Confirmed: Verizon To End Unlimited Data Plans This Week
July 5, 2011
Verizon will switch to a new, usage-based pricing model for smartphone data starting this Thursday, July 7, the company announced today. However, customers already using an unlimited data plan may continue doing so even if they upgrade their phone, according to Phil Goldstein of FierceWireless.
According to Brenda Raney, a spokesman for Verizon, the company will begin offering three different data options this week. They are: $30 for 2 GB, $50 for 5 G, or $80 for 10 GB. There will be an overage charge of $10 per GB of data. Verizon will also charge $10 for 75 MB per month for feature phone users.
AT&T charges $15 per month for 200 MB and $25 per month for 2 GB.
This news, which has been long-rumored, makes Sprint Nextel the only remaining Tier 1 carrier in the U.S. not committed to a usage-based data pricing scheme. AT&T ended unlimited data plans in 2010.
For those Verizon customers who currently don’t have an unlimited data plan, it isn’t too late. Between now and Thursday, new or existing customers may sign up for the service either online or at a Verizon retail store.
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