AfterDawn: Tech news

Leaked image may show Verizon's plans for shared data plans

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 30 Jan 2012 5:10 User comments (5)

Leaked image may show Verizon's plans for shared data plans Near the end of last year Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam suggested the company was working on simplifying data plans for customers with multiple devices.
Shared data plans seem like an inevitable development in the current environment where a single account may have multiple smartphones and carriers are also hoping to sell hotspot and tablet access. Besides the potential advantage for customers, it also means lower costs for the carrier according to McAdam.

Now Engadget has posted an image reportedly leaked from inside Verizon. It shows what appears to be an upcoming option for an account level data plan in their account management software. They say the image comes from Verizon training material.

Image via Engadget
Verizon's upcoming shared data plans revealed? - AfterDawn.com




Of course the bigger question is about price. In theory a shared data plan should be more economical unless every device on your account uses close to its limit on a regular basis. However, when Verizon CFO Francis Shammo commented on the possibility of shared data plans and indicated their goal was to maintain the current price levels.

On the other hand, it may not matter what Verizon wants if consumers start getting bills with a single data charge which dwarfs what they pay for home Internet access.

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5 user comments

130.1.2012 18:20

There are two numbers on that screen and the bill is: $218.96
I'll pass, thank you.

230.1.2012 20:23

Way too much. Thank God my wife does not care for smart phones. Hell she doesn't even use voice mail, which sucks sometimes.

330.1.2012 23:57

There is no way in hell I would have a multiple smartphone home. Especially on Verizon. Everyone is just going to have to go get their own phones (and their own damned jobs too) if they want smartphones. The data plans are getting out of wack.

And don't even bother debating any of it. That's just fodder for a hate-fest all over again. One carrier over another; every area in the US & abroad is different. Now that entertainment is becoming more prevalent in the US phone market, their REALLY wanting to clamp the vise on everyone's nuts about data charges.

41.2.2012 10:11

Verizon is definitively the most expensive provider only rivaled by ATT...........this "shared" plan will inevitably be high priced as well and screw the customer in the long run. I just don't know why people are willing to pop that kinda cash for cellular service when Sprint and T-mobile are significantly cheaper. Despite the service being better (which I concede it is), essentially people just use their phones in town and for GENERALLY basic use.

Verizon has plenty of dead zones too.

53.2.2012 14:19

What I want is to not have a data plan at all. I use my own WiFi for all my data. I already pay $70 a month to have 2 phones, but I have to have a data plan even if I don't use any damn data. Quite a rip off.

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