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Verizon Wireless changing pricing plans


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I am not terribly happy with this, but figured you may want to know.

 

http://www.androidcentral.com/verizon-launches-share-everything-plans

 

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=3dbf90e0-1681-4a68-a38a-4548e75e97e0

 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57450763-94/verizon-unveils-share-everything-family-plans-for-data/

 

Basically, goodbye unlimited data. If you want to remain grandfathered in to unlimited data, you have to pay full price for your phone.

 

In addition, all your data is shared among all devices on the plan.

 

You can keep your existing plans or switch to the new one with no charge.

 

And this all happens June 28.

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I am trying to figure out if we will save money, spend more, or break even. They aren't making it easy. We have 2 smartphones and 2 "dumb" phones on our plan - family share. The 2 dumb ones we do not want to turn in to smart phones (elderly MIL used for emergency purposes and 12yo dd who has an iTouch and I don't want to have full access at all times). We are one of those with the unlimited data, so now we have to figure out what our usage is to find out what kind of plan we get.

 

I see what they are doing. I get it. The world is not going backwards with this technology, and I can see that people with multiple devices might really like this. If you have two adults and two teens in your home, all who have smart phones, plus you might have an iPad and a Kindle Fire, etc, this will save you money.

 

At home we have an iMac and a MacBook on our wifi. In addition to the $220 we pay for cellphones, we pay $45 for wifi. *sigh* I guess we will have to opt for the lowest data plan and make sure that when we are home we are using our wifi only.

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For what it's worth, I'm going to try to get out of it.

 

"I'm ready to buy my upgrade and extend my contract! Oh. You're not honoring what you said about being grandfathered in? After we've been loyal customers for the past ten years? Okay. Well, let's not do the new phone then. I need to check out the plans at Sprint, since they offer unlimited data."

 

It may not work, but it's amazing how effective the let-me-talk-to-competitor tactic can be.

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I have a dumb phone....a really, really dumb phone. I talk maybe 10-15 minutes per month and buy minutes from Verizon fo 25cents per minute. Verizon is the only carrier that works in our area and I am not into texting and all that jazz. I only use my Kindle at home or at Barnes and Nobles or Starbucks where the WiiFi is free. I have absolutely NO need of one of these data plans with tons of minutes.

 

If they discontinue the pay as you go for dumb phones, I'm going to be mighty ticked because I will literally be unable to have a cell phone. Spring, At & T, you name it...it doesn't work in our dead spot of an area.

 

Faith

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For what it's worth, I'm going to try to get out of it.

 

"I'm ready to buy my upgrade and extend my contract! Oh. You're not honoring what you said about being grandfathered in? After we've been loyal customers for the past ten years? Okay. Well, let's not do the new phone then. I need to check out the plans at Sprint, since they offer unlimited data."

 

It may not work, but it's amazing how effective the let-me-talk-to-competitor tactic can be.

 

I was just thinking the same. In reality, when I'm at home or work, my iPhone is on the wifi, as is my husband's droid. At the 10GB rates, it's the same price we're paying now.

 

Our tablet is wifi only, but their new price structure does nothing to encourage me to buy a dual connection one. How would that encourage anyone to buy an additional bandwidth sucking device? That's lame.

 

So, if I look at our data usage and see that we commonly go over 10GB, I guess we'll be calling Sprint. ;)

 

Eta: per my husband, we use under 4GB total per month. His wifi is not great, so he uses more. My iPhone is my primary surfing tool and I use .75 - 1.5GB/month. So, with the new rates, we could actually save money.

Edited by MyCrazyHouse
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I am extremely irritated. This is going to end up costing us $50-60 more a month. $30 for a regular phone? We have the lowest amount of mins for our family plan, and we never go over. I don't need unlimited talk mins. I am not crazy about loosing my unlimited data, but DD1 has the 2 gigs, uses her data probably more than I do, and has never gone over...so I can concede (with some grumbling) that we could get by without unlimited data. My problem is how much the per phone charge is. That is going to hurt! Dh has kept his dumbphone because we can't afford another $30 for a 2nd data plan (DD pays for hers.). This new plan will cost us at least $50 more--without adding anything we need/want.

 

In our area Verizon had the only decent coverage, so I feel really jerked around.

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I've been grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan for some time now. Truth is, I don't even USE my smart phone for data very often! When I am home (which is most of the time), I use the Kindle or laptop for internet. When I am out and about, the ONLY time I MIGHT use internet on my phone is to check email or look up directions on Mapquest. My husband, JUST got a new phone (a "dumb" phone) and my 2 older kids have "dumb" phones, too. Neither are allowed to get smart phones. Dd has an iPod Touch and ds has restricted internet use. This new plan would cost us $180! That is insane! I see that we don't have to switch to the new plan. But, if we ever do...bye-bye Verizon!

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I might be the only one here who has been eagerly awaiting this! :D

 

We have an ipad that uses Verizon, but our 'dumb' phones are on another carrier (limited minutes, no texting). With the new pricing we can both have smart phones and the ipad on the same plan for roughly the same amount we are paying now.

 

Plus, we live rurally and Verizon has the superior coverage around here. (cell phone signal currently does not reach our home). When the home fusion thing comes to our area (home internet from Verizon) we are going to jump on that too... right now we pay $70/month with severe data caps (a few Youtube videos wipes us out, so we can't utilize the many home school options that stream). This new pricing structure opens up internet access for us!

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This was shared with me on another message board, but worth checking out on your bill if they are indeed changing the terms of the agreement:

 

"Look for your provider to bury changes to Terms of Service with your bill. Quite often providers modify their service plans, much of the time the modification is a benefit. It doesn't matter, this voids the previous contract. Read the small print on those inserts included with your bill, it will spell out that you have 30 days (may vary on where you live) to cancel your contract with no charge simply because they changed the contract."

 

I will add to the above and say that the last time I tried to get out of the contract they did NOT tell me that up front. I had to dig and dig with the sales rep and she finally acted like she was doing me a HUGE favor by agreeing to let me out of the contract. She even said, "We don't normally do this." Um, you don't normally because people don't KNOW about it.

 

Just know that if they offer you anything extra and you take it, or you get a new phone, even within the 30 days, you are essentially signing a NEW agreement so you can't claim you didn't know and they changed the agreement on you.

 

Anyway, worth a shot.

 

Dawn

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We are on day 30 of 31 day cycle and dh and I combined have only used 342 MB. Not even 1/2 GB, right?

 

We are currently paying $85 for plan, plus $10 for his line, 15 for my data usage and 30 for his. That is 140. If we change to new plan we could purchase 1 GB and lower our bill to 130. (whoopee) However, does this mean I could put my kids on smart phones and they could share our 1 G for no extra charge? Not that I want them to have smart phones.

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Ugh. I have to dig into this and see what we want to do. My husband's phone is through work, so our Verizon bill is *just* my iphone. I am grandfathered into unlimited data, but I don't use that much, occasionally e-mail or looking up something online. Love the iphone but I'm just not a heavy user. Hmm...

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Does anyone have a link to the actual plans?

 

We don't have internet or texting on either of our phones (nor do we want it), but we do get unlimited internet for our computer via their "air card." I'm wondering how this will affect us. Where we live, this is the only way (other than dial up) that we can get internet. I can't imagine wanting a limited plan at any price.

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This makes me pretty angry. My dh has a smart phone, I have a "dumb" phone. He barely uses any data at all. We don't text (in fact had that feature turned off) and stay well under our 1400 minutes. If I am reading the press release correctly, when it comes time for us to renew, we'll actually be paying...let's see, my phone 30 + his phone 40 =required data 50= 120....let's add all those fees, taxes, and bloodletting...we'll be paying at least $20 more per month. And as Verizon is really the only company that has decent coverage for our area and my husband's jobs require cells w/o providing them...we have no choice. Too bad our income doesn't go up at the same time. Hmmm...pay the phone bill or buy school books?

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We are on day 30 of 31 day cycle and dh and I combined have only used 342 MB. Not even 1/2 GB, right?

 

We are currently paying $85 for plan, plus $10 for his line, 15 for my data usage and 30 for his. That is 140. If we change to new plan we could purchase 1 GB and lower our bill to 130. (whoopee) However, does this mean I could put my kids on smart phones and they could share our 1 G for no extra charge? Not that I want them to have smart phones.

 

Ugh, I read further and it looks like the charge for dumb phones is now 30 instead of 9.99. So it will cost us more.

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We are on day 30 of 31 day cycle and dh and I combined have only used 342 MB. Not even 1/2 GB, right?

 

We are currently paying $85 for plan, plus $10 for his line, 15 for my data usage and 30 for his. That is 140. If we change to new plan we could purchase 1 GB and lower our bill to 130. (whoopee) However, does this mean I could put my kids on smart phones and they could share our 1 G for no extra charge? Not that I want them to have smart phones.

 

The smart phones have a flat rate of $40 each per month, I believe. And yes, this month you have used less than 1/2 of a GB so far.

 

Does anyone have a link to the actual plans?

 

We don't have internet or texting on either of our phones (nor do we want it), but we do get unlimited internet for our computer via their "air card." I'm wondering how this will affect us. Where we live, this is the only way (other than dial up) that we can get internet. I can't imagine wanting a limited plan at any price.

 

http://solutions.vzwshop.com/shareeverything/?intcmp=VZW-VNT-SE-PLANRECMND

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I am seriously confused. We have 3 phones on our plan, only one of which is a smart phone. We have 700 minutes per month and unlimited texting all the way around, plus unlimited data on the smart phone. With taxes and fees, our total is about $135 a month. I don't know if our price will go up or down, lol. I probably need some caffeine.

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Ok, I have been trolling the Verizon Wireless FB page. Lots of unhappy people. It appears that we do not have to switch to this new share plan if it does not work for us. However, if you have unlimited data, and you want to upgrade...you will loose it unless you pay full price for the new phone. I am not thrilled about that...but I am relieved that I am not going to have to pay $30 per regular phone, verses the $10 I am paying now.

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Ugh again. According to that link, my bill would go up $30-40 per month changing to that, depending on how much the taxes and fees are. I do see you don't have to change, but I'd need to see the fine print. And, I wonder if you go in to get a new phone at your next "new every two" deal... would you automatically have to change when signing a new contract?

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I am seriously confused. We have 3 phones on our plan, only one of which is a smart phone. We have 700 minutes per month and unlimited texting all the way around, plus unlimited data on the smart phone. With taxes and fees, our total is about $135 a month. I don't know if our price will go up or down, lol. I probably need some caffeine.

 

Well, you can't really get unlimited data unless you are willing to pay full price for the new phone.

But, at 10 GB for data, and unlimited texting and talking, here is what I got using that tool.

 

$200...plus taxes, fees, etc.

 

 

I would definitely stick with your current plan for now.

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Ugh again. According to that link, my bill would go up $30-40 per month changing to that, depending on how much the taxes and fees are. I do see you don't have to change, but I'd need to see the fine print. And, I wonder if you go in to get a new phone at your next "new every two" deal... would you automatically have to change when signing a new contract?

 

 

IIRC, New Every Two doesn't exist anymore (and hasn't for a while)

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IIRC, New Every Two doesn't exist anymore (and hasn't for a while)

 

Really? Huh. Not even a discount when you sign a new contract? My online account still says I'm eligible for a discount next spring.

 

I'm on day 21 of 31 for my account, and I've used about 5% of both minutes and texts. :glare: Starting to think that despite my iphone love, perhaps this is more than I really need. ;) We still have a landline, so as much as I'm home, I just don't use my cell all that much.

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Ok, I just looked at our bill. We're paying $50/month for 700 minutes (no text or data) and $18 each for two lines. That comes to $86/month. We only used 333 minutes.

 

Then, we have our internet for our computer which costs $65 for unlimited access. I REALLY want to keep this.

 

The phones can go in order to keep what we have for internet. I suspect for as little as we use, we can get something cheaper than $86 anyway, but what? (I do want two cell phones - hubby does occasionally need his for work and my youngest will be driving later this year if all goes as planned.) One phone needs replacing anyway since it got dropped and you can no longer see the screen (VERY annoying).

 

Suggestions? Verizon works best in our area, but I'm pretty sure other things work too. We got oldest a Virgin Mobile phone when he went to college... that's $45/month and we don't need all he has... so I guess I'll start hunting there. Other suggestions welcome.

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Ok, I just looked at our bill. We're paying $50/month for 700 minutes (no text or data) and $18 each for two lines. That comes to $86/month. We only used 333 minutes.

 

Then, we have our internet for our computer which costs $65 for unlimited access. I REALLY want to keep this.

 

The phones can go in order to keep what we have for internet. I suspect for as little as we use, we can get something cheaper than $86 anyway, but what? (I do want two cell phones - hubby does occasionally need his for work and my youngest will be driving later this year if all goes as planned.) One phone needs replacing anyway since it got dropped and you can no longer see the screen (VERY annoying).

 

Suggestions? Verizon works best in our area, but I'm pretty sure other things work too. We got oldest a Virgin Mobile phone when he went to college... that's $45/month and we don't need all he has... so I guess I'll start hunting there. Other suggestions welcome.

 

$86 a month for two phones? That is very cheap. You can't beat that with straight talk even....well, yes you can if you do the 1000 minutes and text per month...I think that is about $35 per month per line.

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Rats. I love my iphone, but I don't think I can justify the expense. We may need to look into pay-as-you-go.

 

:iagree: love my Droid but it definitely is not used enough for the expense. If dh didn't need the hot spot on his phone, I would definitely use a pay as ypu go Droid.

 

I hate Verizon Wireless but it is the only phone service I can use on my property. Friends with other carriers never get a signal here. :sad:

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Well, you can't really get unlimited data unless you are willing to pay full price for the new phone.

But, at 10 GB for data, and unlimited texting and talking, here is what I got using that tool.

 

$200...plus taxes, fees, etc.

 

 

I would definitely stick with your current plan for now.

 

Thanks for figuring that out for me. Basically that sucks, lol. My current droid has been on the fritz for a while, and I've been trying to hold out until November when I renew and can get an iphone with a discount. I guess that's a moot point now, huh? UGH!

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This was shared with me on another message board, but worth checking out on your bill if they are indeed changing the terms of the agreement:

 

"Look for your provider to bury changes to Terms of Service with your bill. Quite often providers modify their service plans, much of the time the modification is a benefit. It doesn't matter, this voids the previous contract. Read the small print on those inserts included with your bill, it will spell out that you have 30 days (may vary on where you live) to cancel your contract with no charge simply because they changed the contract."

 

I will add to the above and say that the last time I tried to get out of the contract they did NOT tell me that up front. I had to dig and dig with the sales rep and she finally acted like she was doing me a HUGE favor by agreeing to let me out of the contract. She even said, "We don't normally do this." Um, you don't normally because people don't KNOW about it.

 

Just know that if they offer you anything extra and you take it, or you get a new phone, even within the 30 days, you are essentially signing a NEW agreement so you can't claim you didn't know and they changed the agreement on you.

 

Anyway, worth a shot.

 

Dawn

 

Thank you for this!! :)

 

Does anyone know if these changes apply to business plans as well?? :bigear:

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I just called them. I have 5 phone lines on my account and only one of them is a smartphone (Iphone). It is not going to affect my account because the smart phone has the data package on it. Phew. I suggest giving verizon a call and having them explain it all to you.

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Really? Huh. Not even a discount when you sign a new contract? My online account still says I'm eligible for a discount next spring.

 

I'm on day 21 of 31 for my account, and I've used about 5% of both minutes and texts. :glare: Starting to think that despite my iphone love, perhaps this is more than I really need. ;) We still have a landline, so as much as I'm home, I just don't use my cell all that much.

 

They still give discounts when it is time to upgrade (if you have unlimited data they will not allow you to roll that to the new upgrade), but they used to give one line per account a $50-$100 credit every two years. So essentially, if you had a $100 credit, and you picked out a phone that was discounted down to $100, you would get it free (before taxes.) That was the "New Every Two" deal they had. They do not offer the NET credit anymore.

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When you figure in our data overages each month, we will come out about the same. And it will only be $10 more for dh to switch to a smartphone, so that's good news. Makes me think dd might get a smart phone sooner than later, too. :001_smile:

 

I had unlimited data grandfathered on my cell phone, but it meant very little, because it was our hot spot that always used up the data. We have no other options for internet out here, so unless another carrier brings 4G to our area, we will stick with Verizon.

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They still give discounts when it is time to upgrade (if you have unlimited data they will not allow you to roll that to the new upgrade), but they used to give one line per account a $50-$100 credit every two years. So essentially, if you had a $100 credit, and you picked out a phone that was discounted down to $100, you would get it free (before taxes.) That was the "New Every Two" deal they had. They do not offer the NET credit anymore.

 

Gotcha, thanks. Seems they change something every time I turn around, no wonder I'm confused.

 

So, if I don't do anything, don't change anything, don't upgrade... I get to keep exactly what I have?? Is my understanding correct??

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I'm NOT happy with the changes, but I've lucked out this cycle as I've been eligible for an upgrade since May. I pre-ordered a subsidized GSIII last week and retained my unlimited data. We're not on a family plan though. I'll continue with my $40 plan (450 minutes), $5 for texting, $30 for unlimited data -- less DH's employer discount.

 

I was a dismayed by the $40 per smartphone base charge (even on the first phone!) in the new plans :eek: ... seems steep. I don't care about unlimited minutes or unlimited texting, as I hardly talk on the phone and send considerably fewer than 250 texts a month (I use Google Chat more than texts these days), so there's no benefit to me from those provisions. I'd go prepaid in a second if Verizon didn't have by far the best coverage in the area. We can't have everything, but maybe things will be different in two years when my contract is up. :tongue_smilie:

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IIRC, New Every Two doesn't exist anymore (and hasn't for a while)
And they charge $30 in addition to the cost of the phone to upgrade now, even when renewing your contract.
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I'd go prepaid in a second if Verizon didn't have by far the best coverage in the area. :tongue_smilie:

Some prepaid phones use the Verizon network. Look for a phone with a "C" in the model number. My prepaid Straight Talk smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Proclaim) uses Verizon. I pay $45/month for unlimited talk text and data.

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Some prepaid phones use the Verizon network. Look for a phone with a "C" in the model number. My prepaid Straight Talk smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Proclaim) uses Verizon. I pay $45/month for unlimited talk text and data.

Good to know! Thanks. :001_smile:

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Here's a bit more detail

 

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/12/the-basics-verizons-new-share-everything-plans/

 

Excerpt:

Step 1: Smartphones

 

Do you have more than 1 line on an account that includes a smartphone? Proceed to “Step 2″ and the Share Everything plans. If you have an individual smartphone account with 1 line, there are standalone data packages for you starting at $30 for 2GB of data. If you only have feature (basic) phones on your account, you get a whole new set of plans that you can find at the very bottom of the post

 

Feature or Basic Phones

 

If you do not have any smartphones on your account, you get two choices going forward: 700 minutes for $40 or unlimited talk and text with 300MB of data for $70. The $40 does not include data or texting, so you would have to purchase those separately starting at $10 per 1,000 messages per line. If you have multiple feature phones, you can add each one to the pot for an additional $30.

 

Data-only Plans

 

If you don’t need Verizon for calling or texting and simply want to purchase a Jetpack/netbook/notebook/USB or tablet, you have a separate set of plans as well. Each Jetpack/netbook/notebook/USB will cost you $20 each. Each tablet is just $10 per month. The data packages to attach to those are as follows: 4GB for $30, 6GB for $40, 8GB for $50, and 10GB for $60.

 

ETA: And if you are eligible to upgrade before June 28 and do so, you can keep your grandfathered unlimited data and still get a subsidized phone. This includes GSIII pre-orders.

Edited by nmoira
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Gotcha, thanks. Seems they change something every time I turn around, no wonder I'm confused.

 

So, if I don't do anything, don't change anything, don't upgrade... I get to keep exactly what I have?? Is my understanding correct??

 

That is my understanding...

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I have no idea how this is going to affect us, but can someone tell me about the mobile hotspot thing or whatever it is?

 

Does that mean my cell phone could now be a solid basis for internet at home? Right now, I have a "dumb" phone; it only does texting but no internet, and I don't really want mobile internet. However, I also pay $65 a month for home internet DSL and landline; there's no way to get the DSL without the landline. I never use the landline and would get rid of it if I could get high speed internet any other affordable way (no cable internet in my area, and satellite is way too expensive), for our desktops (not laptops). Does this mean that if I upgraded to a smartphone for my cell, I could use it for internet at home with my desktop, somehow? I do have a little USB internet finder thingy that works like a wireless card does in a laptop; it lets my one desktop find the internet that is hooked to the other desktop. So if that would actually let me pay less, it might be worth it. Anyone know about that?

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I have no idea how this is going to affect us, but can someone tell me about the mobile hotspot thing or whatever it is?

 

Does that mean my cell phone could now be a solid basis for internet at home? Right now, I have a "dumb" phone; it only does texting but no internet, and I don't really want mobile internet. However, I also pay $65 a month for home internet DSL and landline; there's no way to get the DSL without the landline. I never use the landline and would get rid of it if I could get high speed internet any other affordable way (no cable internet in my area, and satellite is way too expensive), for our desktops (not laptops). Does this mean that if I upgraded to a smartphone for my cell, I could use it for internet at home with my desktop, somehow? I do have a little USB internet finder thingy that works like a wireless card does in a laptop; it lets my one desktop find the internet that is hooked to the other desktop. So if that would actually let me pay less, it might be worth it. Anyone know about that?

 

You could use it for a hotspot like that, but you would need a lot of gb to use it in that capacity. You may end up needing to buy more gb than you are paying now for the dsl.

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