5:20 PM The pricing plans are very much business-as-usual compared to Clearwire and MetroPCS

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

December 1, 2010

1 Min Read
Verizon Plays It Safe With LTE

5:20 PM -- Verizon Wireless is playing it safe with its initial pricing for Long-Term Evolution (LTE), which will go live on December 5. (See Verizon to Launch LTE on Dec. 5.)The firm will offer laptop jockeys a choice of two USB modems for a hundred bucks each and 5GB of downloads for $50 or double that cap for $80. Every extra gigabyte over the cap costs $10 more.

This is just under $10 less than the $59.99 3G USB modem plan that Verizon currently offers. Comments from readers on our site suggest that most are initially underwhelmed by the plans.

Certainly it's nothing like the unlimited, pay-as-you-go plans that Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) put together for its Rover offering. $50 a month for unlimited data, or pay by the week or the day.

Still, I'm guessing that Verizon knows its audience and wants to encourage business travelers and other well-heeled users onto the service first. That way it gets a good chunk of user data to figure out usage patterns and any kinks fixed before more people get with the new service.

The interesting pricing plans will likely arrive with the consumer devices next year.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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