Verizon to customers: No more data gobbling for you
Customers who take too big a bite of data each month will have to migrate to one of Verizon's new limited data plans or face expulsion, according to blog site Droid Life.
Verizon customers may face trouble if they chew up too much data.
Verizon subscribers who chew off lots of 4G data under an unlimited plan better enjoy it while it lasts.
The company is cooking up an Unlimited Data Plan Migration for people who use the highest amount of unlimited data, Android news blogger Droid Life said on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources. On Thursday, the biggest data gobblers will start getting notices from Verizon that their accounts have been flagged and they will have to make tough choices if they want to remain with the carrier.
Carriers that offer unlimited data plans are in a sticky situation. Promising unlimited data has been used as a lure to capture more customers who don't have to worry about bumping into monthly limits. But a small percentage of subscribers have taken advantage of that feature by using an excessive amount of data, which taxes the carrier's network.
Subscribers who do get tapped for guzzling up an "extraordinary" amount of data will have until August 31 to switch to one of the new tiered Verizon plans, which offer a fixed amount of data per month at a certain price. If those subscribers don't make the move, their lines will be disconnected, according to Droid Life. They'll then have up to 50 days to reactivate their account but will still have to switch to a tiered plan.
Verizon is "notifying a very small group of customers on unlimited plans who use an extraordinary amount of data that they must move to one of the new Verizon Plans by August 31, 2016," a company spokesman confirmed to CNET.
"These users are using data amounts well in excess of our largest plan size (100GB)," the spokesman added. "While the Verizon Plan at 100GB is designed to be shared across multiple users, each line receiving notification to move to the new Verizon Plan is using well in excess of that on a single device."
