Verizon drops thousands of rural customers, says they're using too much data - Entrepreneur Generations

Verizon Wireless is disconnecting service to rural users in several states, including Maine and Montana, saying that they use too much data to make the deal profitable for the company. The problem centers around Verizon's LTE in Rural America (LRA) program, which Verizon says has brought coverage to more nearly 2.4 million people since its inception in 2010. Verizon partners with 21 small rural carriers around the country and pays them when its customers end up roaming off Verizon's cell network and onto the rural carriers' network. The affected customers have Verizon's "Unlimited" data plan, but they don't live in Verizon's native service area. Verizon may be losing money on these perpetually roaming customers, Jon Brodkin reported for Ars Technica in June, when Verizon first began cutting off rural customers.

That brings us to now, when Verizon just announced it is dropping 2,000 customers in Washington County, Maine, and dozens of small towns in Montana. And on a discussion board about mobile services, posters from several states, including Kentucky, have also claimed that rural users are being kicked off their Verizon plans.

In Maine, the announcement comes three years after Verizon signed a multimillion dollar deal with Portland-based Wireless Partners to upgrade and improve cellular service in Washington County. To hold up its end of the deal, Wireless Partners built 13 new cell towers in Washington County. "Customers are now getting notices in the mail that tell them they’ve been using a significant amount of data while roaming off the Verizon Wireless network. The letters then informed the customers that their service is being terminated," A.J. Higgins reports for Maine Public. Affected customers have until Oct. 17 to sign up for another wireless service if they want to keep their current phone numbers. Wireless Partners spokesperson Jason Sulham told Higgins that the company plans to hold Verizon accountable for not holding up its end of the deal after all the money Wireless Partners has invested in improving infrastructure.

In Montana, it's the same story, but over a larger area. "The list of towns affected by the contract termination is in the dozens, from Alzada to Homestead to Zortman," David Erickson reports for The Missoulian. Verizon spokesperson Meagan Dorsch told Erickson that the company sent out notifications to 919 Montana customers earlier this month, and that those customers have 2,035 phone lines that Verizon will no longer service. Kyle Wasson, a wheat, barley and cattle farmer near Loring who is losing his Verizon plan, said his farm uses cell phone data to check the water in their cows' tanks, to order new parts when machinery breaks down, or communicate with hired hands. "It’s amazing how much we use cellphones and data out here,” he told Erickson. "It’s what we gotta do." Montana lawmakers are criticizing Verizon for the move. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said in a statement that Verizon's actions were "unacceptable" and that "This is yet another example of the rural-urban divide and choosing a bottom-line over a commitment to Montanans."

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2wgc2yb Verizon drops thousands of rural customers, says they're using too much data - Entrepreneur Generations

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