Verizon dropping unlimited data plans next month

By Cody Allison
last updated

According to All Things Digital, a Verizon spokesperson has said that they will be dropping its their Unlimited data plan option in July.

We will move to a more usage based model in July. We'll share more later.

Verizon will be switching to a tiered data option for smart phone users on their network, and according to the source, the data caps and prices will be as follows,

  • 2GB - $30/month
  • 5GB - $50/month
  • 10GB - $80/month
  • Tethering is a $20/month add-on and includes an additional 2GB of data.
  • Overages are assessed at $10/GB.

AT&T dropped their unlimited data plans last summer and switched to a tiered system, but allowed customers to stay "grandfathered" into their unlimited data plans (without the option to tether). Whether or not Verizon follows suit allow their existing users with unlimited plans to keep them, we don't know yet. ? If you are a Verizon user, does this affect you? Will it make your bill any cheaper? Let us know in the comments.

[All Things Digital]

Cody Allison
56 Comments
  • Ha! If those prices are true, their worse than att! 2gb for $30 when customers are getting unlimited for $30? Where's the competitive prices verizon?
  • Uh i have unlimited for 30 w Verizon...
    Att kept unlimited for those threatening to jump ship to Verizon for having their services interrupted for that.. AT&T has the same pricing if not worse.
    I think you should read gooder...
  • Or maybe you should know what your talking about before youopen your mouth.
    Att has 2gb for $25 and 200mb for $15.
    And more than likely verizon will do like att is doing, and only letting you keep your unlimited data plan through one upgrade. After that your paying the same price for less.
    I think you should not be so quick to open your mouth if you dont know the facts
  • I think I'm going to be treating my current phone with kid gloves for a very long time because odds are that Verizon will take away your unlimited data plan if you switch phones since data features are linked to the devices, not the contract.
    Also, this will likely throw a damper on that 'analyst' expected "mass exodus" from Android to iPhone mentioned in another article.
  • android blogs have already leaked that vzw will allow current unlimited customers to be grandfathered over....isnt it just like an iphone blog to be playing cathcup with android
  • Frankly, what percentage of people use more than 2GB a month? I will say very very few. Unless you are streaming video, it is very hard to hit that limit. I don't stream video because I have a day job. I don't sit around watching video. ;)
  • Downloading apps. Reading e-mail. Streaming Pandora or another music streaming service.
  • I use about 10GB a month on AT&T unlimited plan streaming Netflix. I don't have a TV, and 3G is my only internet access - no other options available at my location.
  • I'm in SOUTH AFRICA, and wud kill to get unlimited data just like BIS for blackberry. Any comments on the issue?
  • Yeah. Move to america lol.
  • its not the point if you use 2gb a month or not. verizon as well as att has just doubled your price for the same data. do the math and stop looking at how much you lose verizon (grandfathered plan) 30 month unlimited (assume 5gb is unlimited) means your paying 6 dollars per gig. now 2gb for 30 bucks your paying 15 dollars per gig they just raised your plan by more then 100%. its not about how much you actually use and who knows as you do more how much you will use. att is unlimited 30 bucks or 6 dollars per gig. their new plan is 2gb for 25 dollars or 12.5 per gig. believe me they arent doing you any favors.
  • MOre than 200% not 100
  • MOre than 200% not 100
  • learn your math if something is 6 dollars and goes to 12 thats 100% its a double 6+6=12to 15 see my other post its a 9 dollar increase or 150%
  • how much you use not lose sorry. 2 gb should be 12 bucks not 25 or 30 based on the old unlimited plan
  • bottom line is way more expensive for the same service. stop looking so near as how much you actually use look at how much your actually being charged.
  • this can't be true.. this is too bad to be true. They're gonna charge the same amount for 2 gig that they charged for unlimited? Seriously?
  • Im sure they will match at&t eventually. But still Verizon is scared about the on coming iPhone users maybe their network is not as good as they think :)
  • thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard
  • Troll. Go back to the android forums loser. Do you have no life or something? You just troll blogs of things you dont like?
  • teehee
  • Dumb fag go suck a Droid c0ck
  • +1
  • You guys should of moved to the iPhone on AT&T a while back. Art is still superior. Where I live anyway.
  • Thats not a bad idea, but just like the music indrestery and congress. They are stuck in the old days.
  • I'm on a two year with Sprint. I'm not going anywhere. Besides I just got Primer sliver status.
  • I hope it's only for LTE.
  • This would be less of an issue if carriers would let unused data rollover to the next month, just as voice minutes do. That way, customers could actually use all or most of the data they're paying for.
  • One less thing Verizon doesn't have over AT&T. At this point it seems that a 15 dollar 250mb may be appealing to those who don't use much data on their iPhone ( like my mother ). However Verzion offers more than 2GB data for more money but I don't know many people who will pay 80 bucks JUST for cellular data.
    These companies are getting out of hand with offering less for more. Unlimited should be a standard. However, I wonder how Sprint would do with AT&T iPhone like traffic.
  • They sell android phones so about the same
  • Get a nokia 6610
  • that'll probably be worst than the plans they have now. In new york we have metro cards to get around on the subway and the monthly unlimited ride metro cards give people more value than people who pay for each ride. If we get charged for how much we use it's going to be a lot more expensive.
  • I don't ever hit my cap being grandfathered in with AT&T unlimited. But I am very glad I still have it and only pay 24.50 for it. I'll stay here.
  • My wife and I use her IPhone 4 to stream Netflix to our computer as we don't have Internet at the house and no alternate game system/blue ray player etc. We watch movies every night almost through the phone and onto the tv. You can use that much data.
  • Whoops, correction. We stream to the tv with an av cable. Not the computer.
  • They are getting ready for the next iPhone
  • No. They said they were gonna ditch unlimted a whole back.
  • Just wondering if this is a reaction to iCloud.
  • Then perhaps YOU are on wifi a lot. I use up close to 3-5GB each month. I have unlimted so I'm using it to its fullest.
    They have netflix on mobile devices for a reason.
    My thing is, you shouldn;t cry or worry about data useage. Just set it and forget it!
  • Because back then, technology was no where where it is today.
  • When AT&T introduced their tier system it was like big brother in "1984". They said see what we're doing for you? We're giving you more "freedom". I thought having multiple networks would lead to price wars not price fixing.
  • just in time for your iClouds :-)
  • that's because we already have clouds for music and less restrictions, and flash..dont worry you will get there apple fans :-)
  • 2GB for 30$ man what a rip off! I was going to go back to verizon when they launch the new iPhone, but I think I will stick with AT&T if this is what they are going to do. Guess we will have to wait and see.
  • nice name fanboy - apple or android - tiers are a bad thing and anyone thinking there going to get by after iOS 5 with limited caps isn't aware of what CLOUD brings is all I'm saying..
  • I don't use over 2 gb a month. But the people who stream a lot of videos and music is going to hurt them. I hope Verizon Grandfather the people who have the unlimited plan but if not it looks like a lot people will switch. Plus I notice 4g eats up a lot of data also. My friend has the Thunderbolt I know dirty word. So we shall see what kind of pricing plans they will give us in the next couple weeks.
  • So you don't 2gb a month, how many people have already said that. Some people like myself use more data then that. I'm at 3.1gb right now for the month and thats kinda low. It should be at least 5gb or throttle after 2gb instead of the cap
  • That's why I said in my area. Also with the amount of wifi around people really don't need a high data plan.
  • wow companies must love you if you fail to follow the logic. let me break it down for you. lets assume you use 1 gb of data on verizon you pay 30 bucks and get 2 gb. 2gb = 15 dollars per gig is what you are actually paying per gig of data. 15 x 2 = 30 bucks a month. the old plan was unlimited for 30 bucks. lets assume unlimited is 5gb (if you use more then 5gb its cheaper) now 5gb for 30 bucks breaks down to $6 x 5gb = 30 dollars. For the same data. So you are paying 150% more for the same data. your actual bill doesnt change its still 30 dollars but your price just went up per gig by more then double.
  • Sorry Mark, your math is correct but the equation is wrong. You are using an average cost for maximum usage. You do not account for the data that you pay for that does not get used.
    If I use 1.5 GB on the unlimited plan, I pay $30 (a true cost of $20/GB).
    If I use 1.5 GB on the tiered plan, I pay $30 (a true cost of $20/GB).
    These plans depend strictly on your usage habits and will only affect users that consistenyl exceed 2GB per billing cycle.
  • true cost of 30 no matter what. if you use 1.5 your paying 30 if you use 250 mb your paying 30 thats your true cost. use 3 gb you pay 30. the 30 is constant. think about it people do you think verizon or att for that matter would structure a plan for your benifit?
  • almost forgot you get hit with overages if you go over 2 gigs. now i know you will say i only use 1 gig or whatever but as the phone does more as you can do more you may start to go over 2 gigs but at least you have the option with an unlimited plan. i mean come on its the same 30 bucks so why limit yourself to 2 gb when for the same you can have unlimited at least you have a choice to go over without paying even more
  • I'm out of contract and seriously considering switching back to Verizon. I don't care about simultaneous voice and data, but would miss the roll over minutes. What I care more about is having coverage when I need it and not having so many dropped calls! I was at Fenway park last night and would have no cell coverage for periods of 10-20 mins because the tower was most likely overloaded. Heck, most of the time when it worked it was Edge service, all this in downtown Boston. AT&T you basically suck, in fact every time a Red Sox game is going on, cell service is non-existent in the Fenway area. Verizon, here I come!
  • I just talked to a Verizon customer service rep and those of us who do have the unlimited data plan will be grandfathered in and not have to worry about paying more!!
  • Alright so I just looked up last months bill (not sure if it included my new iphone or my old Droid but either way I always use a mess ton of data) and saw that I only used around 800mb. With the amount of browsing downloading and streaming I do I'm really now not that worried. Anytime I download something big I always do it over wifi anyway so it sucks but I think I can deal, oh and I'm grandfathered in too so suck it verizon, I'm never switching plans!
  • I've had unlimited data plan for forever. At times I don't use much but other times I used alot more. I don't think they should mess with the customers that have been with them (Alltel) and now Verizon for 2 decades!