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Verizon introduces prepaid wireless broadband

Joe — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:32 +0000

Prepaid wireless broadband plans can benefit consumers. Instead of committing to around $60 per month for 5GB of data on a two-year contract, customers can use service when they need it, paying only for smaller intervals rather than the month as a whole. The problem, of course, is that absent a contract many carriers aren’t as willing to provide ample amounts of data (and some would say that even the 5GB on contract isn’t ample). Late last week Verizon announced prepaid wireless broadband plans. They come in daily, weekly, and monthly intervals, though the price, and most notably price per usage, is far more than their postpaid mobile broadband plan.

The full month of prepaid broadband will cost just $50, but will provide just one tenth of the postpaid data allotment, 500MB. Verizon will also offer a one week plan, covering 250MB for $30, and a daily plan, covering 75MB for $15. Again, it’s a bit expensive, but for the light user it could prove — maybe not a bargain, but at least a convenience.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon introduces prepaid wireless broadband

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon introduces prepaid wireless broadband

Verizon promoting prepaid service in NYC

Joe — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:55:48 +0000

I missed it! Apparently Verizon Wireless wants to make a splash with its prepaid service, at least in New York City. So on June 10, yesterday, when I roamed around the city all morning, they were offering 99 cent cab rides. True, there were only 40 cabs in the select fleet, but they were running to and from major destinations, but I just so happen to be walking up Fifth Avenue. You know, with the emblematic Apple Store. Anyway, I missed out, but it was still a quality promotion to bring awareness to Verizon’s 99 cent daily access charge. However, there will be another promotion later this month.

On June 23, Verizon will offer a Mr. Softee Ice Cream for 99 cents. Whoopee! This one I will not miss. The ice cream will be served from trucks at select points around the city, and if I find out exactly where before then, I’ll make sure to share it with everyone. Hopefully it’ll be a bit more summery by that point, and the ice cream will hit the spot on a hot New York summer day.

Best of all, this one will extend to the four major boroughs, so residents everywhere can take advantage of the deal. Hey, it’s a minor compensation for the blaring, horribly annoying song all these trucks play.

The strangest part about this promotion is that recently Verizon said that they wanted to concentrate on their postpaid offering. Has something changed between now and then? Or was the Verizon rep just misspeaking?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon promoting prepaid service in NYC

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon promoting prepaid service in NYC

Verizon has no plans to offer unlimited plan it already offers

Joe — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:19 +0000

Did you know that prepaid subscribers accounted for 80 percent of the adds in the U.S. wireless industry? It sounds like a lot, but when you look back on the earnings reports it makes sense. With Boost Mobile, MetroPCS, and Cricket wireless all turning in stellar quarters, with T-Mobile continually adding more prepaid subscribers than postpaid, and with Sprint continuing their subscriber hemorrhage, it starts to make sense. This has caused an industry-wide focus on prepaid. Well, except for Verizon. Their CFO, John Killian, spoke about the company’s postpaid strategy and why they won’t be expanding their prepaid offer. It’s quite funny, actually.

Here’s the quote from Killian: “We do not feel compelled or feel it’s the right strategy for us to go out with any kind of unlimited prepaid offering.” Any kind of prepaid offering, Mr. Killian? You mean the kind where you pay $3.99 per day for unlimited minutes? Because that’s what Verizon currently offers. It sounds like an unlimited plan of some kind, at the very least. Yet Mr. Killian thinks his company will not offer this.

While he’s probably speaking of a $50 flat-rate unlimited plan like his competitors, his wording could have been a bit more accurate to reflect Verizon’s current plans. No unlimited flat-rate offering? Fine. No unlimited prepaid offering of any kind? The company already beat you to it, John.

Lampooning aside, the most interesting part of the article was the 80 percent figure. I wonder what the prepaid-postpaid divide will look in the second quarter. It will go a long way in determining whether prepaid growth is an illusion or not.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon has no plans to offer unlimited plan it already offers

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon has no plans to offer unlimited plan it already offers

Verizon overhauls prepaid plans

Joe — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:30:08 +0000

It’s been 15 months since we saw Verizon eliminate their Easy pay plans in favor of tiered pay-as-you-go service, all with daily access fees. We’ve since seen them offer an unlimited messaging bundle, but other than that things haven’t changed much. They ran a pre-holiday press blitz in which they fooled many sites into thinking they had released new prepaid plans, but really were just pimping their old ones. Starting today, they really will get new prepaid plans. Much has stayed the same, but as always, the story is with what has changed.

Gone is the $2.99/day, 2 cents per minute, 2 cent text messages plan. I can’t imagine this was too popular anyway. Those who use the phone every day would be on the hook for $90 per month before calling and texting. Yet Verizon has replaced this with a $3.99 per day plan, or $120 if you use it every day. The plus is in the benefits: unlimited calling, all day, every day, plus text messages for a penny. This will clearly work better if you don’t use the phone every day.

The Prepaid Plus and Prepaid Core plans remain the same, charging $1.99 and $0.99 daily access fees, respectively. To match AT&T’s basic plan, Verizon has added a Prepaid Basic option, which bills calls at 25 cents per minute and SMS at 20 cents each.

Verizon has also listed a number or prepaid packages, which you’ll see listed below:

Not bad at all, especially for a major carrier. Will this cause anyone to switch to Verizon INpulse?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon overhauls prepaid plans

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon overhauls prepaid plans

Verizon Alltel merger to close today

Joe — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:30:04 +0000

We’ve known about it since the transaction in June, but today marks the closing of the Verizon Alltel merger. We know of a number of maneuvers Verizon had to make to get the deal done, including a number of divestitures in areas where Alltel and Verizon overlapped. It also included some asset swaps in areas where Verizon and Alltel were the primary services. So yes, as of today Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in America with 78 million subscribers. Our question: what does this mean for prepaid?

We’ve been asking this for a while, and no answer has become apparent. If Verizon reveals plans, we’ll clearly update to reflect that. As of the early a.m., though, we only know that Verizon plans to close Alltel’s Little Rock, Arkansas headquarters and move the entire operation to Verizon’s own HQ in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Losing Alltel’s prepaid plans would be a shame, but that’s what probably will happen. Gone are the 75 cents per day plans which give you unlimited mobile to mobile and unlimited text messaging (among other options). Hello are the dollar a day, 10 cents a minute rates. This cannot make Alltel U prepaid subscribers happy.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon Alltel merger to close today

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon Alltel merger to close today

Quick note on Verizon INpulse

Joe — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:43:33 +0000

Why are so many blogs writing that Verizon has rolled out new prepaid offers? I know they issued a press release last week — I even wrote about it. However, that doesn’t mean that there are any new plans. Nothing has changed at Verizon. They’re merely trying to get people talking about their prepaid service — which apparently is working.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Quick note on Verizon INpulse

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Quick note on Verizon INpulse

Verizon putting focus on prepaid

Joe — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:30:48 +0000

A few weeks ago, I saw what I thought was a run of the mill Verizon commercial. You know, the ones where they show the Can You Hear Me Now guy with his massive posse. What I found strange, though, was that the commercial was specifically geared to prepaid. This I thought was strange coming from a major carrier. Then again, we saw that T-Mobile added more prepaid than postpaid customers in the third quarter. So maybe the bigger companies are taking notice.

I mention all this because Verizon sent out a press release to all the major outlets. In it they talk up their INpulse prepaid service, focusing on the low access fees (only on the days you use your phone) and the low maintenance costs.

Most people who read this blog know how I feel. Daily access fees are rarely a good investment. It might lead to lower rates, but in the end the fee is a killer. Yeah, you get 10 cents per minute if you pay 99 cents per day with Verizon, but you can get 10 cents per minute without an access fee with Net10.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon putting focus on prepaid

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon putting focus on prepaid

Motorola w755 to replace RAZR on INpulse lineup?

Joe — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:00:32 +0000

The Motorola RAZR V3m has been a mainstay of the CDMA cell industry since its inception. There was a time, not too long ago, where it seemed everyone had a RAZR. While those days are seemingly coming to an end, the RAZR is still the top-selling phone in America. Over at Verizon, they only have the RAZR left on their INpulse prepaid service. Could it be exiting even there, though?

In talking to my Verizon rep, I found that they haven’t received any RAZRs in quite a while. They don’t deal too much with INpulse, so that makes sense. She actually thought Verizon had discontinued the phone, until I showed her that it was available on Verizon’s website.

Yet, could it be headed out of even that? A post on Howard Forums reveals that a few Target stores are now carrying the w755 in place of the RAZR. They’ve cleared or are clearing the RAZR out at $80, so if you want a piece of the best-selling phone in America, now’s your chance. Otherwise, the w755 provides a fine alternative. Word is it’s running $149.99.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Motorola w755 to replace RAZR on INpulse lineup?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Motorola w755 to replace RAZR on INpulse lineup?

Could the Verizon-Alltel merger fail?

Joe — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:00:42 +0000

Verizon spent some time last week assuring us that the Alltel acquisition was still happening. This despite the economic turmoil which has affected the nation and the world. Jim Barthold of FierceWireless wonders, though, if Alltel’s debt really will play a part in the proceedings. Apparently, they use $7.7 billion this year, and it’s not the easiest time to refinance. Says Barthold:

The biggest concern, in money talk, is that the cost of protecting Alltel’s bonds from default has doubled. Credit-default swaps are now 226.8 basis points compared to 113.4 points Sept. 25 and 91.6 points when Verizon agreed to buy the carrier June 6.

We also learned that Verizon is making strides to make the acquisition happen. They already agreed to divest assets in 85 markets, and now have agreed to 15 more. By all appearances, Verizon is doing what it can to get this done. You know what they say about appearances, though…

In any event, I know many prepaid customers aren’t looking forward to this marriage. Alltel U prepaid is one of the better offerings on the market, especially for a major carrier. Conversely, Verizon INpulse is one of the least well-liked. Presumably, it will all be INpulse after the merger. Boo to that. There’s still some hope, though, that Alltel stays independent, if we’re to believe the above speculation.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Could the Verizon-Alltel merger fail?

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Could the Verizon-Alltel merger fail?

Verizon INpulse gets unlimited texting to any network

Joe — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:30:07 +0000

Back in July, Verizon introduced unlimited messaging to other Verizon subscribers for their INpulse prepaid service. This cost $10 per month, and provided a number of free messages to other networks. Now we hear, via a kind poster at Howard Forum that they’re now offering an option for unlimited messaging plan to anyone in the U.S. Details after the jump.

It will cost $20 per month, which might seem bad, but it seems par for the course for Verizon. If you have a ton of friends on another network, it could make sense. You do get 250 additional messages with the $10 plan, though, so that’s something to consider.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon INpulse gets unlimited texting to any network

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon INpulse gets unlimited texting to any network