Verizon Wireless didn’t spare any hyperbole in its announcement today of new wireless pricing plans. The new plans, dubbed “Share Everything,” will “forever change the way customers purchase wireless services,” Verizon Wireless boasted.
A video touting the Share Everything plans is equally dramatic. “The revolution begins 6.28.12,” it says in reference to the plans’ launch date.
I think Verizon is a bit overzealous in its depiction of the new plans. Nevertheless you have to give the company credit for attempting to address an issue that is becoming all too clear as sales of media tablets, including the iPad, continue to soar but tablet users do their best to rely only on Wi-Fi, rather than cellular connectivity.
In retrospect this is something wireless operators should have seen coming. Because tablets are data-only, people need a cellphone – for many customers a smartphone – as well. But people don’t want the expense of an additional plan.
The Share Everything plans attempt to address this by enabling up to 10 devices to share a monthly data allowance – and to also receive unlimited voice and messaging. A person with a smartphone and a tablet would pay $40 a month for the smartphone plus an additional $10 a month for the tablet, with the two devices sharing data allowances ranging between $50 a month for 1GB of data and $100 a month for 10GB of data.
Customers also can add basic phones to the mix for an additional $30 a month, while Jetpacks, USBs, notebooks or netbooks will cost an additional $20 monthly.
Plans also are available for people who only have basic phones or who rely on data-only devices.
Will Verizon’s new plans encourage more tablet owners to use their devices on the company’s cellular network? Not every tablet has that capability of course, but for owners of those that do, the Share Everything plans certainly seem to be worth a close look.
The new plans don’t directly address another issue that people have with mobile data devices in general – and that’s the difficulty of really understanding how much real-world data usage equates to a gigabyte of data allowance. But with six different usage tiers, Verizon seems to be addressing this issue to the extent that it can be addressed.
I would be interested in hearing what readers think about this new development. Is it really revolutionary? Will it encourage greater cellular tablet usage?
