Verizon told investors Thursday that it expects to launch new mobile data plans within the next four to six months that will set pricing tiers based on how much data subscribers consume. “We do agree with tier pricing and we do think we have to monetize the investments we make,” said Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg.
Though wireless rival AT&T moved to metered mobile data plans earlier this year, Verizon may elect to implement somewhat different tiers and bundles based on the considerably improved data experience it expects to offer after the deployment of next-generation Long Term Evolution technology in about 30 U.S. metropolitan markets by the end of this year. “When we layer in 4G, the experience is going to be very good,” Seidenberg said.
Moreover, Seidenberg said Verizon will be rolling LTE into additional markets each month thereafter for two years. “By the end of 2012 and as we head into 2013, we will have 4G coverage in 90 percent to 94 percent of the country,” Seidenberg promised.
Tailoring LTE Data Rates
The CEO said he doesn’t think Verizon would be wise to match its tiered data pricing to what is going on now with 3G. “We are going to feather in our pricing over the next couple of months as we introduce new services, new products, and try to get that value proposition to fit the added excitement and added capabilities that we are going to offer into the marketplace,” he told investors.
Seidenberg also noted that AT&T currently offers a lot more smartphones than Verizon does, but the amount of data traffic that both national networks carry is not that far off from each other. “Remember, we have kind of owned the air-card market for a long time, so we have the a lot more of that,” Seidenberg explained.
Lisa…