I can't has cheezburger

When Verizon announced the Verizon iPhone, they said that data plan pricing would be announced at a later time.  When that was said, I was expecting the worst, figuring that they were going to put the axe on unlimited 3G data plans and didn’t want to leave a bad taste in would-be customers’ mouths on the day of the announcement.

I was pleasantly surprised today to find that Verizon has announced that they will be offering unlimited 3G data for the iPhone 4 for $30 a month, consistent with their other smartphones.  Furthermore, they are offering tethering for $20 a month extra for a separate 2 GB pool of data to be used for tethering, which is also consistent with the pricing for the same feature on Android phones.

Although a Verizon rep said that this pricing won’t stick around forever, I’m still thrilled to know that I won’t have to lose my grandfathered-in unlimited data plan with AT&T (a plan which I can’t add tethering to).  Of course, this is strategically smart, too, because a lot of people who otherwise might have held off until the next iPhone to buy a Verizon iPhone might just grab an iPhone 4 now so that they can get locked into an unlimited data plan.  Well played, Verizon.

From the commenters I saw in Engadget’s article about this announcement, a lot of people seemed to be surprised and upset that the personal hotspot feature was going to cost extra.  Now, I can understand being pissed to have to shell out an extra $20/month for AT&T for tethering when they don’t give you any more than that pathetic 2 GB, but the $20 a month price is consistent with what Verizon was charging prior to this, and I think it’s fair to assume that a user will only consume more data if given the option to tether.

Now, if and when Verizon does go to metered data plans (and it’s only a matter of time before that does happen), it’ll be a whole different story. If they were to still charge for tethering then, they better still be giving you extra data to consume just for tethering.

Peace out.