Verizon undercuts AT&T, reduces monthly voice plan by $29
Competition in the mobile landscape became more intense Friday, when Verizon Wireless announced it has cut its basic voice plan by $29 per month, to $69.99 for unlimited calling.
Verizon also has an unlimited voice and text plan for customers available at $89.99 per month. But while Verizon is reducing its voice plans, those on its low-end data plans will see an increase.
The nation's largest wireless provider also announced Friday that while its basic wireless service fee would see a $29 reduction, the company was also doing away with its $19.99 75MB data package for 3G multimedia phones. In its place is the 25MB, $9.99-per-month plan for all 3G phones, giving access to e-mail, games and the Internet.
MarketWatch cited Walter Piecyk of Pali Research, who said the changes amount to an average 30 percent cut in voice plans and 50 percent increase in the cost of data with Verizon. In all, it amounts to an 8 percent to 10 percent reduction for users of the company's high-end rate plans.
Verizon's pricing changes, the report noted, could force AT&T to do the same to remain competitive.
The reductions come just days after a company official told The Wall Street Journal that in the future, customers will likely be charged for data based on how much they use in a given month. "We will end up billing differently in the future," said Dick Lynch, chief technology officer with the company.
Verizon officials believe that metered bandwidth costs will be beneficial to most customers, who do not use large amounts of data every month. Lynch said the average customer's bill would be lower if they paid for what they actually use.
Verizon's billing changes come as it has been in a heated battle with the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., AT&T. The two companies were involved in a heavily publicized legal battle that was eventually dropped, though both companies remain engaged in advertising that heavily criticizes the other.
Verizon has parodied Apple's "There's an app for that" slogan by comparing its superior coverage 3G coverage map with AT&T, using the tagline "There's a map for that." And AT&T hired actor Luke Wilson to "set the record straight" on AT&T's coverage and point out areas where AT&T beats Verizon, like the ability to make calls and access data on handsets at the same time.
Verizon's comments on the prospect of tiered data plans were similar to what AT&T President Ralph de La Vega said last month. The AT&T executive's comments led to rumors that the wireless provider intended to introduce tiered plans for iPhone users, something the company emphatically denied was in the works.
Verizon also has an unlimited voice and text plan for customers available at $89.99 per month. But while Verizon is reducing its voice plans, those on its low-end data plans will see an increase.
The nation's largest wireless provider also announced Friday that while its basic wireless service fee would see a $29 reduction, the company was also doing away with its $19.99 75MB data package for 3G multimedia phones. In its place is the 25MB, $9.99-per-month plan for all 3G phones, giving access to e-mail, games and the Internet.
MarketWatch cited Walter Piecyk of Pali Research, who said the changes amount to an average 30 percent cut in voice plans and 50 percent increase in the cost of data with Verizon. In all, it amounts to an 8 percent to 10 percent reduction for users of the company's high-end rate plans.
Verizon's pricing changes, the report noted, could force AT&T to do the same to remain competitive.
The reductions come just days after a company official told The Wall Street Journal that in the future, customers will likely be charged for data based on how much they use in a given month. "We will end up billing differently in the future," said Dick Lynch, chief technology officer with the company.
Verizon officials believe that metered bandwidth costs will be beneficial to most customers, who do not use large amounts of data every month. Lynch said the average customer's bill would be lower if they paid for what they actually use.
Verizon's billing changes come as it has been in a heated battle with the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., AT&T. The two companies were involved in a heavily publicized legal battle that was eventually dropped, though both companies remain engaged in advertising that heavily criticizes the other.
Verizon has parodied Apple's "There's an app for that" slogan by comparing its superior coverage 3G coverage map with AT&T, using the tagline "There's a map for that." And AT&T hired actor Luke Wilson to "set the record straight" on AT&T's coverage and point out areas where AT&T beats Verizon, like the ability to make calls and access data on handsets at the same time.
Verizon's comments on the prospect of tiered data plans were similar to what AT&T President Ralph de La Vega said last month. The AT&T executive's comments led to rumors that the wireless provider intended to introduce tiered plans for iPhone users, something the company emphatically denied was in the works.
Comments
Verizon also has an unlimited voice and text plan for customers available at $89.99 per month.
That's because the wireless companies don't really compete with each other. They have various ways to keep this from happening, the non-shared wireless spectrum, the non-shared lines and infrastructure, and worse, they have termination fees that are through the roof on top of incompatible phones. So I'd say they barely compete with all these obstacles from making the consumer easily switching from each other and that's why it's so expensive in the US. However, the main problem I see is similar to the ISPs asking for more money by metered pricing, i.e. try to justify it as lower cost to the consumer, but really almost everyone that uses an iPhone will hit or use above that limit of 25MB a month and get dinged overage fees. It's bad PR, but Verizon is no stranger to that
MarketWatch cited Walter Piecyk of Pali Research, who said the changes amount to an average 30 percent cut in voice plans and 50 percent increase in the cost of data with Verizon.
Wow. I am blown away by the math skills at Pali Research!
Glad Marketwatch reported that calculation for us (and AI, in turn, alerted us), otherwise we would never have been able to figure it out -- thanks, guys!
Hope ATT does not follow suit (except for the decrease in voice/text price, of course).
It's amazing how vast the differences are between US and EU when it comes to telecommunication services. $69.99 for unlimited voice and text in US compared to $14.99 in EU. Am I the only one here who feels that Americans are being ripped off by their own companies?
I am not sure but it might have to do with the fact that in the US the telco subsidizes the cost of the phone while it sounds like in the EU many people buy their phones upfront. That said, our costs are still too high.
I don't plan to switch to Verizon anytime soon with their current lineup of phones. However if they offer the iPhone with similar pricing, I would consider a switch. That 40 bucks could go towards other things I have to pay, like a half-tank of gas for my truck. LTE would eliminate the problem of being unable to carry both voice and data at the same time.
I am not sure but it might have to do with the fact that in the US the telco subsidizes the cost of the phone while it sounds like in the EU many people buy their phones upfront. That said, our costs are still too high.
Well, but in EU the minutes are used only if one initiates the call, the person receiving the call is not charged. The same thing for messaging - person sending the message is charged, but receiving is free. I had a problem two years ago with some stupid guy sending me 200 messages and it charged me 20$. Then I stopped using prepaid phone and got iPhone.
Verizon undercuts AT&T, reduces monthly voice plan by $29
YEA BABY! Bring on those lower prices!!
That's hitting AT&T right in the b@lls!
Bout' time we got some competition!
Now Apple has to get on board Verizon and all is well!
They are also increasing the number of phones that are required to have data plans, so now its not only smartphones but also cheaper crap media type phones that are not very good on the internet.
It's amazing how vast the differences are between US and EU when it comes to telecommunication services. $69.99 for unlimited voice and text in US compared to $14.99 in EU. Am I the only one here who feels that Americans are being ripped off by their own companies?
We are being ripped off and have been for quite awhile.
They ran up their prices gouging people, along with everyone else, during the inflation of the credit bubble.
But now people are dropping their contracts and adopting less expensive voice service, VOIP, Skype, and using their computers and internet instead of smartphones.
It's been obvious AT&T can't handle a data hogging smartphone like the iPhone, so why bother paying for it if you don't absolutely need it?
These companies are screwing you.
There is no free lunch here folks.
When a customer upgrades their crap LG enV2 to a new crap enV3 they will be forced to pay for a data plan.
Instead of having an unlimited connect family plan, every line on your family plan will be forced to pay an individual $29.99.
GO Verizon GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEA BABY! Bring on those lower prices!!
That's hitting AT&T right in the b@lls!
This could end up being a pricing disaster for Verizon, and one that they will have to roll back. It creates too much month-to-month billing uncertainty for smartphone users.
Hope ATT does not follow suit (except for the decrease in voice/text price, of course).
Regarding this Verizon pricing idea, two words:
VERIZON MATH!
http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2006...rom-cents.html
It's amazing how vast the differences are between US and EU when it comes to telecommunication services. $69.99 for unlimited voice and text in US compared to $14.99 in EU. Am I the only one here who feels that Americans are being ripped off by their own companies?
I feel like we are! Hence I don't own a cell phone! Eventually I'd maybe get one again...I use Vonage at home and have unlimited calling etc for like $39 a month.
I don't understand the terminology, because there are tiers below what the MW article called "basic". The real "basic" (Verizon's term on their web site) plan still starts at $39.99, 450 minutes, no data, 450 minutes. That is the same as AT&T when I signed up in 2008, and looking at the ATT site now, same thing.
It seems like they added a requirement for $10 data plans for a whole lot of people, yet all we are hearing about is how they are lowering their prices?