According to droid-life, Verizon will begin throttling 4G LTE customers on unlimited data plans starting on October 1, 2014. Before this change, Verizon only throttled 3G connections of those with unlimited data plans. Verizon likes to dress up this as “Network Optimization” which according to them means that a customer will only be throttled if:

Top 5% of data users (you use 4.7GB of data per month or more)

Enrolled on an unlimited data plan or feature

Have fulfilled their minimum contract term

Are attempting to use data on a cell site that is experiencing high demand

As droid-life points out, as of March 2014, you are in the top 5% if you use 4.7GB of data per month. Not to worry though as Verizon is willing to help those in this top 5%. Just move to their MORE Everything plans! Or stop using the Verizon service and switch to Wi-fi.

Droid-Life

Verizon is therefore making another push to get users off unlimited data plans and onto usage-based pricing plans. Verizon makes more money when a customer is on their MORE Everything plans. Verizon pretty much says that in the FAQ by giving customers the option to move to usage plans with no throttling.

Additionally, Verizon is admitting that unlimited data plans include magic data. If you are on an unlimited data plan and use 10GB, you will be throttled at the halfway point. But, if you are on a MORE Everything plan with 10GB of data, you can use 10GB without any throttling whatsoever. Magic!

Although Verizon would respond to this by claiming that a customer in the top 5% must be by a congested node, there are already a number of people who question whether Verizon is properly throttling people JUST in congested node areas. Also, will Verizon ever let the public in on how many of its cell sites it deems as “congested” and at what times that congestion is most likely to occur?

Dating back to 2010, Verizon has made it clear that they want the ability to find the heaviest users (‘abusers’ as they call them) so that they can throttle them and charge them even more. Will Verizon ever actually show when a certain amount of data slows down their network? Of course not. Remember, data on unlimited plans slow down the network while data on tiered plans have no effect on the network.