Verizon’s Safety Mode won’t be a rip-off anymore for light data users

As part of the “fireworks” that Verizon promised last month, customers were promised new data options, new (higher) rates and a throttling cap for those who took the privilege of getting more than 16GB of data.

The so-called “Safety Mode” dropped data speeds to 128kbps once the month’s LTE bucket was kicked over. It was free to those on the XL (16GB) and XXL (24GB) plan, but an additional $5 per month for those not on the plans. Given that the 8GB L plan cost a full $20 a month less than the XL one, it seemed like the people who would theoretically need it the most would serve as Verizon’s retainer cash cow.

According to the Verge, Big Red has had a change of heart, apparently. It has announced that every plan will have Safety Mode for free starting September 6, so long as you turn it on in your My Verizon app. That means no service stoppages or overage fees for breaching the limit.

If dial-up speeds are intolerable for you, a 1GB “Data Boost” to keep LTE speeds going for the cycle is still $15.

Via: The Verge