New Verizon Data Plans

Chances are you've that Verizon is changing its plans on June 28th.  It's true, Verizon Wireless just announced its new Share Everything Plan.  Stop, breathe, and please read on. I'm going to explain how they work and clear up a few misconceptions.  Mind you, these plans were just announced today and this information will cover most scenarios.  

Currently customers need to manage minutes, text messaging and data usage.  Verizon will be simplifying options by giving all phones on the Share Everything Plan unlimited minutes and text messaging.  Every device on the account will incur a fixed monthly access charge (more on that in a minute). Customers will then pick a data plan that all of their devices will be able to access (up to 10 devices).

Notice how I keep referring to devices and not phones?  This new plan includes options for smartphones, basic phones, laptops, mobile hotspots, USB sticks and tablets.

The monthly charges for devices are as follows

• Smartphones - $40
• Basic phones - $30
• Netbook, Mobile Hotspot, USB stick - $20
• Tablet - $10

Data buckets for the entire account

• $50 - 1GB
• $60 - 2GB
• $70 - 4GB
• $80 - 6GB
• $90 - 8GB
• $100 - 10GB

There are going to be times when the new plans are a better value and times when the old plans are a better value.  The benefits going forward are freedom from overages for minutes and texts along with the ability to share data across multiple devices.  Most people use a lot less data than they realize (take 5 minutes and read your cell phone bill).

Mary's family has 2 smartphones sharing 1400 minutes and unlimited text messaging.  Her monthly bill comes to $180.  The total data usage for the smartphones is under 2 GB each month.  Mary's mom wants a tablet but doesn't think she'll use it enough to justify paying $30 per month.

Under the new plan, Mary's family could share 4 GB of data shared across two smartphones and a tablet for $160 per month.  (2 smartphones at $40/month, 1 tablet at $10/month, 4 GB of data at $70/month).  We've gone from a potential bill of $210 down to an actual bill of $160.  We've saved money and we're getting more bang for our buck.

I'm not going to play out every possible scenario because, quite frankly, I'd rather be watching The Big Bang Theory.  If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, now is a really good time to look through your account.  If you're not a Verizon Wireless customer, see the previous statement.

For more information visit Verizon's website

If you have Verizon Wireless and you have a family plan.

1)  Your plan is not changing on the 28th.
2)  If you have unlimited data on your smartphone now and upgrade after the 28th, you will have a few options.

• Pay the full retail price on a phone and you may keep unlimited data.
• Purchase a new phone at the discounted price, keep your current phone plan and switch to a tiered data plan (2 GB - $30/month, 5 GB - $50/month, 10 GB - $80/month for a single device)
• Purchase a new phone at the discounted price and switch to the new Share Everything Plan

3)  In a lot of instances, if you don't want to restructure your plan, you won't have to (unless you have unlimited data)
4)  You cannot combine the old minute plans with the new shared data plans.

Who will these new plans apply to automatically?

1) New customers to Verizon Wireless
2) Customers with an individual line of service moving to a shared plan