AfterDawn: News

Verizon Wireless tiered data plans coming October 28th

Verizon Wireless will start their tiered data plans for smartphones next week, says the WSJ, following AT&T's decision in June to remove unlimited plans in favor of more restrictive, but cheaper subscriptions.

Subscribers will now have the chance to purchase 150MB a month for $15, or keep their unlimited plan for $30.



Both Verizon and AT&T have said in the past that 95 percent of users don't need unlimited plans as a good portion use under 100MB per monthly cycle.

Five percent of smartphone users use about 50 percent of all data bandwidth, added Verizon.

"It's designed to make data more affordable for entry-level users," added Roger Entner, an analyst for Nielsen. "There's a large number of people who simply can't afford $30 for data."

For now, the $15 plan is a "holiday promotion" but Verizon hopes to make it permanent if it's successful.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Oct 2010 15:45

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• 5 comments

• blueboy09

  Well, I won't be changing my data plan anytime soon, since $30 for unlimited is still a good choice for me. I typically use about 1/2 to 1GB a month on my phone. Asking 15 bucks for a measy 150 megs is a total ripoff. There's no reason to be greedy Verizon!!
  

  Life is about walking on thin ice, if you make too much drama, youll crack under pressure. - BLUEBOY

  19.10.2010 21:11 #1

• KillerBug

  "Both Verizon and AT&T have said in the past that 95 percent of users don't need unlimited plans as a good portion use under 100MB per monthly cycle."
  
  Yes...but notice that neither company has claimed that 95% of users use less than 100MB per month...and that is in spite of the fact that the data for both announcements was based on phones with no flash support, and (mostly) based on business blackberry phones that only use the internet for email. They also play a nice little game...they set the limit at 100mbps, and then say that most people use less than 100MBPS...that sounds the same to most people, but techies know that 100MBPS is 8x more than 100mbps.
  
  I will give them one thing...no one needs an unlimited plan. I mean, if the limit was 6TB per month, then no one would have any use for an unlimited plan simply because there were not enough minutes in the month to use that much. Alltel used to do that; they did not have unlimited plans, but they did have a plan that had more minutes than there were in a 31 day month.

  20.10.2010 03:44 #2

• voyager

  I am one of those i use few megas less than 40megs a month.

  22.10.2010 15:00 #3

• voyager

  I am one of those i use few megas less than 40megs a month.

  22.10.2010 15:00 #4

• ZippyDSM

  gaaa... just sell 5GB in 20$ packs already....morons......
  

  Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
  Ah modern gaming its like modern film only the watering down of fiction and characters is replaced with shallow and watered down mechanics, gimmicks and shiny-er "people".
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  26.10.2010 10:02 #5