Verizon, AT&T revamp pricing plans

Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility revamped their voice and data plans last week.

Verizon kicked off the move by slashing prices on its unlimited voice plans and streamlining its data packages. Specifically, Verizon reduced the number of plans from 40 to six single-line plans and eight family share plans. Some of the biggest changes include dropping unlimited voice service from $99 to $69.

On the data side, Verizon said it placed its portfolio of devices into three categories, and will offer data plans specific to those devices. 3G smartphone purchases now require a $30 per month data package that provides unlimited data. Lower end 3G multimedia devices will require a data package for $10 per month with 25 MB of data. 

Hours later, AT&T introduced similar pricing plans, offering unlimited voice and data for $99.99 per month for smartphone users, including iPhone users. AT&T's previous pricing for iPhone users included $99.99 for unlimited voice and $30 for unlimited data. Reducing the cost of iPhone usage is notable considering Pali analyst Walter Piecyk recently estimated that fully 40 percent of AT&T's postpaid customers use an iPhone or are in a family plan with an iPhone.

Both Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA currently offer unlimited plans that are cheaper than those put forward by AT&T and Verizon. Both Sprint's Simply Everything Plan and T-Mobile's Even More offering include unlimited talk, text and data for $99.99 per month.

Finally, regional operator U.S. Cellular announced its own unlimited plans. The company is offering unlimited voice calling for $69.99 per month for one line and $119.99 per month for two lines; customers can get up to three additional lines for $49.99 each. U.S. Cellular said existing customers can migrate to the new plans without a contract extension.

For more:
- see this Verizon Wireless press release
- read this FierceWireless article
- see this AT&T release
- take a look at this U.S. Cellular release

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