Verizon Wireless' "Share Everything" Is a Terrible Plan

Not for the reason you think.  But because Verizon's marketing team are a bunch of brilliant nerds who have managed to pitch the perfect way to entice families to join Big Red.

In case you weren't paying attention Verizon Wireless no longer has unlimited data.  But that's not entirely true.  What they did is position the data in a way that makes no sense whatsoever.  In summary, a device that will use more data, pays less than a device that happens to use data but is not used for data primarily.  That's where the problems begin, and if they don't change the plans, I fear I won't be able to join the fun anytime soon.  They don't even have to get rid of the plan, just modify it slightly.  Let me explain.

I have had Verizon service for years, since around 2006 or thereabouts.  In that time I have been mostly satisfied with the service I've received.  They're a little expensive, but not dramatically so over the competitors.  Where they in is coverage: If I do drop a call, it's because I'm in some sort of shielded building, but I've even been able to make and take calls from underground at times.  The CDMA technology has a lot to do with this I'm sure.  I'm also a regular user of Verizon's 4G LTE, which can often be nearly as fast as my home internet.  I used it during the entire drive from California to Washington State, and while it did drop to 3G in remote places, it stayed 4G for the majority, which is impressive.

Being the borderline hermit that I am, and since I have no wife or kids, all I really need is a plan of my own that gets me through the day.  I don't make many calls - less than 100 minutes a month by my recent estimate.  But again, I do use and rely on data.  It's not primary, but I use it during commutes, which can be up to 2 hours a day.  That could be for turn-by-turn navigation, web searching, music streaming, or any other regular use case.  I'm not a heavy user by any means.  It just needs to work when I need it.  Currently I'm still on Verizon's unlimited data plan for 4G phones which means I don't have to worry or care about hitting or exceeding any sort of limit.  I just use it to my heart's content, and pay the $20/month that makes it happen.  Verizon's smallest voice plan is 450 minutes at $39.99 a month, so I'm stuck with that too.

With Verizon Wireless' new "Share Everything" plan, they are trying to appeal directly to families and households, rather than the single professional.  The single plans no longer exist.  If you sign up with Verizon now, you'll be forced into a "Share Everything" plan, even if you have no intention of using multiple devices.  What's worse the pricing is as anti-user as it gets.  There are three layers:  Basic Device, Data Only, and Smartphone Plans.  Let's start with Basic Device, because it's the most ridiculous.

In order to make sense of the above you need to see some terms.  There's "access" and then there's "device".  Normally these two are bundled as one price, a rate you pay based on how much you anticipate using it.  In the "Share Everything" world, they're two separate items.  This price schedule (and all of the later ones) are essentially saying that you'll pay a certain amount per month to access the Verizon Wireless network (on the right), PLUS a certain amount per month for the device to be used on the network (on the left).  So here, you're paying $30/month for the privilege of using a basic phone PLUS $10/month for 700 minutes, or $40/month for unlimited talk and text.  

Confused?  Don't feel bad.

Think of it as $40/month for basic cell service (Which is actually a ripoff, since others offer the same for $20-$30/month but not with as many minutes) or $70/month for an unlimited service and a tiny bit of data (which is a ripoff because others offer the same for $50/month).  There are higher access plan options available that give more data, but you're already at ripoff status.  What's more, the "basic phones" are totally insufficient for any sort of data use.  

Now, let's look at the Smartphone version of this plan.

Notice  the smartphone is $40/month, not $30/month.  Also, you'll notice the data tiers all have unlimited talk and text but varying amounts of data.  A smartphone is simply a device that has a larger screen and can get email.  That's it.   So, Verizon is basically punishing you for having a device capable of using that data, right.  But wait... before I go deeper I want to share the Data Only plans.

Here, we have hotspots, tablets, and home broadband.  As you can see the data tiers are SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than the smartphone plans on devices that would use way more data than smartphones.  This makes no sense whatsoever.  What these two plans are saying is that you're being forced, whether you truly need it or not, to pay $40/month extra for unlimited talk and text on every plan even if you don't do much talking or texting on your phone.  I find the Data Only plans to be quite reasonable and would happily pay $70-$80/month for 10GB of data, because it's highly unlikely I'd ever exceed that amount AND the single data plan used to give you 5GB of data for $60/month so this is a great deal.  Problem is, Data Only plans prohibit you from having a device capable of doing voice and/or text.

So let's take my situation.  I have two active lines, three lines purposely suspended.  Both are smartphones, one with unlimited data, one with 4GB data (which isn't enough).  Under Verizon's ideal situation, I'd be forced into the following scenario.  Note, my current monthly bill is around $160, and one phone has unlimited data.


Assuming nothing changes, my bill would go up $20 a month even though I lose unlimited data.  Not an ideal option at all.  The argument about "free mobile hotspot" is negated by the fact that if I were to add it on my current plan it would add $20, putting me to $180, and again, I've lost unlimited data.  That's also assuming I don't add any devices on any of my other lines of service, or that Verizon does not treat the suspended lines as "activated devices", because if they do, it then ups to $300/month which is simply ridiculous.  Mobile hotspot from phones don't work nearly as good as standalone hotspot jetpacks, anyway, especially with Windows 8 for some bizarre reason.

So what could Verizon do to make this transition easier?  Simple: Allow smartphones to stay on individual plans BUT allow other lines to take advantage of Data Only Share Everything for secondary devices.  This would then encourage people like myself to consider devices they wouldn't otherwise consider - such as a data-enabled tablet (I can't stand iPads, but would at least consider it if this were an option).  So then let's assume that I were to go with a standalone smartphone, drop two of my suspended lines, swap my second line for a jetpack, and do a tablet on the remaining line - combining the jetpack and tablet on a Data Only plan.

Add to this my current monthly smartphone rate of $60/month and you get $150 - $10/month less than what I'm paying now, but I get way more out of it and my smartphone still has unlimited data for itself to use.  This would be a no-brainer for me.  But Verizon's insistence that you swap all-or-nothing makes it extremely difficult.

I get that they're trying hard to get more families and households on board.  But the reality is that the single professionals are the ones that come to Verizon, and there has to be some consideration for us.  They don't lose much money that they can't otherwise make up in other ways.