SAN FRANCISCO — When Verizon Wireless kills off its unlimited data plan for new smartphone customers today, it will mark another blow for endless Web surfing and video streaming.
The move by the nation’s largest wireless carrier has long been anticipated. More people are switching to smartphones and using an increasing amount of data for all manner of wireless activities. The shift could help wireless carriers ensure that they can handle the traffic flowing over the new higher-speed “4G,” or fourth-generation, data networks that they’re rolling out.
AT&T and T-Mobile, the second- and fourth-largest U.S. carriers, respectively, already have set limits on monthly data usage.
AT&T uses tiered data plans like the one Verizon is rolling out, while T-Mobile slows data speeds for unlimited-data-plan customers who use up their monthly allotment. Sprint Nextel still offers an unlimited plan.
The cutbacks in unlimited wireless data are happening as service providers see an explosion in data usage, mainly because of an ever- growing number of smartphone users. According to market researcher ComScore, 77 million people in the U.S. had smartphones in the first three months of the year — up 11 percent from a year earlier. And according to a Nielsen study, smartphone users’ average data usage climbed 89 percent to 435 megabytes a month in the same time frame.
Verizon Wireless’ current unlimited plan costs existing users $30 per month. With the new plans, smartphone users will choose among paying $30 for 2 gigabytes, $50 for 5 gigabytes or $80 for 10 gigabytes of monthly data usage. Customers who use more than their allotment will be charged $10 more for each additional gigabyte.
AT&T, meanwhile, charges $25 per month for 2 gigabytes of data and $45 for 4 gigabytes.
