8 Comments

Verizon to penalize heavy EV-Do users?!

April 8, 2006 by in Stupid,Tech with 8 Comments

According to ArsTechnica, Verizon seems more than disgruntled due to heavy EV-Do users. It seems that the convenience of broadband-like wireless connections through cellular towers is supposed to be used for light browsing or checking email:

BroadbandAccess’ increased usage is starting to raise warning flags for Verizon Wireless, which is threatening to implement a tiered pricing structure to punish the service’s heaviest users of bandwidth. Verizon would prefer its customers limit their BroadbandAccess usage to checking e-mail and non-bandwidth-intensive web browsing.

So all the advertising touting EV-Do usage is coming back to bite Verizon in the ass. What did they expect? EV-Do was born to surpass the snail like speeds of traditional wireless dial-up service. You offer customers DSL internet speeds through their mobile handsets, what else are customers to do?

Stories like this get me a little uneasy. Will the future hold nothing but tiered / metered services?


  • http://www.chrischaeffer.com chriSchaeffer

    I have been tempted to hook my Treo700w up to my laptop for wireless, but I am too nervous about getting my services cancelled according to Verizon’s user agreement.

    I dream of WiMax.

  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    Chris:

    Verizon is allowing some phones to tether some phones to computers for no added fee, but you must use a USB cable

    http://www.uneasysilence.com/archive/2006/02/5237/

  • http://www.chrischaeffer.com chriSchaeffer

    Thanks, I know that.

    I just got Verizon about two weeks ago.

  • http://blog.deadlycomputer.com steve

    i think for the most part, high speed wireless internet through mobile phones will paobably cost a decent amount of money.
    however, i think that within 2 years, google will be providing free high speed wi-fi to 90% of america.
    i know how much you dislike google Dan, but it probably will happen, and i’m sure that in the begining there will be people shouting that this is just another way for google to collect more information about users, but once they start to use it, they will forvige and forget.

    personally, i never use the internet through my phone, im far to lazy, and my email doesnt matter that much. i can wait an extra hour or so before i get to a computer to check it.

  • http://xavier.ashe.com Xavier Ashe

    I currently have Sprint and use it instead of the hotel broadband when I travel. And what do I with the 700-1000k connection? Play WoW. Hopefully, I will be getting a new Thinkpad T60, dual core, 3 gigs RAM, and….. built in Verizon broadband.

    I love no longer having to find a hotspot. Never again.

  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    I do Google, I just want the world to be aware of the potential for wide spread abuse this company has.

    Also Google has unquenchable desire to kill all the kittens in the world. Do you support a kitten killer? Didn’t think so! j/k

  • http://blog.deadlycomputer.com steve

    with great power comes great responsibility, sorry, though it was revelant.
    anyway, like all companies there will be tests for google to pass, and, i think that partly because sergey brin and larry page will always control the majority of the company, and always have a say in what happens, Google should be ok in most of those tests.
    sure there will be outcries by a select few, and those select few will be magnified by the power of the internet, but overall, i think google is a good comapany.

  • http://5thirtyone.com Derek

    personally, i can’t wait until google starts blanketing the nation with free wifi. that will get the cell companies off our backs about eating bandwidth. in order to keep any type of customer base on their evdo networks, they’ll have to lower their monthly prices down and offer the option to tether computers and the like to cell phones as standard. hell, if wifi coverage is great enough, we won’t need cell phones. we can start carrying voip phones in our pockets and sign on to the network of our choice without having to use our cdma / gsm handsets.

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