Verizon is taking the action "because our network is a shared resource, and we need to ensure all customers have a great mobile experience with Verizon," the statement said.

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The decision seems to be aimed at customers who've held onto an unlimited data plan that the telecom giant no longer offers, and are using that plan to the fullest. According to Verizon, not that many people are affected by the switch, but there are enough of them to prompt the company to make this unusual move. Verizon's largest data plan on offer is a 100 GB plan -- designed to be a shared plan -- that costs $450 a month. Customers receiving these warnings are using more than that on a single device.

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"Currently less than 1% of our customers are on unlimited data plans; a small fraction of a percentage of those customers are using extraordinary amounts of data," the telecom giant said in the statement.

The company also made clear that it's sending the notifications only to customers whose contracts are up. "The users receiving notifications have completed the terms of their contracts and are using data amounts hundreds of times more than the average user," the statement said.

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Using Verizon's own data calculator, an hour of streaming 4G video per day accounts for 10 GB of data use. So streaming 10 hours a day is an example of what it would take to hit 100 GB.