Verizon to offer unlimited calling
Nationwide calls at $99.99 monthly with no time curb
By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 19, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Verizon Wireless plans to announce industry-first nationwide unlimited calling plans today that start at $99.99 a month and are geared toward heavy users.
The major wireless carrier also will launch a low-usage laptop broadband plan for $39.99 a month, along with a $59.99-a-month high-usage plan.
Melanie Braidich, regional president for Verizon Wireless, said the company believes the unlimited voice plans will be "game-changing."
"The reason we say that is that no other major carrier has given the market a nationwide plan that matches the increasing desire of consumers not to worry about watching their minutes," Braidich said.
Sprint and AT&T/Cingular have $99.99-a-month plans but limit use to 2,000 minutes a month.
Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst in Atlanta, said Verizon is seeking to attract high-value customers who use cell phones as their primary communications tool. That includes phone calls, text messaging, e-mail, watching video and downloading music.
"But (the plans) aren't for everybody," Kagan stressed. He said Verizon told him it is targeting roughly 30 million power users among the country's 255 million wireless subscribers.
"This shows the direction the industry is heading in," Kagan said.
"But is this going to change the industry and be something competitors copy? We don't know yet."
Kagan noted that Cingular plans allowing consumers to roll over unused minutes into the next month have been successful, "but no one else jumped in and matched it."
Though data revenues are growing, Verizon Wireless' average revenue per customer in the fourth quarter was a relatively flat $51.94 a month.
Verizon's new $39.99-a-month "BroadbandAccess" plan, which connects laptops to the company's high-speed network, will limit usage to 50 megabytes a month.
The new $59.99-a-month broadband plan has a subtle change, with a firm 5-gigabyte limit, then an additional 49-cent charge per megabyte.
Currently, Verizon Wireless reserves the right to reduce the speeds of $59.99-a-month broadband customers who go over 5 gigabytes a month.
Braidich indicated that about 2 percent of the customers fall into that category.
smithje@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5155
Carrier's venture
The Verizon Wireless plan:
* It will be an industry-first plan to offer a nationwide unlimited calling plan. The cost will be $99.99 a month.
* The target will be heavy users.
Other plans
* Sprint and AT&T/Cingular also offer $99.99-a-month plans but limit use to 2,000 minutes a month.
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anya writes:
Jeff: Thanks! It's great that the Rocky Mountain News is right on top of reporting the fast moving world of commercial advertisements that look just like news!!! As your hard-hitting report mentions, this stunning advance in cellular billing plans might affect TWO PERCENT of Verizon's customers! Wow!!!!!