We’ve been hearing about Verizon’s forthcoming shared data plans for quite a while, but it’s possible that we’ve finally been given a timeline, albeit a vague one. At an investors conference Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said that family data plans will probably be offered around the middle of this year.
But it won’t be as simple as a launch date. Mr. Shammo explained that the company has spent a great deal of time (a year, basically) researching shared data. It’s “a very complex equation because we have to make sure that it’s good for Verizon and it’s also good for the customer,” said Shammo. “It’s important to realize that the day we launch this account billing, everbody won’t be migrating to the account billing day one. This is going to be a long-term migration into where we want to get data plan sharing, but this will be more of a 4G play.”
Speaking of 4G, it would seem that only 5 percent of Verizon’s customers have transitioned to the superior network. The service is currently available to 200 million Americans on 20+ devices. Still, we’re just now picking up momentum on the hardware front with some really stellar 4G LTE offerings, so I’d expect to see more customers make the transition in the next few months.
Of course, Verizon will do everything it can to help push that along. We’ve already seen plenty of 4G LTE ad campaigns out of Verizon, and with the release of the Droid Razr Maxx, customers can finally believe in a solid battery when they look into 4G devices.
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).
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