Verizon launching new prepaid plans for smartphones and MiFi hotspots

2. atree (Posts: 25; Member since: 20 May 2011)

Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE $130
Samsung Illusion for $169.99

LOL i work in the wireless center at a 3rd party dealer, we sell each of these thru verizon for $40 and .10 cents , what a rip of verizon!!

4. tward291 (Posts: 559; Member since: 14 Feb 2012)

really you can get 50 a month with tmobile

5. Robn07 (Posts: 2; Member since: 30 Apr 2012)

No thanks Verizon....a horrible deal compared to your competition.
I just left them and went to Straight Talk and have unlimited talk, text, and data
with a Samsung smartphone for $45/mo. It's on AT&T and even though no LTE yet where I live I am quite happy with the HSPA+ service that puts Verizon's 3G to shame.
You can bring the phone of your choice to their service (bought mine off eBay at a fair price.)

6. Roomaku (Posts: 278; Member since: 06 Feb 2012)

Jesus, way to rob your customers. Page Plus gives a better deal may not have 4G but it's not this high.... Prepaid is not supposed to cost the same as your contract plans, at&t and t-mobile know that why doesn't Verizon? Even if you don't have a contract, which is nice you have to pay more for the phone, verizon doesn't offer them cheap either! I guess they can do whatever because they have better coverage , most of the time :(

7. Joshing4fun (Posts: 1237; Member since: 13 Aug 2010)

$30 a month for 100 minutes and unlimited text/data with T-Mobile. Can't be beat. Plus you can use any tmobile phone you want.

8. medicci37 (Posts: 1331; Member since: 19 Nov 2011)

Tmobile is the only major carrier with a decent prepaid option. I would like 2 see more people move to the small carriers. So the big carriers would be forced to offer more choices at a better price. Like 1 gig of data. With limited call & txting for $50/$60 dollars a month. I personally, don't need unlimited calls or txting. & Usually only use about half the data i'm paying for.

9. downphoenix (Posts: 3165; Member since: 19 Jun 2010)

ahahahaahaha, Verizon ripping off its customers yet again, guess that just confirms that today is a day of the week that ends with day.

10. jabberwocky (Posts: 89; Member since: 21 Feb 2012)

I am waiting till Thursday to see when the SGS3 is going to show up at Verizon, and if it meets enough of my requirements to convince me to hang around for it. Otherwise, I am leaning heavily towards moving to T Mobile Pre Paid. For $60, I can get 2GB and unlimited everything else at 4G speeds, so the $400 Samsung Galaxy Nexus seems like the best shot for me in the meantime.

$80 for 1GB? Please. I will miss Verizon's service quality for sure, but their pricing is just absurd. I use less than 100 minutes a month, but there is no plan smaller than 450.

My ideal plan: 150 minutes, 250 texts and 2GB for around $45. I think they should just sell it all ala cart though.

Ten bucks per hundred minutes up to $40 = unlimited.
Ten bucks per Gigabyte of data up to $40 = unlimited.

The most expensive plan would still be $80, but it would be true unlimited.

They shouldn't be able to charge for texts. It's just data. Tiny, tiny, tiny amounts of data.

12. trin (Posts: 88; Member since: 11 May 2010)

I missed the part in the article where Verizon was putting a g un to my head and forcing me to purchase their crap. You got way better options for a lot cheaper, then go with that. What's the issue?

16. Cha7520 (Posts: 221; Member since: 31 Oct 2010)

Um...really? And you can get unlimited Talk, Text and Data on Boost Mobile for $55 and Virgin for $60? Sorry Verizon.....FAIL!

17. codymws (Posts: 237; Member since: 17 Jun 2010)

Why is everyone saying this is a bad deal? I think it's actually decent. It's the same price as Sprint's unlimited everything plan. Sure, there's only 1GB of data, but it's on Verizon's more reliable 3G/LTE network, AND it's PREPAID!

20. renegade626 (Posts: 54; Member since: 12 Dec 2008)

Cmon even ATT has had this out for a while for $75

21. renegade626 (Posts: 54; Member since: 12 Dec 2008)

Or how about ATTs $50 for 250 min unlim text 1gb data

22. theruleslawyer (Posts: 108; Member since: 23 Apr 2012)

Wow. What a joke. That has to be just about the worst prepaid plan deal I've come across.

23. kaintae (Posts: 80; Member since: 14 Dec 2011)

Do people not see a correlation between price and quality? True,Verizon's services aren't meant for everyone. I get it, some people can't afford some of Verizon's services. There's a reason they have the biggest lte footprint and the most reliable 3G network. Building those things out isn't free, and that's the same reason you don't see the sprints, t-mobiles, or crickets offering the same quality you see with the more expensive carriers.

It makes me laugh when people talk about some of the lousy carriers' prices, when they know how comparatively bad the service is. Give it a rest. You don't have to cry about it...just don't buy Verizon's services.

26. jabberwocky (Posts: 89; Member since: 21 Feb 2012)

A prepaid plan does not have to accommodate the cost of a subsidized phone, so it should be significantly cheaper than the other plans.

Example: You buy a flagship smartphone for $200 on a 2-year contract, with required $30/mo data, and optional talk/text plans. Phone MSRP is $799. Verizon needs to recoup $599 from you over the course of the 2 year contract to make back the cost of the phone. $599/24=$24.96 - so about $25/mo in charges account for Verizon making back their phone subsidy.

Let's say this costs you $89/mo for unlimited text and 450 minutes (because that is what my charge is). $89-25=$64.

Assuming $799 is the most expensive phone they could subsidize, no pre-paid plan should possibly cost them any more than $64 per month. Given that most phones cost far less than $799 but Verizon still hits it's customers with the $89 monthly charge, Verizon is basically screwing anyone over who chooses less than the most expensive phone. If you agree to pay more than $64 a month for a plan without getting a phone subsidized, you are getting royally ripped off.

27. jabberwocky (Posts: 89; Member since: 21 Feb 2012)

Conversely, (using myself as an example again), if I want to save money I can look into pre-paid plans. T-Mobile offers a Monthly 4G plan with unlimited Web (5GB)/Text with 100 minutes talk (I rarely go over 100 minutes). This plan is $30.

From my discounted rate at Verizon of $71/mo (before taxes and fees), this plan would save me $41/mo. If I want a $400 phone (Samsung Galaxy Nexus), I only have to stay with T-Mobile 10 months to "pay" for the phone. If I wanted a $700 phone, it would take 17 months. Any time I would keep my phone after that, I would be saving the $41/month.

Maybe Verizon's quality of service and coverage is worth some of that $41 per month, but with only 10 months of a "committment" to T-Mobile and my choice of GSM phones to take there, it is not hard to see why I am leaving Verizon, is it?

If I could stay with Verizon for the $25 less per month (their 24-mo phone subsidy charge), I would do it in a second, but for $9 less I can't really afford an off-contract phone.

28. USMCSPIKE (Posts: 8; Member since: 01 May 2012)

Verizons Prepaid plans for MBB are fantastic for those travling road trips and that sort of thing month on month off but what every one else is talking about is a full time provider at that point sign a contract get over it....

29. tyyo321 (Posts: 1; Member since: 13 May 2012)

yea its alot but alot of the other carriers like boost mobile, virgin mobile, t-mobile...etc all have horrible coverage but when u go over to verizon they have the best coverage out of all of them