Verizon Wireless Offers Flat-Rate for Data

In the hopes of making its new wireless data network more attractive to enterprise
business customers, Verizon Wireless Monday raised the
curtain on a new “all-you-can-eat” flat-rate billing plan and said it would
expand availability to 29 additional markets.

Some potential customers had been reluctant to utilize Verizon’s 1X Express
Network because minutes spent on the data network were
counted against customers’ calling plan minutes. To alleviate those concerns,
Verizon has introduced a $99.99 flat-fee monthly plan
that allows customers to download unlimited data on the Express Network.

The Express Network offers customers data transmission speeds between 40 and
60 kbps, and Verizon said it is capable of bursts up to
144 kbps.

Customers can still choose time-based usage plans. Enterprise
customers’ pricing is based on megabyte usage. Plans start at
$35 monthly access for 10 MB, $55 monthly access for 20 MB, and $75 for 40
MB of data sent and received. Other customers can also
sign up, starting at $35 monthly access for 150 minutes of connection (which
can be used for both voice or data calls), up to $55
and $75 monthly access for 400 and 600 minutes respectively.

“Verizon Wireless has built and defined the high-speed wireless data
marketplace in the U.S., and given our aggressive Express
Network rollout to key markets, it is the right moment to leverage our
national service to offer flat-rate pricing for this
service,” said Denny Strigl, president and chief executive officer of
Verizon Wireless.

Together with the new pricing plan, Verizon said it would offer the service
in 29 new markets, beginning Tuesday. The company will
introduce the service in Southern California, including the five-county
Greater Los Angeles area, as well as San Diego and Imperial
Counties; the Kansas City and Overland Park area — west to Wichita and east
to Topeka and suburban Missouri; Milwaukee’s metro
area; Burlington, Waterbury and Montpelier, Vermont; Austin, San Antonio,
Corpus Christi, McAllen and Brownsville, Texas; Orlando
and its surrounding areas up to Lake Mary and down to Kissimmee; Columbus,
Akron, Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio; major markets
surrounding Detroit (including Lansing and Ann Arbor); and
upstate New York (including Albany).

“Verizon Wireless is defining the enterprise market for high-speed wireless
data services,” said John Stratton, vice president and
chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless. “Based on feedback from
current, new and potential customers, we know we are providing
value to the enterprise and we will continue to leverage our time-to-market
advantage to capture more market share in the business
market.”