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How To Get Gouged Less By Verizon's New Fees For Cell Phone Data Usage
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 7, 2011
Modified Jul 7, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 7, 2011
Modified Jul 7, 2011
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As you may have heard, today Verizon is starting to charge new customers for data usage. Big Red has been planning this for a while now, following in the footsteps of AT&T and T Mobile (Sprint is now the only major provider to offer free unlimited data). Those who already have contracts with Verizon with unlimited data plans will have their unlimited status grandfathered in, but newcomers will be required to choose from a three-tiered pricing plan: $30 for 2GB of data, $50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB.
Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney says 95 percent of customers currently use less than 2 gigabytes of data, but CNET notes that with 2 gigabytes of data, a customer can stream a little more than 2 hours of music or stream 35 minutes of video each day for a month. That's not much! To help soften the blow, Adriana Lee at Business Insider has come up with some handy tips for managing your data. Among them: Download apps, games, music, podcasts on Wi-Fi only, watch for applications that use location data in the background, and check your email accounts and set them for manual download.
Business Insider has more data-saving tips on their website, and mercifully none of them include turning off the damn phone and being open and available to those around you in the present moment.
Tagged
cell phones
data
data usage
droid
iphone
verizon
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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