The End of Unlimited

We couldn't say that we didn't see this coming. On July 7 of last year, Verizon's new data plans all transitioned to metered plans giving customers 2 options: pay per megabyte or select a tiered plan. Tiered plans come in a few flavors: 2GB for $30 a month, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB. Considering that Verizon's unlimited data used to cost the same as the lowest plan, this comes as a major disappointment to Verizon's customer base. To the average consumer, these numbers do not mean much. How much is 2 gigabytes of data? Is that an hour or video? A hundred emails? You would be hard-pressed to get a consistent answer from the typical smartphone user. Cell phone service providers are more than happy to leave you in the dark and charge overages.


When smartphones were less common, service providers were more than eager to give customers unlimited data. At that time, data plans were considered a premium, add-on service. The additional data plan revenue was a bonus to current voice and text rates. As smartphones worked their way into the hands of 42% of Americans, service providers started to see dollar signs. Charging consumers for what they actually use is not a new concept. After all, that is exactly what service providers do for text and voice. It was only a matter of time before providers turned on the meter. Now that Verizon has joined the list of cell phone service providers no longer offering unlimited data, the final few will likely follow.

Who are these few companies you ask? First, if you signed a Verizon data plan contract before July, hold onto it like gold. You will continue to receive unlimited data on your current plan. There is no official word on when Verizon will pull the plug on these remaining unlimited data customers. If you are looking for an alternative to Verizon, Sprint still offers a comparative unlimited plan with some catches. The first catch: "unlimited" only pertains to usage on Sprints cell phone towers. When Sprint towers are not available, data is metered or unavailable. The second catch: Sprint service coverage is typically not as good as Verizon's. If trends continue, Sprint will most follow Verizon is revoking unlimited data.