All good things must come to an end, and it appears long-time Verizon customers who have the $30-per-month unlimited data plan will see just that, according to a Fierce Wireless article. Many of those customers were grandfathered into the 3G network under that plan, but Verizon will soon release its shared-data multi-tiered plans which will allegedly force many customers to upgrade to its 4G LTE network.
The company’s chief executive officer, Fran Shammo, said during the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference yesterday that he expects a great migration of customers from the 3G network to its 4G LTE network. Some customers, however, may end up migrating to other carriers. Twitter has been full of customers voicing their displeasure after the company’s announcement.
“I’m sort of thinking about switching to T-Mobile because of #Verizon’s aggressive moves to nickel and dime customers,” one customer tweeted.
“There goes my main reason for staying with #Verizon… no more grandfathered unlimited data plans.. Wish I had #Sprint,” tweeted another customer.
Verizon, which has yet to confirm if it will force the customers off of their unlimited data plan, issued a statement acknowledging the uproar the announcement caused: “As we have stated publicly, Verizon Wireless has been evaluating its data pricing structure for some time. Customers have told us that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. We are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year. We will share specific details of the plans and any related policy changes well in advance of their introduction, so customers will have time to evaluate their choices and make the best decisions for their wireless service. It is our goal and commitment to continue to provide customers with the same high value service they have come to expect from Verizon Wireless.”
“A lot of our 3G base is unlimited. As they start to migrate into 4G, they will have to come off of unlimited and go into the data share plan,” Shammo told the Los Angeles Times. “And that is beneficial for us for many reasons, obviously.”
The company will have a $30-per-month plan for a 2 gig data plan. For customers upgrading, there is a $30 upgrade fee the company recently started charging, which Shammo said was the “right move” since it didn’t impact their customer base, CNN Money reported.
Do you think this recent move will impact Verizon’s customer base? Voice your opinion on our Twitter page @CMN.
-Dustin Bass, @dbass_cmn
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