Verizon to let users change plans without penalty
updated 02:40 pm EDT, Wed October 3, 2007
Verizon Penalty-Free Plans
US cell provider Verizon will soon let its subscribers change their plans without forcing them to pay more in the process, the company has revealed this week. A policy change set to take effect on October 7th will allow customers to scale their level of service up or down in mid-contract without signing a new agreement, allowing customers to bypass the extra monthly fees or else the early termination fee required to end a contract early. The change would bring Verizon's cellphone subscription policies on a similar level with those from Alltel, which already allows these changes, but would provide an improvement over incumbents such as AT&T.
The decision by Verizon may have been spurred in part by Congressional debate on the issue, which has threatened to scrap termination fees entirely under a law meant to let users escape carriers with poor networks or customer service without extra fees. The Cellular Telecoms & Internet Association, which includes major carriers, has resisted the bill to date and had argued in favor of pre-paid service as an existing alternative to contracts.
