Verizon's New Plan to Wean Some Customers Off Device Subsidies

Verizon's plan to end all sales of "unlimited" service has another option that represents Verizon’s effort to wean customers off device subsidies.


Verizon says "customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans."  If a 3G or 4G smart phone customer is on an unlimited plan now, and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so. That's a big clarification. 


But there is more. "When we introduce our new shared data plans, unlimited data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing," Verizon says. 


But here's another important clarification. "Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smart phone data plan will be able to keep that plan."


It appears Verizon has several related moves underway, all at once. It will try a new method of reducing phone subsidies, with a mobile data "carrot." Buy a phone at full retail price and a user can buy an unlimited plan.


Verizon will be adding new multiple-device mobile data plans as well. That will shift Verizon's revenue metrics from "revenue per customer" to "revenue per account." 


Presumably all the moves have been modeled for revenue impact, potentially allowing Verizon to reduce operating expense (phone subsidies) and boost revenue (moving most customers to capped plans and creating incentives for adding additional devices to a mobile broadband account.