Verizon Working on Shared Data Plan for Next Year Discussion

[Ed Hardy]

Verizon Wireless' CEO says he hopes his company will roll out shared data plans in 2012. This would allow customers with two devices -- like a smartphone and tablet -- to use a single data plan.

Read the full content of this Article: Verizon Working on Shared Data Plan for Next Year

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[NamelessPlayer]

As much as I loathe Verizon, if this is the case, they're starting to wise up.

That is, if they don't charge extra for it like a tethering plan, as the article suggests, otherwise it really hasn't changed at all.

[Adama D. Brown]

This is exactly the way that data plans need to go with the ongoing variety of devices available--a separate data plan for a phone, tablet, and laptop is simply unreasonable. Unfortunately, I have exactly zero confidence that Verizon won't use this as an excuse to plunder the customer yet again. We'll probably end up seeing a "shared plan" that's $5 or $10 a month cheaper than buying separate plans for each device you include.

[Varjak]

Adama's probably right; but I've said for a long time that, no matter how glacially, data fees will have to move in this direction. Right now, they're just not rational, even for the carriers (I think). A lot of people are quite concerned about huge overage fees and in many cases get a small 'bucket' of data and just don't use their devices as they'd like to. Again, it will probably be slow; but I fully expect data fee structures to proceed roughly along the lines of cable television fees. I can remember when they charged you for each TV, etc., etc.; but eventually you basically got one somewhat unlimited 'bucket' of TV, with some choice as to packages of channels and such. Yes, it's a rough analogy and not directly applicable; but the end result is that I see carriers providing large buckets of data without onerous 'tethering' charges amounting nearly to the cost of additional plans and not tied to the number of devices (TV's) used.

[Adama D. Brown]

Yes, it's a rough analogy and not directly applicable; but the end result is that I see carriers providing large buckets of data without onerous 'tethering' charges amounting nearly to the cost of additional plans and not tied to the number of devices (TV's) used.

Yep, that's the way it should be, which makes me pretty confidant it's not the way Verizon will do it. They'll probably do something like offer $30 for the first device, then $20 for each additional device, adding another 1 GB for each device.

They won't get it right until they're dragged kicking and screaming by competition. Which probably won't be for a long time, possibly until something like the White Space Coalition manages to provide a serious alternative for the current carrier system.

[Varjak]

The NY Times reported it as confirmed, and cited GigaOM.