Back in July, rumors were floating that Verizon Wireless was slated to kill its unlimited data plan, and introduce tiered versions similar to what AT&T now offers. Today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that tiered data plans are set to roll out on October 28th. In an interesting move the unlimited data plan for smartphones will continue to be offered unlike rival carrier AT&T which killed theirs back in June.
A breakdown of changes, thanks to an internal QnA posted over at Engadget:
- 3G Feature Phones -- $1.99 pay as you go or $15 monthly access for 150 or 150 MB ($15/150 MB overage) or $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.
- 3G Smartphones Plans – $15 monthly access for 150 MB ($15/150 MB overage) or $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.
- 3G Tablet Plans – $20 monthly access for 1 GB ($20/1 GB overage), $35 monthly access for 3 GB ($10/ 1 GB overage); $50 monthly access for 5 GB ($10/1 GB overage) and $80 for 10 GB ($10/1G coverage).
- 3G Netbooks/Notebooks Built-In Plans – $50 monthly access for 5 GB ($10/1 GB overage) or $80 monthly access for 10 GB ($10/1 GB overage).
For now, these tiered packages are being considered a holiday promotion, and aren’t permanent. The new pricing is slated to go into effect for new customers on October 28th, and existing customers will be able to migrate to the new data plans any time after.
In the internal QnA it is noted that these prices are for 3G data plans only, and the company will announce 4G data plans and pricing as the company moves closer to launch later this year in 38 major metropolitan areas and nationwide by 2013. Devices that are 4G LTE ready are expected to be offered by the middle of 2011.