Renew your Verizon Unlimited Data Plan Now

Last year, I wrote an article, “Get your Verizon Droid or iPhone before July 7 (2011)” to urge new Verizon customers to act quickly.  Now, they’re at it again!  Last year, on July 7, Verizon ended the unlimited data plan for new customers.  This year (we don’t know exactly when) they will end it for existing customers.  Meaning, if you have an unlimited data plan now, when you upgrade your phone and sign a new 2 year contract, you will lose that unlimited data – there will be no ‘grandfather’ rights.  They will be implementing tiered and family sharing plans instead.  For more details, see this PCWorld Article.

So, if you are eligible for an upgrade, do it NOW.  I just upgraded my Droid1 for a new Droid Razr Maxx 4G (a great device!) yesterday, and they continued my unlimited data plan with no questions asked.  I now have unlimited Internet access for two more years. 

If you’re wondering why an unlimited plan is such a good thing, read my article from last year where I go into much more detail.  But, check out the current plan costs.  For $30/mo now you only get 2GB of data per month.  Although that’s enough for basic email and web-browsing on your phone, it’s not nearly enough if you like watching videos on your phone, or if you like to share your phone’s Internet connection with other devices – like many of us RV travelers do.

Current Verizon Pricing

Although I believe that an unlimited data plan is worth fighting for, it’s not as important as it used to be.  It used to be that overages were charged at .25/megabyte.  That added up QUICK!  If you went over your allotment by just 1GB, your overage charge would have been $250!  Now, the overage fee is a flat $10/GB.  So, if you have the $30 for 2GB plan and you use 10GB in one month, your bill will be $110.  That’s bad, but not heart-stopping like the per megabyte charge.

This tip by Geeks on Tour: a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on topics of interest to travelers, such as how to use Android smartphones, managing digital photos with Picasa, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger or with friends on Facebook. You can subscribe to our free e-newsletters, or become a paid member and be able to view all of the videos in the Learning Library.