Verizon’s usage-based plans have become so abundant that it’s been nearly impossible to shake off with any amount of skepticism and official word from the carrier itself regarding the exact date and specific pricing. Verizon finally cleared its throat to make a statement confirming the inevitable and the unlimited smartphone data plan will predictably make a sad and sudden departure from the company’s brochures. Verizon is making its newest customers pick from four data plans capped at between 75 megabytes and 10 gigabytes of data and the monthly data fees range from $10 for the 75-megabyte plan to $80 for the 10-gigabyte plan………….
Verizon Wireless officially confirmed that it will replace its unlimited data plans with tiered options starting Thursday. Spokeswoman Brenda Raney told FierceWireless that consumers will have their choice of four data allotments: $10 for 75MB per month, $30 for 2GB per month, $50 for 5GB per month, and $80 for 10GB per month. The cheapest tier is avaialble only for feature phones. Subscribers with an iPhone or a WebOS, Android, BlackBerry or Windows Phone 7 device will have to choose one of the remaining three options. As expected, existing customers will be grandfathered in with the $30 unlimited plan, even with future handset upgrades. Raney also confirmed that overage charges would be $10 per GB of data, regardless of plan. The carrier also is adjusting its LTE mobile hot-spot service, available on handsets like the Droid Charge, LG Revolution and HTC ThunderBolt. So far, all customers have used the mobile hot spot free of charge and without bandwidth restrictions. Starting Thursday, however, subscribers currently using the feature will have to pay an extra $30 per month for unlimited access. Anyone who adds the hot-spot option after July 7 will pay $20 per month, but they’ll get just 2GB of data to use however they see fit.
Here’s some good news for existing Verizon customers: those with the soon-to-be-extinct unlimited data plans don’t need to rush out to get a new phone the next two days. Raney wants you to know your plan be will carried over to your next phone no matter if you upgrade “on or after July 7,” according to FierceWireless. DroidLife is reporting that Verizon is putting an end to free and unlimited tethering on smartphones like the HTC ThunderBold and Samsung Droid Charge, also starting this Thursday. According to Raney, using smartphones as LTE mobile hotspots will cost:
- Existing LTE mobile hotspot users: $30 per month for unlimited tethering
- New customers: $20 for an extra 2 GB of data to be used for mobile hotspot service or any other data service (on top of an existing data plan)
[ttjad keyword=”iphone”]
