Verizon is raising prices yet again on some of its older unlimited data plans. The nation’s largest wireless carrier announced that it will increase the monthly cost by $4 per line for customers on legacy unlimited plans starting in March 2023.
Why Verizon is Raising Prices
The price hike affects Verizon’s older unlimited plans, including Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, and Above Unlimited. These plans are retired and no longer offered to new customers. However, many long-time Verizon customers continue to subscribe to them.
Verizon likely raised prices on the older unlimited plans for a few key reasons:
- To push customers towards its newer unlimited plans like Play More, Do More, Get More which offer more features
- To increase revenue and profits
- To continue investing in its 5G network rollout
The newer unlimited plans already cost $10-20 more per month but offer more hotspot data, higher quality video streaming, and extras like Disney+ or ESPN+. By raising the monthly cost on the legacy plans, Verizon makes its newer plans look more appealing in comparison.
How Much Prices Are Increasing
The price hike comes out to $4 more per month, per line. So a family with 4 lines would pay an additional $16 per month or $192 more per year.
Here’s a breakdown of the new monthly prices after the increase takes effect in March:
- Go Unlimited: $90 for 1 line, $160 for 2 lines, $225 for 3 lines, $300 for 4 lines
- Beyond Unlimited: $95 for 1 line, $170 for 2 lines, $240 for 3 lines, $320 for 4 lines
- Above Unlimited: $100 for 1 line, $180 for 2 lines, $260 for 3 lines, $340 for 4 lines
Customer Reaction to the Latest Price Hike
As expected, Verizon customers are not happy about the company raising prices yet again. Many have taken to social media to express their frustration.
Some key complaints about the price hike include:
- Verizon continues to increase the cost of legacy unlimited plans every 1-2 years
- There are no added benefits or upgrades – customers just have to pay more
- Switching plans or carriers involves hassles like new phones, change fees, different coverage
- Unlimited data is supposed to mean unlimited – so why do prices keep rising
Here are some example reactions on Twitter:
“@Verizon has raised the grandfathered unlimited data plan $4 across the board…..guess that plan isn’t so “grandfathered” when they can raise the price annually.”
“Lovely. @Verizon raising prices on old unlimited plans $4 per line per account next bill cycle. Still under contract but bill going up.”
“So @Verizon is raising the price on my old unlimited data plan again? What happened to the whole ‘it’s grandfathered in’ schtick?”
While some customers threatened to switch carriers, most indicated it would be too much of a hassle so they begrudgingly accepted yet another price increase from Verizon.
| Plan | Current Monthly Price | New Price in March 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Go Unlimited | $90 | $95 |
| Beyond Unlimited | $95 | $100 |
| Above Unlimited | $100 | $105 |
How Current Customers Can Respond
Verizon customers unhappy about the price hike on legacy unlimited plans have a few options:
1. Switch to one of Verizon’s newer unlimited plans – While these plans already cost more, the price difference isn’t too much greater after the hike on the older plans. And the newer plans include more features like 25-50GB of premium data and 30GB of LTE hotspot data.
2. See if Verizon offers any special deals – It’s possible Verizon may offer loyal customers on older plans incentives to switch over to the newer unlimited plans instead of the price hike. Some possibilities could be multi-month discounts, gift cards, or extras.
3. Switch to another carrier – Customers could choose to take their business to another major wireless carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile if they offer better unlimited pricing and coverage in your area. This likely involves paying off device payment plans and possible activation fees.
4. Move to an MVNO carrier – Smaller carriers like Visible, Mint, or Metro resell access on the major networks. So customers may be able to get cheaper unlimited plans while still using Verizon’s network. However, data may be slower in congested areas and other limitations usually apply.
Outlook Going Forward
While frustrating for loyal customers, these kinds of legacy plan price hikes are likely to continue on a regular basis. Verizon has tens of millions of subscribers on older unlimited plans that are no longer marketed.
They will keep looking for ways to push those holdouts into upgrading to the latest plans that are more lucrative for Verizon. We can probably expect similar small incremental hikes around $5 per line every 1-2 years moving forward.
So Verizon unlimited data customers have an important decision – either accept the ever-increasing prices to keep their old plans, or finally change to something new.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
