Verizon Begins Trialing Entry Level Smartphone Data Plan in Select Markets

Verizon Wireless will be running a new smartphone data plan promotion in select markets on the East Coast that will offer users a more limited 300 MB of data for $20 per month, which is a $10 discount from the base 2 GB data offering of today. The move will allow Verizon Wireless to compete against T-Mobile USA and rival AT&T in the entry-level segment with cheaper data for those who don’t need to consume a lot of data over a mobile broadband network due to not using their phone often for data access or because these users most often rely on WiFi access.

Tests of the new data plan will begin between August 18th and September 30th for current and new subscribers in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The carrier right now did not mention if these plans will extend to other markets or if the network will extend the $20 data offering beyond the 30th of September, though other Verizon Wireless regions may announce similar promotions in  the future.

For those who have been grandfathered into Verizon Wireless’s old unlimited $30 smartphone data plan, it’s unclear if a change to the $20 would disqualify you from changing back to the $30 grandfathered unlimited plan after the promotion period, but this seems likely. In July, the carrier had announced that it would no longer off unlimited data plans and made the migration to tiered and metered data offerings in a move similar to that taken by AT&T.

Verizon’s basic promotion plan would still be the most expensive option between the three mentioned carriers. T-Mobile’s base 200 MB plan costs $10 per month while AT&T’s 250 MB plan costs $15.

With a faster network enabled by its 4G LTE technology along with more capable smartphones and smartphone hardware, the carrier anticipates that consumers will be able to use their devices more and that will lead in an uptick in data consumption.

Via: Fierce Wireless