Verizon today introduced a new set of mobile service plans, and nowhere in them does the company offer to subsidize new phones. Subscribers need to buy the phone outright or pay monthly installments.
Consumers have always liked the idea of getting a big price break in exchange for signing a two-year contract, but most do not realize that over two years they pay more for the phone than they would have if they'd bought the phone outright.
The service contracts are gone -- all the new plans are month-to-month. Verizon has also done away with Family Plan options and single line options.
The carrier, the nation's largest, has simplified its mobile plans down to four options, all of which come with unlimited voice service and text messages.
A "small" bucket offers 1GB of data for $30 a month. A "medium" bucket offers 3GB of data for $45. A "large" bucket offers 6GB of data for $60. And an "x-large" offers 12GB for $80.
People who own multiple wireless devices can share the data allotment across devices.
So the complexity has gone way down. Before this change, Verizon had 15 different kinds of plans, with options for individuals. Now there are just four. The good news is that compared to comparable plans in the old price structure, the new plans are slightly better deals.
But, as Roger Cheng at CNET points out, not everybody will be happy. Subscribers who bought family plans for 6GB of data per month will now pay $5 more for the same terms with the new plans.