By Yea, it’s that Verizon rumor again. (No, not the Big Red-compatible iPhone.) We’re talking about Verizon’s apparent plans to introduce tiered data plans in a trend that seems to be picking up a lot of steam here in America. Even if Verizon insists on denying allegations that they’ll be bringing out tiered data options in the near future (near is emphasized because they haven’t been so quiet on their desire to eventually explore that option), the rumor will continue to come up and will be stronger each time it does.
The biggest takeaway for our Android-loving readers is regarding Verizon’s plans for Smartphone users. According to the leaksters – Engadget – no: unlimited plans have not been eliminated. Take a look at the full breakdown:
- Smartphone owners will choose between $15 for 150MB with $0.10 / MB overage, or $29.99 for unlimited access. This stands in contrast to AT&T, which offers another 50MB (for a total of 200MB) at the $15 price level or 2GB for $25 with no unlimited option.
- As we’ve already seen with the MiFi-equipped iPad, there’ll be $20, $35, and $50 tablet plans for 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB, respectively, all with overage of $10 per gigabyte. There will also be a $80 plan for 10GB with the same overage rate.
- MiFi, FiveSpot, and integrated netbook / notebook modem owners will choose between $50 / 5GB and $80 / 10GB plans. The MiFi and FiveSpot will also have access to the tablet-centric $35 / 3GB plan as part of a 90-day promo. All of these plans have overage priced at 1GB for $10.
- Feature phones will need to choose between $1.99 “pay as you go” (though it’s not clear what that means — could be unlimited at $1.99 per day, but we really don’t know), $15 for 150MB, or $29.99 for unlimited. The old $9.99 / 25MB option will be killed off.
- USB modem pricing remains unchanged at $39.99 for 250MB or $59.99 for 5GB. We’d say this means Big Red is strongly discouraging folks from buying these right now.
And if these plans do turn out to be true, they will most likely only apply to Verizon’s 3G offering. LTE is expected to launch by the end of this year – with first Android handsets expected to be announced at CES 2011 – and we expect Verizon has something different in store for users who opt-in to that next generation data network, instead. Engadget for the full leaked Q&A.
Suddenly the $10 I added to my Sprint bill for uncapped 3g and Wimax seems a little less annoying.
I’m a *very* light user (yes, really). I only check the weather online and a few apps here and there, and I have NEVER been under 150MB. This is a CRAPPY breaking point.
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Only grandmas will benefit from it. You people at Verizon are Dickheads…
AT&T may not have an unlimited plan, but the 200mb cap is way better for most people. In fact, I’m right around 200MB every month…
Honestly, how is this that bad? There’s too many groups of plans for different kind of devices. Besides that, it seems like the pricing is close to being fair. The unlimited plan for smartphones isn’t changing and at least they give a cheaper option if you don’t want data, which isn’t available now. $30 for unlimited on todays phones is good. Seriously, why buy a smartphone if you aren’t going to use up some data.
I’m at 1GB and still have 8 days in my billing cycle
Time to switch to sprint
@Frongillo
Why? Nothing is really changing. I’m fine with paying for the unlimited plan.
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I’m just unhappy that their tiered plan is only aimed at nickle and diming people and nothing else.
Glad they have decided to keep the Unlimited option. Now I dont have to worry about switching carries so I can keep a unlimited plan. I like using Data :) lol
I love these data plans. I ALWAYS go far over 5 GB.
How is 150MB $15 while unlimited is $30?
I’d rather be charged $5-$10/line + $10/GB, and be able to share that amount across multiple lines. $60 for a combined usage of about 1.2GB/month is ridiculous. I’d rather not subsidize the people using tethered phones to download HD porn onto their laptops in the middle of nowhere.
Didn’t Verizon say about a week or so ago that they did not agree with how AT&T priced their plans. From those numbers it looks like they agreed almost exactly. Way to just screw people trying to save a few bucks.
What am I doing? I used 3.1 Gigs of Data last billing cycle. I hate the way this is trending. I hope Sprint will see the advantage of holding out when it comes to tiered data.
These prices are insane. Who in there right mind would pay $80 for a lousy 5 gigs. I pay $37.95 a month for 75 gig’s.
people should not get involved with these companies, By not buying there services they’ll have NO choice but to lower prices.
To the people complaining, just keep the $30 unlimited option. I have a little over a week in my plan left and I am at 149.5 MB. I will most likely be able to save $15 a month on my wife though, she uses much less data than me.
Glad they’re getting rid of the annoying $9.99 required data plan for feature phones. Most of those feature phones cannot correctly support data, which meant if you wanted one of those phones, you had to throw away $9.99 plus tax per month, which meant you either sucked it up with a crappy phone without the data plan requirement, or you went all out with a smart phone.
I just wanted a Samsung Alias to make phone calls, too bad they wanted to charge me an extra $9.99 per month just because.
This is SUCH a relief to me. I was afraid verizon was going to follow in AT&T’s footsteps and drop ‘unlimited’ all together. Thank you verizion for giving us a choice. And I will always pick unlimited. :)
I use tons of data, but this is a mute point because I still get the option for unlimited usage. It’s Ballz that the cutoff for cheaper pricing is 150 mb though, that is going to piss off a lot of people. Wireless Tether (root) FTW! I could never be without unlimited usage, I would have to get rid of my phone lol!
doesn’t affect me since i’m already on unlimnted sooo >_>
The carriers are trying to kill the mobile market with high prices. A brilliant mobile device with such restrictive Internet connections = epic failure.