Matt PichtMobile giant Verizon announced Thursday it's revamping its pricing policies, cutting costs for the consumer in the latest major shakeup in the wireless industry.
"Now, with MORE Everything, new and existing customers get even more on top of what they previously get with Share Everything. ... It's never been a better time to be a Verizon Wireless customer."
Verizon's MORE Everything will boost the data allowances on most plans without raising prices, and make international messaging unlimited. It'll also give customers access to 25 GB of free cloud storage, a service which used to cost $3 a month. Finally, the company is encouraging consumers to use its Verizon Edge service by offering Edge users $10 or $20 a month in discounts.
Verizon's move is the latest gambit in the increasingly competitive price war being waged between the four major mobile carriers.
T-Mobile's radical "Uncarrier" policies are widely credited as the cause of the conflict; most recently the company promised to pay the termination fees of anyone who broke their contract with another carrier and switched to T-Mobile. (Via The Verge)
Rival carrier AT&T has responded by shaking up its family plans, and offering up to $450 dollars to T-Mobile customers who switched to AT&T — and things just got uglier from there. (Via Twitter / @JohnLegere)
Now Verizon seems to be joining the fray by sweetening its own offerings. So, is it worth it?
After crunching the numbers, CNET concludes Verizon's new offering might attract people who want Verizon's better coverage but were scared off by its high prices. "For customers dissatisfied with their current carrier, this is an excuse to take a look at Verizon. It's likely still more expensive, but the option is slightly more attractive."
But Forbes notes there's a big caveat here: the best discounts are reserved for customers on the Edge upgrade plan, which requires consumers to pay full price for their phones in installments, but offers customers the option to upgrade early.
"So Edge, like similar programs from other carriers, only makes sense if (a) you’re a frequent upgrader ... or (b) you plan to keep it for more than 2 years, in which case you’ll certainly come out ahead."
And PC Magazine writes Verizon's eager to get customers onto Edge so it can avoid paying expensive smartphone subsides. "All of the carriers want to ditch the expensive up-front subsidies they use to sucker consumers in for two-year contracts, but they don't want to give up the two-year contracts. Edge is Verizon having its cake and eating it too."
Verizon's MORE Everything plan went into effect Thursday. The company said it's automatically upgrading existing Verizon customers onto the new plans.
