Verizon, Tiered Pricing Data Plan | featured news

Verizon’s new data plans announced on Tuesday are expected to be followed by others in the industry as wireless firms focus their attention on charges for Internet data, according to analysts... The new plans, to launch June 28, are expected to motivate families to get more devices onto a single plan, according to analyst Craig Moffett, of Sanford C. Bernstein. That business strategy benefits the biggest wireless carriers — AT&T and Verizon Wireless — and presents new problems for competitors trying to chip away at those firms’ dominance.

Verizon Wireless plans to scrap its unlimited data plan for new smartphone subscribers beginning Thursday and replace it with monthly packages that range from $30 to $80.

AT&T is adding a postpaid billing option for tablet customers, though its pricing is largely unchanged: $15 or $25 a month based on data usage.

Verizon executives are exploring ways to charge consumers based on the speed of their wireless data connection in addition to the amount of data they use.

Verizon Communications Inc. and Google Inc. reached a deal on how to handle Internet traffic, striking their own accord on policy being weighed by U.S. officials, two people briefed by the companies said today.

Comments by Verizon's CFO suggest the company is considering following rival AT&T into a tiered pricing structure for its mobile data services. Verizon Wireless' Chief Financial Officer John Killian suggested the company may consider following a move ...