Verizon revamps data plans

Amid scrutiny from the FCC about its early termination fees, Verizon Wireless decided to overhaul its data plans. During a conference call with analysts and reporters this morning, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said that these changes are part of the company's effort to streamline and simplify offers for its customers and add more efficiency to the organization.

Specifically, Verizon said it has placed its portfolio of devices into three categories: 

• 3G smartphones. These are Rev. A-based devices that provide customers with Web browsing and applications from app stores. Typically, these devices are based on the RIM operating system, the Palm WebOS, Android and Windows Mobile. In 2010 Verizon will have about 20 additional smartphones on its roadmap.
• 3G multimedia devices. These offer HTML browsing, have applications based upon Qualcomm's BREW platform, offer music services and navigation. They are data capable, but not high end.
• Simple feature phones. These are 1xRTT devices that offer talk and text. These are for entry-level users who don't want more features.

The company will now offer data plans associated with these device categories. For 3G smartphones, there is a $30-per-month data package that provides unlimited data.    

For 3G multimedia devices, the data package required is a $9.99 monthly plan that provides customers with 10 Mb of data and gives them access to mobile email, games and the Internet. The $19.99 per month package for 3G multimedia phones has been discontinued.  

For feature phones, users are not required to have a data plan. However, they can purchase either the $9.99 per month plan or the $30 per month plan or they can opt for just being charged $1.99 per Mb of data they use.  

McAdam said that the company is not concerned about offering an unlimited data plan to its smartphone users. "Our network is strong on a day-to-day basis, he said. "There has been a lot of speculation about usage caps. We don't feel we need to worry about that at this point."

He wouldn't say whether tethering a smartphone to a laptop was included in the $30 unlimited plan, but he did say Verizon would be making further announcements regarding tethering in the future.

Verizon's action comes amid FCC scrutiny over the firm's recent tweaks to its early termination fee (ETF) policies. In December, the FCC sent a letter to Verizon asking the nation's largest carrier to explain its "advanced devices" ETF, which raises the pro-rated fee to $350 for devices including netbooks and some smartphones. Earlier this year FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Verizon Wireless' response to the agency's inquiry into the fees "raised more questions than it answered," a comment that could portend further FCC action on the topic.

For more:
- See this press release
- See this WSJ article (sub. req.)
- See this Reuters story

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