"All the kids do it" was never something that worked with me when I was growing up and it didn’t work with my kids.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Verizon's defense of its plan
for handling heavy users of unlimited data plans.
Verizon had previously set up unlimited data plans for use with smartphones. These were okay when a common use was web access and the occasional file download. As apps with heavy data usage requirements became prevalent - video apps like Netflix and Youtube, audio like Pandora and iTunes Radio - "unlimited" started to become a significant issue. In fact, you can no longer buy unlimited data plans. If you have one, though, and you don't mind not signing a new contract - which also means paying full price for any replacement phone - you can continue using it. Evidently, some people are using it more than Verizon would like. The company plans to slow down these users when the network is busy.
Chairman Wheeler doesn't consider this a reasonable limit for "unlimited" users. Verizon responded that it has become a standard industry practice. And that's where Wheeler's comment above comes in.
Is it right for Verizon to change the rules on people with unlimited plans? Is it right for people who have a pre-existing agreement with Verizon to pay the price because the company didn't do a proper assessment of the true costs of their offers? Is it right for the government to insist that the company update its infrastructure to support the offers made to, then accepted by, their customers?
There are people who will say the market is right, and the government should stay out of it. There are those who say that it is the responsibility of the government to support the enforcement of contracts, and that the market doesn't mean much if contract terms can be ignored simply because they have become more expensive than when the contract was signed. The force of the Federal Government is not something that any company can withstand for extended periods, regardless of whether the government's case has merit. On the other hand, an individual user does not normally have any leverage over a company like Verizon, except as made available through government actions.
There appears to be a need, ultimately, to balance out the power differentials in both equations.The government needs to enforce lawful contracts, while avoiding abuses. And companies cannot be allowed to hide behind its customer's relative ignorance of their rights. It is easy to imagine these becoming the focal point of the Crisis - that people will demand more accountability from the government while also expecting companies to do the right thing.
It's not like Corporate America has a higher approval rating than the Feds.
Chairman Wheeler doesn't consider this a reasonable limit for "unlimited" users. Verizon responded that it has become a standard industry practice. And that's where Wheeler's comment above comes in.
Is it right for Verizon to change the rules on people with unlimited plans? Is it right for people who have a pre-existing agreement with Verizon to pay the price because the company didn't do a proper assessment of the true costs of their offers? Is it right for the government to insist that the company update its infrastructure to support the offers made to, then accepted by, their customers?
There are people who will say the market is right, and the government should stay out of it. There are those who say that it is the responsibility of the government to support the enforcement of contracts, and that the market doesn't mean much if contract terms can be ignored simply because they have become more expensive than when the contract was signed. The force of the Federal Government is not something that any company can withstand for extended periods, regardless of whether the government's case has merit. On the other hand, an individual user does not normally have any leverage over a company like Verizon, except as made available through government actions.
There appears to be a need, ultimately, to balance out the power differentials in both equations.The government needs to enforce lawful contracts, while avoiding abuses. And companies cannot be allowed to hide behind its customer's relative ignorance of their rights. It is easy to imagine these becoming the focal point of the Crisis - that people will demand more accountability from the government while also expecting companies to do the right thing.
It's not like Corporate America has a higher approval rating than the Feds.
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