Verizon nixing Pay as You Go data and requiring data plans

Are you content with your Verizon Pay as You Go data plan? Well, hold on to it. Hold on to it closely, my friend. BGR spotted a leaked document over at HoFo indicating that changes are on the way. Come November 14th, Verizon’s booting the option from their systems, along with 1X data block and 10mb allotment plans. While folks already on the P.A.Y.G plan are set as long as they don’t mess with their bill too much, anybody looking to get a PDA/Smartphone through Verizon will be required to pick a data plan costing $29.99 a month or more.

Smartphone owners won’t be the only ones required to have a data plan for too long – according to the leaked document, the same requirements will be added to select “Mobile Web 2.0″ devices in 2009. And what do they consider a “Mobile Web 2.0″ device? Anything with HTML browsing capabilities, it seems. No word yet on what the criteria for the requirement will be beyond that.

With smartphones on the rise, it’s not really too shocking that Verizon’s looking to make some extra cash – business is business. Still, forcing customers into anything their phone doesn’t absolutely require to function is pretty friggin’ shady.