AT&T Versus Verizon Plan And Feature Breakdown
February 5, 2011
As Verizon attempts to compete head-to-head with AT&T, the tight grip on pricing and limitations should begin to loosen. Potential customers have been hit with plenty of network coverage map comparisons, but how do "big blue" and "big red" size up to each other in other areas?
Contrary to many initially hoping that Verizon would be strides ahead of the competition, both companies seem fairly balanced overall. The companies have very similar voice packages, but do currently differ a bit in the texting and data departments.
As you can see in the above comparison tables, AT&T has an additional family voice plan, but Verizon has a few different texting plans. AT&T also offers Rollover minutes, while Verizon offers free unlimited Verizon Wireless to Verizon Wireless customer texting with everything but the very bargain messaging plans. AT&T's "A-List" and Verizon's "Friends & Family" services both allow wireless customers to freely communicate with a handful of users who are not on their networks.
One of the biggest items to make a stir was Verizon's offering of their Mobile Hotspot feature, turning your iPhone into a limited client wireless router. It seems that isn't as much of a gift as many would have hoped. Even though Verizon is offering unlimited data plans to entice new customers, the Mobile Hotspot feature is capped and by no means free.
Another important note, is that Verizon does intend to make the unlimited data plan a "limited time offer," or so says their CEO. On the other side, AT&T will be offering the Mobile Hotspot feature and doubling the initial data allotment on the tethering plan. The only catch is, they don't specifically mention the iPhone at this time.
Finally, even though Verizon's 3G network may be larger, their network doesn't offer both data and voice services simultaneously. For those who may not recall, that particular ability was one Apple initially touted when choosing AT&T as the exclusive carrier. That "one more thing" is Verizon customers could still experience slowdowns, just for a different reason.
All in all, AT&T and Verizon sit pretty even in their iPhone offerings, and it just comes down to your region coverage and how you use your iPhone most.
