Print this article | E-mail this article | Comment on this article

Verizon, AT&T announce unlimited calling plans

By Tim Conneally, BetaNews

February 19, 2008, 3:42 PM

Verizon Wireless today anounced an unlimited flat rate voice plan, which was followed only hours later by AT&T unveiling a similar plan.

Verizon's Plan costs $99 per month for unlimited calling to anyone in the US, with no long distance or roaming charges, plus an additional $1.99 per MB HTML browsing charge, for all tiers of the plan except the top tier.

AT&T's plan will begin on February 22, costing $99.99 per month, offering a similar unlimited US call map with no roaming or long distance.

Even Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile has gotten into the act, premiering a plan that includes unlimited nationwide wireless calling and unlimited nationwide messaging for $99.99 per month. Its unlimited messaging includes text, picture and IM.

Sprint, the first to roll out such a plan, is the last to actually establish it. The company had been gradually rolling out its unlimited plan for $119 per month covering voice, text, and data, but has only made it to a few markets in the United States thus far.

The "flattening" of voice plans by effectively half of the domestic mobile phone business shows that voice calling has reached maturity, and is an expected service. Now, the strength and speed of a network's data coverage is becoming the deciding factor when choosing between telecom companies.

Add a Comment (8 Comments)

BetaNews reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

By shicaca

posted Feb 20, 2008 - 5:51 PM

This is oh-so-nice for those that need something a bit more bulky in minutes than what they were touting before, but take a gander at the family share plans for Verizon... Literally double the amount (just like having two accounts!). I could understand the family shares being a bit more, obviously, since it IS unlimited and all, but double the price is a bit out of many people's range.

Also, I personally can't imagine not having unlim txting because I get so many since it seems EVERYBODY has unlim txting these days, so I would actually be spending $119 for plans? Ouch... Some people would think it's worth it, but not I. I have a 450 plan and I've only used about 1/2 of it and my "reset" date is coming up fast. Not worth it.

Score: 0

By rsx508

posted Feb 20, 2008 - 2:55 PM

This works out pretty well for one or two phones on a given plan, but if you have a whole family on a plan (4 to 5 phones) this doesn't work out very well at all. The costs don't justify the use of minutes and data consumption.

Score: 0

By patrickberg

posted Feb 20, 2008 - 12:38 PM

Don't forget about Cricket Wireless who already offers unlimited wireless plans for much less than $99/m. That is if Cricket is available in your area. www.mycricket.com

Score: 0

By shicaca

posted Feb 20, 2008 - 5:24 PM

Yeah except you have to pay for long distance and / or roaming ... last I looked, at least. They instantly lost me as a customer since they were STILL offering/touting that BS in 2004. Tripe.

Score: 0

By VampireFrost

posted Feb 20, 2008 - 10:07 AM

It's about time. I wonder if they will have a plan were you can add line for $x0 more a month. I have Sprint with 4 phones and my bill is always $210 per a month or more. So if Sprint or some other had unlimited for $99 and then add another unlimited line for $20 a month, I would jump all over that.

But my only question is how unlimited is unlimited. Just like with the IP's now they advertise unlimited but then in small print say "It's unlimited up to a point and can reduce your download speed or disconnect you all together".