Sunday, February 12, 2017

Verizon Introduces Unlimited Service Plans

Verizon Wireless has introduced an unlimited data plan, a move many will interpret as a response to growing competition in the U.S. mobile services market. In the past, such plan changes--increasing value while holding prices constant, or adding value while dropping prices, have been key supplier tactics in markets that are hotly competitive.

Both T-Mobile US and Sprint gained market share in the second half of 2016, presumably on the strength of  aggressive “unlimited usage” promotions. Verizon previously had stopped selling unlimited plans in 2011.

At the moment, all four leading U.S. carriers offer unlimited usage plans of one sort or another.

The Verizon Unlimited plan costs $80 a month, for unlimited data, talk and text, using paper-free billing and AutoPay features.

Multi-user plans cost $45 per line for four lines. Some nevertheless are going to complain. After 22 GB of data usage on a line during any billing cycle, Verizon says it “may prioritize usage” in the event of network congestion. That “throttling” feature always is criticized in some quarters as a violation of the “unlimited” feature, but others simply see that as “fair use” policies.

Also included are up to 500 MB per day of 4G LTE roaming in Mexico and Canada.

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