Huntsville school district plan to expand reach of Verizon unlimited data plan center of issue
An Alabama school district’s plans to expand Verizon Wireless-supplied unlimited LTE data services has been curtailed as the carrier said its unique offer was only supposed to be offered to students and teachers.
According to WHNT19 News, Verizon Wireless is set to discontinue the offer on Nov. 30, noting the Huntsville, Ala., school system’s move to expand the service to the general public was not part of the original agreement. The program as initially constructed provided students and teachers with a free mobile hot spot device – dubbed the OmniLynx, which is also sold by Verizon Wireless as the Jetpack MiFi 6620L – and unlimited LTE data services priced at $47.75 per month. The report suggests the price was a steep discount from the $100 per month Verizon Wireless normally charges for unlimited data service, although the carrier’s site does not indicate an unlimited offer.
Phase two of the project, which Jacob Boyett, Huntsville City Schools project manager, indicated was part of the initial agreement, was to expand the offer to “faculty and family.” However, the ordering process on the program’s website reportedly asked applicants if they were a “city employee, student or family, resident of Huntsville, or other,” which Verizon Wireless said was outside the scope of the original agreement.
“At Verizon, we have a long-standing commitment to improve the lives of individuals and the communities we serve,” the carrier said in a statement. “This includes providing students and educators access to affordable technology to enrich the learning experience. In keeping with this commitment, Verizon agreed to offer certain discounted services to the Huntsville City Schools. The discounted services were intended to be used only by the school system. Acting outside the scope of the agreement between Verizon and Huntsville City Schools, the school system made the discounted services available to the general public. While Verizon has notified the school system it will support only those lines within the scope of the agreement, the company remains committed to supporting education in Huntsville and will continue to work in good faith with Huntsville City Schools to resolve the situation.”
The ability to sign up for the service has been removed from the school district’s website, which now states:
“The wireless provider previously servicing the OmniLynx Program has recently expressed an inability or unwillingness to continue supporting the program.
As a result, and regrettably, we will be unable to accommodate orders at this time.
We are exploring alternatives for the continuation of the OmniLynx Program.
At this time existing customers will not be affected by this change in supply. Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding in this matter.”
Sprint is in a similar predicament as the carrier is in a legal showdown with nonprofit organizations Mobile Citizens and Mobile Beacon over the carrier’s support of unlimited data services. Those organizations have been providing customers with unlimited data services using Sprint’s WiMAX network, which the carrier gained control of following its acquisition of Clearwire in 2013. However, Sprint is in the process of turning down the WiMAX network in favor of its LTE platform, which the carrier said is not part of the original unlimited data agreement.
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