Verizon details 'usage based' data plans

Verizon Wireless is dumping its current unlimited data plan offering for new customers and replacing it with a scheme of four "usage based" data plans that will be offered to subscribers beginning on July 7.

The new plans for new Verizon customers will consist of four choices: $10 for 75 megabytes a month, $30 for 2 gigabytes, $50 for 5 gigabytes or $80 for 10 gigabytes, said Jenny Weaver, a spokeswoman for the telecommunications giant. Under the new smartphone data plans, subscribers will have to pay $10 for each gigabyte of data they use beyond their monthly limits, Weaver said. Current Verizon cellphone subscribers, which includes those who have the $29.99 unlimited data plan, won't be affected by the new offerings unless they want to switch over to a new usage-based plan. Data plans for tablets, wireless hot spots and USB modems and other data plans the company offers will remain the same as well, she said. "This only affects new customers with phones that use data plans," Weaver said. "If you have Verizon and you have an unlimited data plan, you can keep it. Customers can even keep their unlimited data plans when they get a new phone if they want to, or they can chose a new plan if they want to, at any time, without penalty." For those Verizon subscribers who do switch over to a usage-based plan, it probably won't result in a huge difference from what they're paying now, she said.

Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "It is a shame that Verizon and the other wireless companies see the need to ration bits of data for their customers. While the new 4G technologies hold great promise, the truth is that most consumers could reach or exceed their caps if they watch two or three movies in a month. At some point, consumers will realize these new technologies will be worth very little if they can't or won't afford to pay for them. At that point, the companies will be forced to reassess their plans if they want the technology to achieve its full potential."