New Verizon Plans Give Consumers, Small Businesses More Data, But It'll Cost You

Verizon on Wednesday rolled out a new app and plan options including higher costs, but more data.

The new Verizon Plan offers at least 30 percent more data and introduces new capabilities like carryover data, safety mode, and international calling and roaming for Canada and Mexico, the telco said. Starting Thursday, customers can choose the amount of data they want through the new My Verizon app.

“The phone in your pocket gives you access and control to everything in your life,” said Diego Scotti, Verizon’s chief marketing officer. “Now you’ll use your phone to control your wireless experience itself.”{ad}

New plan options include:

Current customers who are satisfied with their current plans don’t have to switch, Verizon said.

On average, data use among Verizon smartphone customers has increased from about 1 GB per month in April 2013, to 2.7 GB per month as of this past April.

The new Verizon Plan also is available in new sizes for small businesses with 11 to 25 lines. Monthly charges for small businesses are $15 per month for each phone or smartphone on the new plan.

Competition is at an all-time high among carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile), with each hoping to steal customers from the others with more data, discounts and other incentives.

“The new Verizon Plan puts your mobile experience in the palm of your hand with the My Verizon app, giving you greater value with new capabilities that get rid of the fear of overages, offer bill simplicity, and help you better manage your overall mobile experience with a few quick taps,” said Nancy Clark, Verizon’s senior vice president of marketing and operations. “Your mobile device is the center of your universe, making the reliability of your mobile network more critical than ever.”

Carryover data automatically rolls a customer’s unused data for one month into the next, including any additional data purchased during that month. Data expires at the end of the next monthly billing cycle.

Safety mode is designed to eliminate overages. Once a customer reaches his/her data limit, Verizon will switch the data speed from 4G LTE to 128 kbps, with no additional cost to the plan. The slower speeds apply until a customer upgrades his/her plan, buys more data through Data Boost, or until the end of the month with a new allotment of 4G LTE data.