NEW YORK—Verizon Communications Inc. CEO hinted on Thursday that Verizon Wireless may introduce tiered data plan pricing on smartphones in the near future, following the steps of rival AT&T Wireless.
At the Goldman Sachs telecom conference in New York, CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that the company would begin tiered pricing plans in the next four to six months as Verizon rolls out its 4G wireless network.
Tiered pricing allows consumers to pay different prices for different network usage demands and would eliminate the “unlimited” data plan, the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company said this week. AT&T introduced a tiered pricing plan earlier this summer, the first U.S. wireless carrier to do so as it hopes to manage network usage due to its popular iPhone.
Seidenberg said that his company won’t just follow AT&T’s pricing structure. “We’re not sure we agree yet with how [AT&T] valued the data,” he said at the conference.
Later at the conference, Verizon hinted that they covet the iPhone, though no definite date has been set regarding when Apple’s phone would be sold by Verizon.
“We don’t feel like we have an iPhone deficit,” Seidenberg said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“We would love to carry it, but we have to earn it.”
Technology blogs and Wall Street analysts said that Apple has been ordering CDMA cell chips (the technology used by Verizon) for an upcoming CDMA-based iPhone model. They point to the first quarter of 2011 as the possible date for a Verizon iPhone release.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc.
At the Goldman Sachs telecom conference in New York, CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that the company would begin tiered pricing plans in the next four to six months as Verizon rolls out its 4G wireless network.
Tiered pricing allows consumers to pay different prices for different network usage demands and would eliminate the “unlimited” data plan, the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company said this week. AT&T introduced a tiered pricing plan earlier this summer, the first U.S. wireless carrier to do so as it hopes to manage network usage due to its popular iPhone.
Seidenberg said that his company won’t just follow AT&T’s pricing structure. “We’re not sure we agree yet with how [AT&T] valued the data,” he said at the conference.
Later at the conference, Verizon hinted that they covet the iPhone, though no definite date has been set regarding when Apple’s phone would be sold by Verizon.
“We don’t feel like we have an iPhone deficit,” Seidenberg said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“We would love to carry it, but we have to earn it.”
Technology blogs and Wall Street analysts said that Apple has been ordering CDMA cell chips (the technology used by Verizon) for an upcoming CDMA-based iPhone model. They point to the first quarter of 2011 as the possible date for a Verizon iPhone release.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc.
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