Verizon is ready to kick you off its network if you use too much data

Verizon isn’t messing around when it comes to data. Users that consume more than 100GB per month via legacy unlimited plans will either be forced onto tiered plans or kicked off the network altogether.

Speaking to Ars Technica, the company notes it affects a “small group” of users:

Because our network is a shared resource and we need to ensure all customers have a great mobile experience with Verizon, we are notifying a very small group of customers on unlimited plans who use an extraordinary amount of data that they must move to one of the new Verizon Plans by August 31, 2016.

These users are using data amounts well in excess of our largest plan size (100GB). While the Verizon Plan at 100GB is designed to be shared across multiple users, each line receiving notification to move to the new Verizon Plan is using well in excess of that on a single device.

Verizon is in a tricky spot

A 100GB ‘tiered’ plan starts at $450 per month.

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A few years ago, it led the charge in moving its users away from unlimited plans and onto those with hard data caps. It never actually forced anyone to migrate away from legacy plans, though.

Though a move that affects few users, it’s a strong-arm tactic many should concern themselves with. These kinds of tactics have landed the company in hot water with the FCC before, and I’d be surprised if this instance were any different.

But it’s meant to weed out bad actors, so maybe this will go unchecked. If you’re using over 100GB of LTE data every month, you’re likely funneling all connectivity — Netflix, Web browsing, etc. — through your data plan. That’s clearly not what Verizon or any carrier had in mind when those ‘unlimited’ plans were so popular.

Really, those plans were a bit of a scare tactic to have you pay up and avoid those dreaded ‘overage’ fees. Now that the tables have been turned, Verizon is crying foul.