Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • Storage

    Verizon Ending Unlimited Plan, Likely as New Apple iPhone Launches

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    March 2, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Verizon Wireless plans to replace its $30 unlimited data plan with usage-based pricing toward the middle of this summer, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said during a Morgan Stanley telecom conference.

      After competitor AT&T’s three years of exclusive rights to the Apple iPhone, Verizon began offering a CDMA-based (Code Division Multiple Access-based) version of the Apple iPhone 4 Feb. 10. (AT&T, by contrast, offers a GSM-based version.) The timing of Verizon’s new pricing plan, however, is expected to coincide with the launch of a next-generation Apple iPhone-a scenario that’s likely to upset Verizon’s new iPhone owners, who will find themselves with an “older” model in only a matter of months. It could also upset Verizon’s financials in the short term.

      “There could be some [margin] lumpiness when you launch the phone,” Shammo said during the March 1 conference, according to Reuters. “If there happens to be a new one that comes out, that quarter might not look so good [either].”

      Shammo added that the unlimited plan was never meant to be a long-term strategy.

      Former Verizon CFO John Killian, who retired from the position at the end of last year, had confirmed during Verizon’s third-quarter earnings call Oct. 22, 2010, that a $30 unlimited plan would be offered, as well as a $15 plan for 150MB of data. The plan, Killian said at the time, was to attract, with the $15 offer, first-time smartphone owners, who would eventually upgrade to the $30 plan. Shammo seemed to believe the $30 plan was encouragement in itself.

      “Let’s step back. Why did we do the unlimited $30 plan on the iPhone?” Shammo said during the conference, according to Fast Company. “Well, the reason we did that was we didn’t really want to put up a barrier to anybody who wanted to come over to experience the Verizon wireless network.”

      While Verizon’s shares fell, following Shammo’s comments, the move to usage-based plans is expected to benefit the carrier’s bottom line over time.

      He didn’t directly address reports that Apple is working on a smaller, less-expensive version of the iPhone that will be geared, according to Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf, toward “100 percent” of the mobile phone market, instead of a quarter of the market.

      Bloomberg has reported that the small iPhone won’t include a “home” button.

      “Apple would sell it at a low price mainly because the smartphone will use a processor, display and other components similar to those used in the current model, rather than pricier, more advanced parts that will be in the next iPhone,” Bloomberg reported.

      A teardown of the Verizon iPhone 4 by repair site iFixit found that Apple has replaced the AT&T iPhone’s Broadcom GPS chip with a Qualcomm MDM600-which supports both CDMA and GSM technologies.

      “Can it be that Apple’s thinking of using this chip in the iPad 2? Or maybe when the iPhone 5 is released, there will be just one phone for both Verizon and AT&T? That would be great,” iFixit’s M.J. said in a video on the site.

      Or maybe, Apple is just preparing for its less-expensive offering. Shammo, too, hinted at the growing need for lower-priced smartphones during the conference.

      “With the competition that’s coming from China and some other manufacturers, it’s going to push that smartphone price down, which means more and more people will be able to afford it,” Shammo said, according to the Fast Company report. “We have got to give them an entry point.”

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×