Verizon Wireless Confirms Price Increases And Rollover Data; New Plans Launch Tomorrow

As it was rumored (twice), so it has come to pass: as of today Verizon Wireless is bumping up its data caps and creating rollover data for new customers… in exchange for a price bump.

Verizon announced today that the rumors are all indeed true. Their new wireless plans do indeed provide limited rollover data and increase customers’ data allotment, even as they raise prices.

Until this morning, Verizon’s pricing scheme looked like this:

And as of now, according to their press release, the company’s new plan looks like this:

The bottom-tier “small” plan sees its data cap doubled for a $5 monthly price increase, but the “L” and above plans all are facing increases of $10 per month.

Likewise, all the new features other than carryover data will come with a fee for subscribers to the S, M, or L plans. So what are all these features?

Carryover data is what it sounds like: you can take your unused data quota from one month and roll it over to the next, to borrow against if (and only if!) you first hit that billing cycle’s data cap. It expires month-to-month so you won’t be accruing mountains of gigabytes.

Safety mode, as rumored, is a feature that users can set to basically throttle themselves when they hit their data cap, if they choose. When you hit your limit, you can no longer access 4G LTE (10-100 Mbps) but instead get dropped to 128 kbps (0.016 MBps) until your billing cycle turns over — though that slow-speed connection is unlimited, for what it’s worth.

Data Boost is a mechanism where customers who are using Safety Mode can opt back into an overage charge, basically — it takes you out of slow-jail and puts you back in real-data-land, at a cost of $15 per GB used… exactly what their current data overage charge is.

Verizon’s also completely revamping their My Verizon Wireless movie app to give customers greater on-the-go control of their plan and billing.

It might not be the “fireworks” earlier hits from Verizon representatives promised, but it is, at least, change. Existing customers currently on Verizon plans may opt into the new scheme if they wish, but can also remain on their current (cheaper) plans if they choose.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist