Verizon Wireless' terms and conditions of its "unlimited" Broadband Access data plan now clearly states that using more than 5 GB of bandwidth during the course of a month will result in service termination. The exact phrasing from the terms and conditions: "Anyone using more than 5 GB per line in a given month is presumed to be using the service in a manner prohibited above, and we reserve the right to immediately terminate the service of any such person without notice." The document reasons that a person engaged in prohibited uses (such as webcam posts, downloading or streaming audio or video or automated data feeds) continuously for one hour, could typically use 100 to 200 MBs. "If that person is engaged in prohibited uses for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, [he or she] could use more than 5 GBs in a month," says the Verizon site. This marks the first time of a reported maximum monthly bandwidth for "unlimited" data users, according to Cybertech News.
However, Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson told FierceWireless that the 5 GB limit has existed for some time. The only change is that the company is phasing out the use of the term 'unlimited.' "The offer remains the same. The terms and conditions remain the same," Nelson says. "We are changing graphically how we explain it to customers and providing more information to help customers decide if this is the right plan for them."
For more on Verizon's clarification of their data plan limits:
- see their terms of service site [1]
- and check out Cybertech News' write-up [2]
Links:
[1] http://b2b.vzw.com/broadband/bba_terms.html
[2] http://tech.cybernetnews.com/2007/04/03/verizon-admits-that-their-unlimited-data-plan-is-limited-to-5gb-per-month/