Comments on: Verizon is Evil (and some personal finance links)

By: Jason @ One Money Design

Jason @ One Money Design — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:12:56 +0000

I’m honored to be listed with such great posts. Thanks for mentioning my post!

By: kosmo @ The Casual Observer

kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:04:55 +0000

I look this up for Verizon. Their lowest bundle of text messages is 250/month for $5.

Their data packages are:
Pay per use – $1.99 per MB
25 MB – $9.99
75 MB – $19.99

So, trying to push people away from 4Info and toward their data packages would be to their advantage – especially if people retained text messages for things such as school closings.

Will they lose some people who decide to drop the text messaging and NOT replace it with mobile internet? Sure. I’m not saying that their logic is correct – just trying to suggest what their motivation might be.

By: kosmo @ The Casual Observer

kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:57:52 +0000

With two recent providers (but not my current one), I had unlimited incoming text messages included in the cost of the package. Currently, I pay $5 for up to 200 text messages a month. In all three cases, I would have considered adding internet if I didn’t have 4Info … but since I have them, there’s not much point, since 4Info gives me the majority of what I need for a fraction of the cost.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:23:52 +0000

I don’t know if I buy the paid Internet service. Surely, getting people to use more text messages is a good thing for revenue. That is, unless they have unlimited text messages and paid Internet, but it makes no sense to have one unlimited and one pay as you go. Verizon should just adjust their plans if this is the case.

By: Kosmo @ The Casual Observer

Kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:45:11 +0000

Thanks for the link, Lazy Man.

One thought I had is that perhaps Verizon realizes that a certain group of customers are using 4Info to completely replace Verizon’s pay internet service on their phone. This is definitely what I use 4Info for (albeit with a different provider). In the old days (meaning 2000) I had internet on a cell phone … but all I really used it for was sports scores. I don’t need the mobile internet – I just need to know how Troy Tulowitzki did in his last at bat.

It really seems like Verizon is trying squeeze money out of both sides of the transaction (much like the ISPs are doing with regards to net neutrality). I paid you for the opportunity to receive text messages (either explicitly or as part of the base cost of the package). Why should Verizon care if a text message comes from my wife (typically, she does not include advertisements) or 4Info? Is their processing cost for the 4Info message higher?

This seems really stupid in the long run. If Verizon will stoop to this level, what else will they do in the future? This move eroded that last bit of respect I had for the company. (Where did the rest of the respect go? Read the article that Lazy linked to and you’ll find out.)