Verizon Wireless adopts Alltel's My Circle as 'Friends & Family'
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 12th 2009 8:32AM
posted Feb 12th 2009 8:32AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
A Minute With Mike – Introducing Friends & Family
The advantages of being a Verizon Wireless customer just keep growing.
We offer the most reliable wireless network and our merger with Alltel enabled us to create America's largest Mobile to Mobile calling family.
Now we're turning Alltel's successful My Circle option into our new Friends & Family option – giving current and future customers a flexible way to control wireless spending.
Before customers find out and even before the media reports on this industry milestone, Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman gives us the scoop on our new Friends & Family feature in the latest Minute With Mike.
Be among the first to know about this exciting new customer option – another surefire way to sell the value of Verizon Wireless.
feb 15th.
THIS IS TOTALLY A GAMECHANGER!!!!!!
Sprint has any 3 numbers. Which also allows you to call and three people on any network or landline for free.
While Sprint Pick 3 is true, as it exists - its ONLY available in Account Relations (aka Retention) and you just ask for it. Its free, unlimited Home/Mobile calling between you and 3 selected numbers (you must call and give them the numbers each time you want to change them as well, its not online unfortunately) - and best of all, NO CONTRACT EXTENTIONS...
While its only 3 numbers and its only via Account Relations it doesnt require any special plans like MyFaves, or MyCircle or VZWF&F.
Actually I had it added to my plan today, and put my roommates as my callers. It was one of the things that Sprint did to keep me as a customer, and one of the things I thought about leaving about....
word son
900 minutes minumum required for individual plan and 1400 for shared, with no mobile web no texting and picture messaging included must be added, where are you saving?
No-where does it say anything about text or pic messaging. I have a 1400 minute family share plan with unlimited messaging, so why wouldnt I qualify?
Are you serious? VZW has family share plans that include messaging, mobile web, etc. Your minute plan just has to be at a minimum 1400 and you have have the "Friends and Family" for free... so how AREN'T you saving?
I'd like to know where you're getting your information from
WHERE ARE YOU SAVING? HOW ABOUT IF YOUR LUCKY TO HAVE TEN FREINDS YOU PAY 59.99 FOR UNLIMITED CALLING BECASUE EVERYONE YOU KNOW IS VZW TO VZW AND THE F&F INCLUDES TOLL FREE NUMBERS...IM GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME MYSELF THINING OF TEN PEOPLE OR TOLL FREE NUMBERS TO CALL FOR FREE...ITS NOT ABOUT SAVINGS ITS ABOUT VALUE AND EXTENDING WHAT YOUR ALREADY PAYING...AND APPEARENTLY YOU CANT EVEN AFFORD TO PAY ATTENTION AND READ!
So I am putting the over/under at 1 week for AT&T to copy VZW (once again) and adopt this feature, any takers?
I'm going for under. I think it would be silly to say that AT&T did not have some kind of internal plans for a similar feature in the works. I would say a 50% chance today or tommorow, if not this week, I would bet on next Monday. Of course, I am on AT&T, and that could just be me hoping. AT&T has copied Verizon on just about everything and got crap for it. But this is one time where I say copy away.
Agreed, I'm on AT&T and I hope they copy away on this one.
Though I have been thinking of switching to Verizon anyway just for faster data (I only average ~500kbps tethered on AT&T), and this might sway me toward Big Red...
I would have liked this to be available for all plans, but this is a huge departure from Verizon's usual pricing evil, so I'll cut them some slack.
But I'm not sure I can forgive them for what they did to the Touch Pro. Such a shame. Yes, I'm bitter. :-(
They have made an announcement
February 15, 2009 is when the new plans go into effect!
http://news.vzw.com/news/2009/02/pr2009-02-12.html
Thanks for the link!!!
Yeah, good move on their part to not charge any extra for it. I love getting more features without paying more for them.
I am offended by this sexist image where the man is in front of, larger, and brighter than the woman.
Just kidding but I could imagine a feminist handcuffing herself to a Verizon store.
He's got 2 wives! Damn pimp. Go Verizon!!!
As much as this is big for Verizon and I do agree, AT&T will follow. For me, I am on the $60 a month plan and if it were to come to AT&T, I would fall in the group to benefit from it.
This is to both Verizon & AT&T: So where does that leave the subs that pay $40 a month? I get it's a business and they want to make money but don't act like you are doing all your subs a favor.
I'm on AT&T and with rollover, I have virtually unlimited minutes for only $30 a month (2 phones, family plan, 2000 rollover minutes accumulated), so this feature for me is pointless.
Thank you for your very specific and pointless post.
My point is that there are great features that AT&T has that other providers have not "copied" yet, so it's not a given that AT&T will copy this one. I'm also pointing out that while something like My Faves may be a great feature, rollover is an equally great feature, and it's included for free with even the cheapest advertised individual plan. It's simply a retort to all the people bashing AT&T for supposedly being a copy cat.
Um...didn't AT&T inherit the concept of rollover minutes from Cingular? So...they kind of copied that too. :-)
Don't get me wrong, it's a great feature, and no other carrier has duplicated it, but the general gripe with AT&T is that they are kind of old and stodgy, and only do cool new stuff when the market makes them. (The iPhone may be an exception, but it was brought to them, they didn't go looking for it.)
Innovative, they are not.
But still, this is what competition is all about -- the consumer should benefit as companies try to win their business.
@D - I wouldn't say they inherited rollover, since big blue didn't have a wireless service at that time. Sure, they had ATT Wireless at one point, but Cingular bought that, so technically ATT just bought Cingular and kept everything the same.
@bernardino - I have almost that same plan for $16 a month. Just only one line, and no rollover, but I get 2000 mins. a month, so I'm good. Just because you sounded like you were trying to show off or something.
And rollover really isn't that great of a feature. It's made to be much more useful than it is. The only thing it's really good for is as a buffer. It keeps you from being charged large amounts due to usage spikes, and is really only a benefit to an unpredictable customer. For those who are either consistently over or under every month, it does nothing.
" And rollover really isn't that great of a feature. It's made to be much more useful than it is. The only thing it's really good for is as a buffer. It keeps you from being charged large amounts due to usage spikes, and is really only a benefit to an unpredictable customer. For those who are either consistently over or under every month, it does nothing. "
EXACTLY. The last line especially.
Well, I am one of those unpredictable customers. With Verizon, I had $100 phone bills every once and a while from heavy phone usage, and at that time changing your plan required a contract renewal. I left Verzion for AT&T and have never had that problem again. Even if I was paying $16 a month, without rollover I would be paying a much higher rate since my pattern of usage is low usage most months with some months of higher usage, which means I would be paying more per minute when underusing and getting hit with overcharges when overusing.
I also wasn't trying to brag. Most of the comments in this article were simply tearing down AT&T, claiming they would copy this feature. I am simply saying that, for ME, this feature isn't a big deal. Also, for any customer whose frequently called numbers are mobile to mobile anyways (ex. members of familytalk), this is pretty pointless as well. AT&T has no more reason to copy this as Verizon as a reason to copy rollover. Don't take it so personally.
Big Red just adopted this feature to keep all the acquired alltel customers from leaving out of spite. I can guarantee you they didn't do this at all for existing VZW customers. Why would they? 80 million customers, so you have about a 40% chance of someone you call being in your network. Same thing with ATT. ATT has no reason to copy this feature. I know that even if I had a regular plan, I can only think of one person that I call a lot that doesn't have ATT.
Some People you just can't please...Verizon finally lowers the bar to all these Sprint value mungersand everyone complains...Most reliable Network Best Phones and Largest service Available now at a rediculous low price with FREE unlimited calling to F&F for either 59.99 min single line or 89.99 Fam Shr plan...Im sorry Copy and paste a better deal and then when your done throwing away all of your useless rollover min and recycled track phones from Sprint and you low level rate and Coverage available from T-Mobile (WHO?) than post a comment, otherwise the peanut gallerie is the first door to the left right next to the Villiage of Idiots...
Verizon didn't do something ground breaking. They did, what all wireless carriers do, modify plans to attrach other customers from other carriers.
As I said all other carriers copy off each other. I agree with others on here that AT&T along with Sprint will modify plans as well.
Good for Verizon customers who this applies to and feel sorry for those that don't get this feature. This does nothing for the low end customers. This goes to both Verizon AT&T. I'm sure if AT&T adopts this, it will go to the $59.99 single min & $89.99 family plan. They will follow Verizon. Thanks AT&T, screw the $49.99 customers like Verizon. They obviously showed what they really think of the low end customers.
@ everybody griping about "low end users getting screwed" ::
you're really not using the phone that much anyway, so how are you getting screwed?
and just like nearly everything else in life - the more you pay, the more you tend to get. You can't expect Ferrari performance on a Regional Transit budget. saying "I only want the bare bones... pretty much just make sure I have a signal", and then complaining that you get no perks is REALLY annoying. and even more so to those of us that DO pay more, because why should you get the same perks that I do when you pay a minimal amount?!
~~~~
@ those of us who do use our phones::
be glad this will be an INCLUDED option and not have an additional cost.
oh, and where are the people who complain about VZW nickel 'n diming everything?! yeah... no where to be found...
im confusedd.... what about the people who dont have "friends & family"?
like what if ur friend has verizon, and she has friends and family so she can call
u for unlimited even if u have att...will ur minutes get used up if u have att?