Companies
08/07/2016

More Data against More Expensive Plans to be Offered by Verizon




Keeping in mind the increasing trend among customers who are increasingly streaming content through mobile devices, Verizon Communications Inc, the No. 1 U.S. wireless provider, said that it would expand data buckets by 30 percent for its customers but would at the same time increase plan rates for the services.
 
The company said that to let customers control data overages and billing, as well as manage plans, the company would roll out a revamped version of its My Verizon mobile app starting in the second week of July.
 
The company would also start the facility of letting customers carry over unused data over to the next month and begin offering users on certain plans unlimited text and calling to and from Mexico and Canada emulating some of the moves and services that are offered by some of its rivals such as AT&T Inc and T-Mobile US Inc.
 
The company in recent times has been locked in a severe battle with competitors in the saturated U.S. wireless market to win over subscribers and this announcement of a redesigned plan and apps come at a time when the company ,  known for its high-quality network, gets deeper in to the gaining of market share battle.
 
The competitors of Verizon have been making very unique and attractive offers to attract customers away from competitors to their own networks. For example, while T-Mobile has launched free music, video-streaming plans and other customer-friendly offers and free gifts for customers, smaller rival Sprint Corp has been offering half-off discounts to woo new customers and to draw away customers from other service providers.
 
Rob Miller, vice president of consumer pricing at Verizon said in a webcast that the new rate plans "reflect the significant growth in individual data use" and are meant to help customers tackle data overage costs.
 
Rates are being hiked and data is being incrased across all plans of Verizon. For example, the high-end "XXL" plan will cost $10 more at $110 and offer 24 gigabytes as opposed to the previous 16 gigabyte limit while the basic "S" plan will cost $35, a $5 rise, and offer double the data at 2 gigabytes.
 
To protect customers from data overages by slowing down their speeds, a safety mode would be introduced by the company, it announced. The feature costs $5 for those on the "S", "M", "L" plans while it is free for those on the "XL" and "XXL" plans, it said.
 
The company has shifted its focus to the advertising-supported Internet business and acquired AOL last June for $4.4 billion in order to tap new revenue beyond its bread-and-butter wireless business. The company is believed to be among the strng contenders in the bidding for Yahoo Inc's core Internet business.
 
Verizon shares were relatively unchanged at $55.93 in the last trading day.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com) 

Christopher J. Mitchell
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