Smartphones have taken over the wireless market by allowing unlimited data use, but all of that is changing for Verizon users.
Verizon wireless, the nation’s largest wireless carrier, has become the third company to drop its unlimited data plan in the past year, the previous two being AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T purchased T-Mobile for $39 billion in March.
“This change sets the stage for all the promise of 4G… [and] when much of the computing we do will be wireless,” said Brenda Raney, spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, to foxbusiness.com. “It’s preparing for the future and setting the stage where people will pay for what they use.”
New customers coming to Verizon using a smartphone will now have limited data plans starting at $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB a month. Going over the limit will cost customers $10 per GB. AT&T offers $25 for 2GB and $45 for 4GB per month, with the same charge for going over.
Sean O’Rourke, a 19-year-old from Cleveland, thinks an unlimited data plan is the reason people have smart-phones.
“Everyone’s favorite thing is their unlimited data plan,” he said. “That they can surf the web as much as they want.”
Customers worried about going over their data usage and having to pay extra for their phone should know that 95 percent of Verizon customers don’t even use 2GB of data on their smartphones.
Nick Brown, a 23-year-old smartphone user, said if a customer can figure out how much they are using and pay for that, it would prove more beneficial in the long run.
“To end the unlimited data plan makes sense for the few that probably use a ton of data,” he said. “For the average user that doesn’t use a ton, seems like a turn-off to me, sounds pretty negative. It’s a big trend, but if you figure out how much you’re using and you’re only paying for that, it could be a big pro.”
Current Verizon customers with smartphones already on unlimited data plans will get to continue to use their unlimited data plan.
Steve Panos lives in Greece nine months out of the year and uses his unlimited data plan to stay in contact with family and friends back in the U.S.
“I use email, Blackberry Messenger and Facebook on my phone,” Panos said. “If I didn’t have an unlimited data plan I probably wouldn’t take my phone with me because it’s too expensive and not worth worrying about how many gigabytes I use.”
