Verizon will officially offer buyers of its iPhone a $30 unlimited data plan when it goes on sale next month, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam told the Wall Street Journal.
But during Verizona4ぎa4г investor call today, McAdam also clarified that the offer would only be temporary. The carrier plans to move to a tiered pricing model later this year, similar to AT&'Ta4ぎa4г shift last year.
a4ぎAIa4ぎa4m not going to shoot myself in the foot,a4ぎ he said. Millions of current iPhone users on AT&'T were grandfathered into unlimited data plans, so McAdam wanted to offer the same flexibility if they moved to Verizon. Customers who first moved to AT&'T for the iPhone 4 werena4ぎa4д offered unlimited plans, and ita4ぎa4г likely that come the iPhone 5, Verizon will also drop the unlimited option.
Ita4ぎa4г a wise offer, because iPhone users moving to Verizon will also be losing the ability to use voice and data functionality simultaneously due to limitations of its CDMA 3G network. Verizon needs as few barriers to entry as possible for new iPhone customers, as the carrier has a lot of ground to make up for when it comes to smartphone users. Verizon announced today that only 26 percent of its mobile subscribers have smartphones, up from around 15 percent last year.
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Companies: Apple, Verizon
People: Lowell McAdam
Companies: Apple, Verizon
People: Lowell McAdam
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
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