Verizon 2010 reorg may be cheaper than ATT

A leaked plan for Verizon's cellular rates suggests the company is more aggressively chasing customers with a simpler and potentially cheaper structure. It now expects to have simpler plans that follow a similar structure to other carriers: it will provide basic Talk and Talk + Text plans, each of which will have the option of either 450, 900 or unlimited minutes.

The strategy discovered by BGR will still leave Verizon's regular voice plans more expensive than AT&T but would be much less expensive than most others when using unlimited voice and text. With messaging included, the gap could be as wide as $40 per month. Family plans could be cheaper still as a typical two-line plan could save $80 either with or without messages.

Prepaid plans will also get a change and include a prepaid, contract-free $95 monthly plan with unlimited voice and messaging.

As part of its approach, Verizon is expected to start requiring data for more advanced but non-smartphone devices, but will make the service more affordable: these can use a $10 monthly plan that will provide 25MB of general data plus a separate e-mail allowance. The tactic would also lower the overage fees for data from 50 cents to 20 cents per extra megabyte. Smartphones will still need to adopt a $30 unlimited data plan on top of voice.

While the reasoning behind the changes aren't explicitly stated, the emphasis on better value in higher-end plans is likely meant to drive the average revenue per subscriber upwards by giving incentives to adopt better phones or farther-reaching plans. Verizon has often had some of the most loyal customers but has usually been the domain of lower-end devices where AT&T and now other carriers have been focusing on smartphones.

By Electronista Staff