Budgeting on Verizon’s plans

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Are you a wireless data glutton or a nibbler?

Many Verizon Wireless customers will have to figure that out — perhaps as soon as this week — as the country’s largest wireless carrier is set to introduce data plans with monthly usage caps.

Verizon hasn’t said what its plans will look like. But, this is well-trod ground because AT&T introduced capped data plans a year ago. T-Mobile USA changed its unlimited data plan in May. Although it doesn’t charge overage fees, the company slows the speed at which customers can send and receive data once they hit their allotted amount.

The new Verizon plans will most likely apply only to new customers or people trading up to smartphones. They could also apply to smartphone users buying new phones.

The tricky thing about capped data plans is that few people have a clue how much a megabyte of data is, so they don’t know much to sign up for. By contrast, a minute spent talking on the phone is easy to understand, and many people have learned roughly how many minutes they use every month.

For AT&T, the introduction of data caps has gone well, but some customers are complaining because their data usage reports are hard to decipher.

Verizon now charges $30 a month for an unlimited smartphone data plan.

Here’s some help.

Less than 200 megabytes per month: It’s possible Verizon could have an entry-level plan for $10 or so per month with a low data limit, such as 75 megabytes per month. But any plan with less than 200 megabytes per month is mainly a tease. It’s hard to stay under the limit.

200 megabytes per month: This is a popular size, offered by both AT&T ($15 per month) and T-Mobile ($10). When it introduced this plan, AT&T said 65 percent of its subscribers consumed less than 200 megabytes.

2 gigabytes per month: This is AT&T’s “standard” plan, for which it charges $25 per month. T-Mobile charges $20. This will be enough for most people.

5 gigabytes per month: T-Mobile charges $30 for this tier, or $10 more than the 2-gigabyte plan. Verizon would likely charge substantially more.