for an air card. Cell phone contracts are basically a compromise between you and the provider. They sell you the equipment at a highly discounted rate, but in return you have to agree to use their service for a certain length of time or pay a huge cancellation fee. This is to prevent you from buying a cell phone from them at a great price and then running to a cheaper service provider. If you buy the phone or data card at full price, they don't make you sign a 1-year or 2-year contract because they aren't having to make up for the discounted sale.

The reason why your data plan is month-to-month is because you tether your phone to your laptop. You already had the phone. You didn't require any new equipment.

 

[Jason Foster]

Maybe now is the time to push for Sprint to offer a Month to Month option, as it seems to be an option from their competitors....Then we'd all be set...bring multiple cards, multiple carriers...all for a short period we need it. Then we should have nearly 100% coverage, and as mentioned before...no bandwidth max to worry about. Hooray for competition.