I have been awaiting the July 1 unveiling of the new Verizon Wireless plans for several weeks now, and when I excitedly visited the store yesterday, it was very much a disappointment.
The new America’s Choice “Premium” plan (for both family and individual plans) is nothing more than a ~$20 tacked on fee for your plan that includes (quoted from their press release):
- Mobile E-mail – Customers get their e-mail on-the-go with Verizon Wireless’ new Mobile E-mail application on select Get It Now®-enabled phones. With Mobile E-mail, Verizon Wireless customers can access up to 10 of the world’s most popular e-mail services, including Yahoo!® Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, AOL® Mail, AIM® Mail, Verizon.net accounts and more on their mobile phones.
- VZ Navigator – This location based service from Verizon Wireless gives customers audible turn-by-turn directions and location information to more than 14 million points of interest including restaurants, ATMs and gas stations.
- Messaging – Unlimited text, picture, video and instant messaging to anyone on any network in the U.S. The plans allow customers to send and receive messages to other wireless users and e-mail addresses worry free.
- V CAST Basic Video Clips – Verizon Wireless customers can enjoy video clips of the latest news, sports and entertainment in the palms of their hands.
- Internet – Included with the V CAST VPak, customers have unlimited access to Mobile Web 2.0SM at speeds faster than ever before.
- Network – Verizon Wireless has invested more than $37 billion in the last seven years to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network.
The problem is, you already paid $20 more a month for the unlimited messaging on the America’s Choice “Select” plans, so we are now looking at an extra $40/mo!
So now the plan matrices are as follows (for zip 76039):
Individual Plans
| Basic | Select | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 450 | $39.99 | $59.99 | $79.99 |
| 900 | $59.99 | $79.99 | $99.99 |
| 1350 | $79.99 | $99.99 | $119.99 |
| 2000 | $99.99 | $119.99 | $139.99 |
| 4000 | $149.99 | $169.99 | $189.99 |
| 6000 | $199.99 | $219.99 | $239.99 |
Family Share Plans
| Premium Plan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lines -> | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 700 | $139.99 | $169.98 | $199.97 | $229.96 |
| 1400 | $159.99 | $189.98 | $219.97 | $249.96 |
| 2100 | $179.99 | $209.98 | $239.97 | $269.96 |
| 3000 | $219.99 | $249.98 | $279.97 | $309.96 |
| 4000 | $269.99 | $299.98 | $329.97 | $359.96 |
| 6000 | $369.99 | $399.98 | $429.97 | $459.96 |
I have been with Verizon for 7 years, but it’s looking mighty cloudy in our relationship. This was a huge let down for me personally because I wanted a viable opponent for the iPhone. $20 a month is a bit much for a non-smartphone based device.
To make matters worse, I was due for a phone upgrade after 1 year (which it shows online) , but somehow when I went into the store they said that I wasn’t eligible for the 1 year upgrade until October? Some math is fuzzy there somewhere. Of course the people in the stores aren’t customer service… they are sales people, so I decided not to argue with people that didn’t know what they were talking about, and I walked back outside into the Texas downpour that was happening.
7 years Verizon… I’ll miss ya. I’ve been wanting a Blackberry Pearl anyways…
0 Responses to “Verizon Wireless Adds New "Premium" Plans at a "Premium" Price”