Now that Verizon has made the leap into unlimited, the carrier is honing its strategy with the introduction of a new unlimited offering for prepaid subscribers.
As of this week, prepaid customers can get unlimited data, talk, and text for $80. That includes unlimited texting to more than 200 international locations, unlimited talk to Mexico and Canada, and video streams at 480p. Notably absent from the offer is a Mobile Hotspot capability, and the carrier notes in the fine print prepaid customer data may be prioritized “behind other customers during times/places of network congestion.”
The new plan joins a revamped prepaid lineup from the carrier that includes a recently added $40 per month plan with 2 GB of data, a 5 GB plan for $50 per month, and a $70 offering with 10 GB of data.
“In just months, Verizon has transformed its prepaid offerings to make it easier and more affordable for customers to get access to the best network at a great value, no matter how much data they need,” Tami Erwin, executive vice president of operations for Verizon, commented. “This plan is all about giving our prepaid customers more choice.”
The move comes around two weeks after U.S. Cellular, the nation’s fifth largest wireless carrier, added an unlimited option to its own prepaid lineup.
Verizon appears to be leaning into unlimited after the debut of its new postpaid plans in February helped boost its dismal first quarter net add figures. The carrier said during its earnings call last week that before the introduction of unlimited, its phone net additions were 398,000 in the red. Unlimited provided a hefty boost, pushing phone net additions 109,000 into the black. Verizon ended the quarter with 289,000 postpaid phone losses.
The carrier gained steam in prepaid in the first quarter, recording prepaid device losses of only 17,000, compared to losses of 177,000 the year prior. Now, it looks like Verizon is trying to parlay its unlimited success into a more forceful prepaid resurgence.