Verizon Wireless Nixing Unlimited Data For Newbies

HTC-Thunderbolt Smartphone. Photo HTC
HTC-Thunderbolt Smartphone. Photo HTC

by Rachel Metz AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is getting rid of its unlimited data plan for new smartphone customers, shifting instead to limited data plans that give users between 2 and 10 gigabytes of data each month.

With the change, Verizon joins the company of fellow carriers AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, which have both set limits to monthly data usage. Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest carrier, still offers an unlimited plan.

By getting rid of the all-you-can-eat data plans, carriers are trying to move users away from the expectation that they can have as much data as they want for one price and toward paying for what they really use - something that could be increasingly important as carriers invest in the rollout of higher-speed 4G, or fourth-generation, data networks.

Let's be frank: We are setting the stage for the long term, Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said. But it is giving customers much more control about how they want to spend their discretionary dollars on wireless.

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