According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam today confirmed an unlimited $30 data plan for the iPhone 4. McAdam shared this news ahead of schedule, and outside of the company’s planned meeting with investors. Though additional plan component pricing remains a mystery, today’s announcement will undoubtably give Verizon an edge–at least with data hungry customers–over AT&T’s capped tiers. When questioned about the plan, McAdam offered the following:
I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot. Not offering an unlimited plan would put up a barrier for customers who might otherwise switch from AT&T.
While this is certainly positive news for prospective switchers and existing VZW customers, the question remains of how Verizon will price, and integrate the mobile hotspot feature into the iPhone’s plan. With the revival of an unlimited data option (AT&T discontinued this for new customers in June 2010) Verizon is positioning themselves as strong competitor. If the use of a mobile hotspot over 3G proves affordable–or even free–AT&T will be almost forced to respond if they wish to remain competitive. Stay tuned for more information on the Verizon iPhone 4 as it becomes available.
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UPDATE: Verizon has confirmed details regarding the Wireless Hotspot feature of the CDMA compliant version of the iPhone 4. The carrier announced this highly anticipated functionality will be made available to iPhone owners for an additional $20 per month, and will include 2GB of additional data. The Hotspot feature, which appears to be built into iOS 4.3, will enable up to five Wi-Fi devices to connect to the phone’s 3G data connection. The 2GB specified in the plan is separate from the handset’s unlimited data plan.