Verizon Unlimited Data Plan for Jetpacks

[Technomadia]

By the way.. it is now confirmed. This plan IS retiring on May 21, and existing customers will be grandfathered in.  Above article has been updated. 

[Earl Balentine]

My Jetpack data plan was only $15 a month added to my existing cell phone plan. Bought the Jetpack on Amazon for $130 just a month ago.

Edited May 17, 2019 by Earl Balentine

[Barbaraok]

5 minutes ago, Earl Balentine said:

My Jetpack data plan was only $15 a month added to my existing cell phone plan. Bought the Jetpack on Amazon for $130 just a month ago.

How much data with that plan?

[Dutch_12078]

And how much unthrottled data...

[docj]

26 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

How much data with that plan?

Almost assuredly any Verizon Jetpack associated with a postpaid phone plan will provide 15-20GB/mo of LTE data before a 600kbps cap is imposed.  

[Second Chance]

1 hour ago, Dutch_12078 said:

And how much unthrottled data...

We are on this plan. There have been months where we've used WAY more than 20GB (streaming HD video) and there has never been any throttling.

Rob

[Zulu]

2 hours ago, Technomadia said:

By the way.. it is now confirmed. This plan IS retiring on May 21, and existing customers will be grandfathered in.  Above article has been updated. 

Tx for the tip. Using your detailed info, I was able to wade thru Verizon's site and locate the soon-to-retire unlimited plan.

It's confusing because the Unlimited Plan does not appear until you press Shop now. Then you start by selecting the device you want.

In my case, I opted for a USB730L modem instead of a 900L Jetpack which were the only two options (besides BYOD):

 

After selecting a device, then you select a plan and the Unlimited Plan is now listed. Of course I selected the Unlimited data plan and was able to get it for $65/month with AutoPay:

 

Plan details (the fine print)

 

 

 

[Technomadia]

13 hours ago, Earl Balentine said:

My Jetpack data plan was only $15 a month added to my existing cell phone plan. Bought the Jetpack on Amazon for $130 just a month ago.

When added to Beyond, Above or the original 'February 2017 New' Unlimited postpaid smartphones planes - Jetpacks are $20/month. And it only includes 15GB of high speed mobile hotspot use, then hard throttled to 600 kbps speeds. 

This about to be retired prepaid plan does not have such caps, but is always subject to network management. 

[remoandiris]

1 hour ago, Technomadia said:

This about to be retired prepaid plan does not have such caps, but is always subject to network management. 

What is the definition of "network management" with respect to this prepaid plan?

[docj]

3 hours ago, remoandiris said:

What is the definition of "network management" with respect to this prepaid plan?

We've had the plan since early November and I occasionally notice that the speed (as measured by Fast.com) falls to ~5-6MBps or even slightly below that for short periods of time.  However, only twice in that time period have I had to switch to my phone's hotspot to stream a video and both those times I was using a VPN to the UK to watch BBC.  So that was demanding a lot out of the connection.

Normally our measured speeds on Fast.com are in the 8-10Mbps range.  They are faster on Speedtest.net but it's my understanding that Fast is more of a measurement of what your streaming speed would be.

[Dutch_12078]

10 hours ago, remoandiris said:

What is the definition of "network management" with respect to this prepaid plan?

"Network management" simply means that your tower access priority is temporarily reduced while the tower is heavily loaded with traffic. We have both Verizon and AT&T hotspots that are network managed, and have not seen a speed drop that noticeably interrupted our streaming so far, even at peak usage times.

[remoandiris]

17 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

"Network management" simply means that your tower access priority is temporarily reduced while the tower is heavily loaded with traffic. 

How is that different from "throttling"?  

[remoandiris]

Today, for the 4th time in 6 months, I have a new phone number for my Jetpack.  I found out I have a new number when I received the email receipt for my $70 prepaid payment. 

Today, for the 4th time in 4 months I have signed up for auto pay.  On June 19th, I'll find out if auto pay was successfully applied or not.  The Verizon CSR I spoke to this morning when signing up for auto pay (again!!) said the system accepted the auto pay.  She must have given me a new number since my service expired last night at midnight.  The Verizon CSR I spoke with this afternoon when I called about the new number also told me it appears the auto pay is now active.  But, I'll believe it on June 19th if my service is still active.

Unbelievable.

Edited May 19, 2019 by remoandiris

[docj]

36 minutes ago, remoandiris said:

How is that different from "throttling"?  

Throttling, as the term is usually used, means that connection speeds have been reduced on a continuing basis usually until the end of a billing period.  With the current generation of Verizon Unlimited plans hotspot download speeds are reduced to (for most plans) <600kbps after 15GB of LTE data has been used in a billing period.  The speed restriction is removed at the beginning of the next billing period.

Network management is typically a short-term speed reduction with no pre-determined speed limitation.  So I've noticed my normally ~10Mbps connection drop to ~3-4Mbps for minutes to hours at a time.

[Technomadia]

On 5/18/2019 at 11:15 AM, remoandiris said:

What is the definition of "network management" with respect to this prepaid plan?

Here's our full guide to understanding the limits on "unlimited" plans:

http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/unlimited

 

basics:

Network management is temporary and just lowering your priority on a tower as the carrier needs to do manage their traffic. 

Throttling is a hard cap and a set max speed. 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Technomadia

[GlennWest]

We have been streaming steady since we got ours over a month ago. No problems at all. If it throttled, not noticable streaming. Or cell phone use. 

[Dutch_12078]

Like Glenn, we stream extensively and have for quite some time now. I've not noticed any slow downs that affected our viewing, but with speeds like the ones shown below, even a 50% drop wouldn't be noticeable.

[Second Chance]

1 hour ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Like Glenn, we stream extensively and have for quite some time now. I've not noticed any slow downs that affected our viewing, but with speeds like the ones shown below, even a 50% drop wouldn't be noticeable.

You must be on a mighty fine tower, there, Dutch!

Rob

Edited May 20, 2019 by Second Chance

[Big5er]

I never get the speeds that Dutch does but this is about my norm on an 8800L jetpack.
 

[docj]

FWIW trying to measure download speed is a lot more complex than it might seem. The speed measured by Fast.com (designed by Netflix) and Speedtest.net are often a factor of 2 different.  Furthermore, the speed measured by my Jetpack compared to the speed measured by the phone itself can also be rather different.  Furthermore, the speed measured by the phone connected to theJetpack via wifi can be somewhat different from the speed measured by the laptop when connected to the Jetpack.

At our "home base" in south TX our speeds are nowhere close to those cited above. But the 8-10 Mbps that we consistently get from the prepaid Jetpack are more than adequate for our streaming needs.  IMHO internet speed has become sort of like what horsepower was when I was young; "mine is bigger than yours" when either would be sufficient!😄  Unless one plans on downloading videos, I really don't care if my download speed is 10Mbps or 10 times that!   Even 720p resolution looks good on a 40' HDTV IMO.

[Second Chance]

1 hour ago, docj said:

... But the 8-10 Mbps that we consistently get from the prepaid Jetpack are more than adequate for our streaming needs.  IMHO internet speed has become sort of like what horsepower was when I was young; "mine is bigger than yours" when either would be sufficient!😄  Unless one plans on downloading videos, I really don't care if my download speed is 10Mbps or 10 times that!   Even 720p resolution looks good on a 40' HDTV IMO.

X10^^!!!

Rob

[Zulu]

1 hour ago, docj said:

FWIW trying to measure download speed is a lot more complex than it might seem. The speed measured by Fast.com (designed by Netflix) and Speedtest.net are often a factor of 2 different.

For sure. After numerous HughesNet speed tests, I ditched Ookla's Speedtest because it yielded contradictory results.

I settled on Speedof.me after reading their testing methodology. I've found their results more closely predict browsing behavior than all the other HTML5 speed testers.

[Dutch_12078]

My previous test was done at Jonetown KOA in Jonestown, PA. The tower there was in easy eyesight Here's what I'm seeing here in the southern Adirondacks:

I'll try the other test sources for comparison soon...

[Dutch_12078]

Ok, here's what Speedof.me just gave me, still here in the Adirondacks:

https://speedof.me/show.php?img=190521024431-6209.png

Fast.com is bouncing all over the place, so I'm not sure what to make of that...

Edited May 21, 2019 by Dutch_12078

[Zulu]

If you're serious about speed testing, perform at least 5 tests and then average.

I'll do multiple tests over multiple days, like this . . .

 

Here's my RAW DATA.

Finally, I'll also do "real" speed tests using YouTube. I'll test a connection by seeing what "Auto" resolution (144, 240, 480, 720, 1080) YouTube uses for a broadband provider I'm testing.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Zulu