Verizon backpedals on ending existing unlimited data plans
Verizon has backtracked on a statement made by one of its officials saying it would cut off grandfathered unlimited data plans.
The communications company said it has been “evaluating its data pricing structure for some time,” in an official statement posted on its website Thursday.
Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said users with unlimited data would have to sacrifice their plans before upgrading to the company’s 4G network, which upset many customers on the Web on Wednesday.
“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 said Wednesday at the the JPMorgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference. “And that is beneficial for us for many reasons, obviously.”
In its statement, Verizon did not reiterate Shammo’s statements, but it also did not definitely say that existing unlimited-data plans could go away.
“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,” the statement read.
Verizon became the second network to discontinue unlimited data plans last summer, following in AT&T’s footsteps. T-Mobile has unlimited data but slows down users after 2 GBs of usage, making Sprint the only network with true unlimited data plans.
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