Verizon Wireless today introduced new More Everything plans that raise the data caps on its shared plans and offer incentives for opting into the carrier’s Edge early upgrade program.
As expected, Verizon seems to be responding to recent pricing moves from AT&T. More Everything plans are similar to AT&T’s recently announced shared data and early upgrade service discounts.
Consistent with the details that surfaced late yesterday, More Everything, in some cases, doubles the amount of data available previously. For instance, the $40 tier now offers 1 GB of data, double the 500 MB it offered before. 2 GB is now $50 and there’s a new 3 GB plan available for $60. All the plans still require $40 monthly per line for unlimited talk and text.
But Verizon is offering to lower service charges for customers who jump into the Edge program. Monthly discounts start at $10 for plans up to 8 GB and jump to $20 for plans with 10 GB or more. Since Edge customers are paying out-front device costs, the service discount seems to be a way of at least partially cutting the device subsidy costs out of the service plan.
The More Everything plans also add on 25 GB of free storage per line and unlimited international texting. For $5 per month, customers can add on extras like Family Base device management capabilities and unlimited international calling at reduced rates. Both of those extras are being offered free for the first three months.
Verizon’s tweaks to its shared data pricing come not too long after Sprint also introduced new pricing structures. Sprint’s new Framily plans start at $55 for unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data. From there, the plans decrease as more individuals are added to the plan, eventually dropping to $25 per month when a single plan hits 7 devices. Framily plan lines are billed separately and can be upgraded to unlimited data for $20 more per month.
Many of the new pricing moves coming from the major carriers can be traced back to T-Mobile’s disruptive Uncarrier policies. Most recently at CES, T-Mobile announced it would start paying the early termination fees for customers from other carriers who switch to T-Mobile.
