Verizon is extending its Mobile Network Optimization policy to its 4G LTE customers. According to DroidLife, which covers the latest news and updates on Androids, the extension will start to take effect in the last quarter of this year.
Verizon has previously implemented Network Optimization on its 3G connections, where top 5% of data users on unlimited plans will have their speeds managed when they connect to a cell site that is experiencing high demand, upon reaching a certain usage limit within a bill cycle. Verizon explains in its Q&A section that to be in that top 5%, users must have used more than 4.7 GB of data in a particular billing cycle (based on March 2014 numbers). This simply means that if in a particular month the user on an unlimited data plan has used more than 4.7 GB of data and now accesses internet on his mobile device from a place where the network is congested, this user will have his speeds reduced. The reduction will apply only in congested cell sites and speeds will return to normal when the congestion clears. The policy applies for the current billing cycle where more than 4.7 GB of data has been used and will also be applied to the next billing cycle. If the user uses less than 4.7 GB in that next billing cycle, then in the 3rd billing cycle, the user will no longer be in the 5% bracket and will not have his/her speeds reduced even when connecting from congested sites.
If the policy is implemented for 4G LTE, users on this high-speed connection may experience slight reduction in their data quality, specifically on rich media content that consumes larger bandwidth but according to Verizon, the Network Optimization rules are applied in such a manner that users can expect to notice very minimal differences on the end output. In its Q&A, Verizon said that the network Optimization on 4G LTE will not apply to government customers or business customers who have signed a major account agreement.
To facilitate its users, Verizon has enlisted a number of applications and online tools that can be downloaded to assist them in tracking and managing their data usage, examples My Verizon and My Verizon Mobile, the Data Usage Calculator and the #DATA.
