Verizon’s new sharing plans, by the numbers
Published 6:47 pm Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Existing Verizon Wireless customers have a choice to make. They can stick with their current plan or switch to one of the company’s Share Everything plans when they become available on June 28. Under the new plans, subscribers pay for two things: the pool of wireless data they use every month, and the devices they add to the plan. Here’s a brief look at prices and a breakdown of which plans are best-suited for various types of users.
— The base cost is a monthly data allowance, shared among all the devices:
1 gigabyte $50
2 gigabytes $60
4 gigabytes $70
6 gigabytes $80
8 gigabytes $90
10 gigabytes $100
— Verizon allows up to 10 devices on each plan. This is the cost of adding each device:
Smartphone $40 (With unlimited calling and texting)
Non-smartphone $30 (With unlimited calling and texting)
Laptop, USB data stick or “mobile hotspot” device $20
Tablet $10
— Here’s how the Share Everything Plan stacks up against some current Verizon plans.
The Connected Single: One smartphone with unlimited calling, texting and 2 gigabytes of data.
Current Nationwide single-line plan: $120 per month
Share Everything: $100 per month
Winner: Share Everything.
The Frugal but Connected Single: The cheapest plans for that one-smartphone guy or gal are…
Current Nationwide Plan: $80 for one smartphone with 450 minutes of calling, 1,000 text messages and 2 gigabytes of data.
Share Everything: $80 for one smartphone with unlimited calling, unlimited messages and 300 megabytes of data (Up to nine non-smartphones can be added to this plan for $30 each, sharing the data allowance)
Winner: Current plan, because it gives you more data.
The Connected Couple: Two smartphones with unlimited calling, texting and 4 gigabytes of data (shared under new plan, 2 gigabytes for each phone under old plan)
Current Family SharePlan: $210 per month
Share Everything: $150 per month
Winner: Share Everything. It’s cheaper, plus it’s easier to use the data.
The Frugal but Connected Couple: Two smartphones, paying as little as possible.
Current Family SharePlan: $150 for two smartphones with 700 shared minutes of calling, 1,000 text messages per line and 2 gigabytes of data per line.
Share Everything: $130 for two smartphones with unlimited calling and texting, and 1 gigabyte of data, shared.
Winner: Share Everything. It’s cheaper, but gives you less data. If you need more data, you can get 4 gigabytes of data for a monthly bill of $150.
The Always-Connected Couple: Two smartphones with unlimited calling, a tablet and a USB data stick.
Current plans: Total of $290 per month. That’s $210 for the smartphones on Family SharePlan, plus $30 for the tablet and $50 for the data stick. Total data allowance is 11 gigabytes, but it’s split up over four devices, so it’s hard to use it all in one month.
Share Everything: $200 per month, with 8 gigabytes of data.
Winner: Share Everything. It’s cheaper. You get less data in this example, but it’s all in one pool, so it’s easier to use it efficiently. For example, you could use 6 gigabytes watching Netflix on your tablet one month, if you want. On the current $30-per-month separate tablet plan, you’re limited to 2 gigabytes per month.
The Family: Two smartphones and two “dumb” phones.
Current Family SharePlan: $210. That’s for 2,000 shared minutes, unlimited texting, and 2 gigabytes of data for each phone.
Share Everything: $210. That’s with unlimited calling, unlimited texting, and 4 gigabytes of shared data.
Winner: Share Everything. It’s the same price, but you get unlimited calling and it’s easier to use the data efficiently.
