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Verizon will give rural customers more time to find new providers

For those with no other options, it’s offering limited data plans.

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Recently, Verizon sent letters to around 8,500 customers living in rural areas that informed them their service would be cut off as of October 17th. Verizon claimed that those customers were using enough data while roaming outside of the Verizon network that the company's costs exceeded the fees being paid by the users. Well, there was, understandably, quite a bit of backlash over the letters and Verizon has now walked back both its deadline and its hard cutoff.

In a statement, Verizon said, "Since that notification, we have become aware of a very small number of affected customers who may be using their personal phones in their roles as first responders and another small group who may not have another option for wireless service." Because of this, Verizon has extended its disconnection date to December 1st, giving customers a little more time to find a new carrier. For those without any other wireless providers in the area, they'll now have the option to switch to the 2GB, 4GB or 6GB plans -- which cost $35, $50 and $70 per month respectively -- or the 5GB single line plan priced at $55 per month. The December 1st deadline also applies to switching Verizon plans.

The options still aren't great for those being forced into them, but at least these customers have slightly more time to make a decision.