Almost a month after the arrival of the CDMA iPhone on Verizon, there are reports of Verizon planning to phase out its unlimited data plans by the time the next generation iPhone, the rumored iPhone 5 arrives later this year. The report is based on Bloomberg’s report in which Verizon’s CFO, Fran Shammo was quoted saying that “unlimited data plans for the iPhone are “not a long-term solution” and said Verizon plans to end the practice this summer. What is not clear is whether existing users of the unlimited plans would retain their unlimited services or if they would be migrated to some other plan.
Last year, when AT&T discontinued the unlimited plans, it did allow existing users to continue with their plans. What is also not known are the details about the new plans that would replace the unlimited ones? The current estimates say that Verizon users would be comfortable spending between $30 a month and $50 a month for data. The current unlimited pack for 3G devices on Verizon costs $29.99 a month. This includes packs for the CDMA iPhone 4 as well.
Note that Verizon’s new plans will only apply to iPhone customers. Another pertinent thing is the fact that the phase out of the unlimited plans seem to correspond to the time the next generation iPhone arrives. Could it be possible that the iPhone 5 would be announced on Verizon as well – with new data plans in the next few months?
[Via BusinessWeek]
