Verizon May Offer 4G LTE Smartphone Unlimited Data Plans for $30 or $45 at Launch

While there is a lot of talk about Verizon Wireless switching over to a metered data plan like AT&T, Droid-Life is reporting that the carrier may initially offer unlimited 4G data–and possible grandfather those plans in for those who subscribe when the plan is still available–at least initially.

Droid-Life is saying that 4G LTE smartphone data may still cost $30 a month, which is the same rate as the carrier’s 3G smartphone data plan. The other option that Droid-Life is hearing would be a $45 data plan for 4G LTE, which would mean a $15 premium for 4G data. That strategy would not be bad as Sprint had initially tacked on a $10 premium for 4G WiMax smartphones when the carrier had launched the Sprint HTC EVO 4G.

The blog is reporting that the carrier may change and update the plan pricing, which is still speculative at this point, when there is a full nationwide roll out of 4G data with more locations blanketed with LTE coverage. When that happens, it is likely that users who take the plunge and sign up early will be grandfathered into the old plan, rather than having to sign up at a more expensive cost or for a metered plan. The move would be similar to AT&T’s move when the carrier had switched to a metered plan beginning June 2010–at that time, users who were already under an unlimited $30 plan got to keep their data plan unchanged while new users had to sign up for one of the newer metered plans.

Regarding the launch of the HTC Thunderbolt, the blog is noting that the launch date may actually be February 24th and not February 14th.