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(Update: Verizon confirms changes) Verizon to throttle overage data and increase prices, data caps
Also of note is the company's Data Boost program. This feature lets you purchase additional gigs of data on your plan for a whopping $15 a pop. All of these services can be viewed and adjusted via the company's newly revamped My Verizon app, linked in the button below.
Last week we caught wind of a pretty strong rumor that Verizon would be rolling out some changes to its service model to put it more in alignment with T-Mobile and AT&T in terms of how data is handled. Now we’re seeing that some of these changes are to be formally announced this coming Wednesday.
Although Verizon is primarily focused on teasing the coming changes via an online news conference tomorrow, CNET is reporting on specifics that they say they’ve received from an inside source. Their scoop shows Verizon increasing the prices of their plans across the board, but users will be getting additional data added to their plans and overages will be handled much differently.
First off, let’s knock out the pricing, shall we? The smallest “S” plan will cost you $5 bucks more a month ($35 total) but users will get an extra gig of data, doubling the pre-existing offering. The “M” plan will also get a $5 hike, meaning it will clock in at $50, and these users will also get an extra gig added to their plan, now totaling 4GB.
Part and parcel with these increases in data caps and pricing is a new way of handling overages.
The “L” plan hops from $60 to $70 per month, but for that price you get an extra two gigs added to your plan: 8GB per month will be your new norm. “XL” likewise hops from $80 to $90, but these users will also be seeing a significant increase of data vaulting them from 12GB to 16GB. Finally, the “XXL,” which already cost $100, will cost $110. These premium users will now receive 24 gigs of data instead of 18.
Part and parcel with these increases in data caps and pricing is a new way of handling overages and underages. From now on, if you don’t use up all of your data in a pay period, Verizon will roll that data over to the next month. Also, if you use up all of your data, rather than automatically billing you for new gigabytes at an increased rate, the carrier will simply throttle your data down to 128Kbps via “Safety Mode.” An added perk will be unlimited calling to Canada and Mexico. Previous rumors indicated that these boons would not be coming to Verizon’s smaller plans.
What do you think of these changes coming to the way Verizon charges you for data? Are these a long awaited boon or a frustrating inconvenience? Let us know your take in the comments below!
