In what may go down as the wireless equivalent of the "shot heard round the world," Verizon Wireless -- a joint venture of Verizon Communications
Verizon unveiled an unlimited talk plan for phones, starting at $99.99 per month, which includes roaming and long distance in the base price. Another $20 per month gets you unlimited messaging on a select plan, while paying $139.99 a month gets mobile email, television and navigation services as well. In addition, Verizon's broadband wireless plans are now split into two offerings -- a $39.99 rate gets 50 megabytes of monthly usage, while a $59.99 plan allows five gigabytes of data.
Just as when AT&T
Verizon and AT&T aren't the first to venture into the land of unlimited talk, however; Sprint Nextel
So now that the two largest service providers in the U.S. have offered unlimited talk on a national basis, the wireless industry will move into a new phase. Almost a year ago I wrote, "the question is not whether unlimited plans will be offered on a wide scale, it's when," and "unlimited plans are the next logical step for consumer wireless services." With today's news, that time has come, and I expect all other carriers to respond in kind.
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