Verizon Wireless Debuts Shared Data Plans, Offers 10GB With Up To 10 Devices

Verizon Wireless on Tuesday rolled out its new “Share Everything” plan which allows users to share unlimited voice minutes and SMS/MMS messages alongside 10GB worth of data.

The new plans feature different pricing dependent upon the type of devices being used, for example each smartphone costs $40 while basic handsets are $30 per use regardless of the data plan tier. Notebook, USB dongles and other data-only device can then be added for $20 and tablets run an additional $10 per month.

While all of the plans contain unlimited voice and text messaging they increase based on data. For example 1GB of data is $50 while 10GB shared among up to 10 devices costs $100.

Verizon also has provisional pricing for users looking to access mobile hotspots.

In a press release Verizon Wireless Vice president and chief marketing officer Tami Erwin called the shared price plans an “industry first” while claiming that it will “represent a tremendous shift in how customers think about wireless service.”

The Share Everything plans are available for new and existing Verizon Wireless customers starting on June 28.

Verizon customers using individual plans with unlimited data will be forced to adopt a data share plan when they make the eventual move from 3G to 4G devices.

It should be noted that 4G data takes up a tremendous amount of mobile data compared to 3G which explains the required shift in plan types.

Honestly with 4G LTE plowing through mobile data at a very quick rate I don’t see how this Share Everything plan is actually beneficial to customers, it seems as if one user could gobble up a 10GB plans bulk use, leaving the plans other users to cause massive overages without realizing their mistake. When I worked at Verizon Wireless one of the biggest complaints customers had about their plans were family caused overages, something I couldn’t control but witnessed all the time. With the transition to mobile data use I can only see mobile data overages being far worse than minute overages.