14 DAY TRIAL // Starting with the summer of 2011, Verizon Wireless customers would no longer have at their disposal unlimited data plans on their operator's network, as they do now. Apparently, the company has decided to put an end to these monthly plans, and to introduce tiered mobile data pricing plans in the next several months.
The move was already confirmed, though specific info on the matter would have to be unveiled at a later date.
Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo was the one who broke the news to investors at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom conference a few days ago.
Moreover, Shammo announced that these tiered plans could be based upon consumption or speed differentiation, but that specific details were not set as of yet.
“We are still working on the models,” he explained.
At the same time, he noted that the move was somehow expected, following the release of the Apple iPhone 4 on Verizon's airwaves in February, with an unlimited $30 per month data plan.
“Everyone knows that isn't long-term,” Shammo stated, adding: “We will move to tiered pricing in the mid-summer time frame.”
The iPhone 4 already marked record sales at Verizon, with most of the sales being made online.
Pricing on the said tired data plans was not unveiled at the moment, but chances are they would cost similarly with the options available at other wireless carriers in the country.
AT&T, for example, offers the iPhone with tired data plans, and charges users $15 per month for 200MB of traffic, or $25 per month for 2 GB of data.
More and more people are choosing smartphones today, and Verizon is expecting that these devices would enjoy a penetration rate of around 50 percent during the ongoing year, helped by the iPhone, DROID smartphones and new LTE handsets.
Thus, data consumption on its network would also increase, and the carrier is taking precautions to prevent overloading it.