Verizon, AT&T offer flat-fee unlimited wireless plans
NEW YORK -- Verizon's unlimited plans for BlackBerry devices and other smartphones will start at $129.99 a month. The pricier plans offer extra features, such as unlimited messaging, global e-mail and video.
The new "Nationwide Unlimited Anytime Minutes Plan" could rewrite the competitive rules of the wireless industry, which has long embraced the idea of selling "buckets" of minutes for a set monthly price. Verizon, which claims 66 million customers, now offers a bucket of 2,000 minutes for $99 a month.
Jack Plating, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, says his company isn't abandoning the bucket — but it is targeting "high value" customers who pay at least $100 a month for wireless services.
"We are going after high-end customers," he says.
Plating says he doesn't expect a price war, but he also makes it clear that Verizon stands ready to answer its rivals. "Anybody can match a price; nobody can match us on the value and quality of what our network is offering."
Each month, millions of wireless consumers exceed their allotment of minutes, triggering charges of 25 cents to 55 cents a minute. These "overage" charges currently account for about 15% of the wireless industry's annual revenue, says Roger Entner of IAG Research.
In May, Sprint introduced one to residents of Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Tampa, and parts of Northern California and Western Nevada. Sprint's plan costs $119.99 a month, and includes unlimited Web use, e-mail and messaging, which Verizon Wireless' and AT&T's plans do not.
Related Stories
ABC News Live