Way back in September 2011, Verizon kicked off its “Network Optimization” program that thrilled the speeds of the top five heaviest data users that had a 3G device and unlimited data plan. 4G LTE users weren’t affected at the time, but it appears that that’ll finally change in the near future.
Source speaking to Droid-Life claim that on Oct. 1, Verizon will begin applying its Network Optimization policy to customers with a 4G LTE device and an unlimited data plan. In order to have your speeds slowed, you must be in the top five percent of data users (4.7GB or more consumed per month), be on an unlimited data plan, have fulfilled your minimum contract term and try to use data on a cell site that’s in high demand.
Verizon is expected to begin notifying customers of this change on August 1. In order to avoid having your speeds reduced, Verizon says that you can move to a More Everything plan or some other usage-based plan, use Wi-Fi or use tools to track your data usage.
While no one loves to see data throttling rolled out, users will need to meet a pretty specific set of criteria before they see their speeds slowed. Not only is an unlimited data plan a requirement, which is a pretty big one on its own since I’m sure most folks ditched them a while ago, but you also need to be a heavy data user and be connected to a cell site that’s in high demand. That’s a pretty specific set of requirements that I’m sure few people will ever meet. Still, this Network Optimization effort is worth being aware of if you’re one of those lucky souls that’s still got a grip on your grandfathered unlimited data plan.
Via Droid-Life
