Verizon Likely To Offer First 'Bucket Plan' In US

One of the factors holding back sales of non-phone connected devices like tablets is user reluctance to take on additional data plans. This has convinced many carriers that they will need to introduce 'bucket plans' which allow a monthly data allowance to be shared flexibly between several registered devices belonging to one customer or family. However, they see many risks in terms of control, quality of service and profitability, and so few of these plans have yet emerged. Verizon Wireless, however, will be a frontrunner as it seeks to sustain the appeal of its LTE network and encourage uptake of additional devices which showcase the advantages of 4G.

Focal Points:

• Verizon will introduce multi-device tariffs next year, confirmed CEO Lowell McAdam, though he did not give a date. He told a USB investor conference that the cellco has been examining the plans, which would offer a pool of data and voice allowances to be shared across several products, for some years to study their impact. "Having account-based pricing is the way to go," he said, as more customers have four or five connected gadgets - and as they become accustomed to accessing content or apps seamlessly from a range of registered devices and screens.
• McAdam said Verizon could see usage of smartphones among its customers at 70% within a few years, compared with 40% today. Meanwhile, AT&T says its smartphone sales could break its records in the current quarter, because of the iPhone 4S and the start of LTE. The company sold 6m smartphones in the first two months of the period, compared with the previous quarterly record of 6.1m in the whole third quarter of 2010. "We are selling over 100,000 smartphones a day," said CFO John Stephens. He also explained that AT&T would build out LTE capacity ahead of its roadmap, including in the key territory of New York City, because of high-envisaged demand and the need to support the smartphone boom.

Editor’s Note: This article is interesting in that it addresses the need to reshape pricing plans to accommodate changes in usage. The idea of a data plan that can extend to different devices is not new as many of the voice family-plans accommodate sharing of voice minutes. The reality is that many of the younger smartphone users consume data instead of voice. The other aspect is that many users now have multiple data dependant devices and therefore would be willing to pay a little more for a shared data plan as opposed to a separate data plan for each device.