Verizon's shared data plans imminent, reveals leak

Verizon has long hinted at and recently confirmed that it will begin offering shared data plans sometime this year. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo had said that the transition would take time, calling it a long-term migration, but he insisted that the new billing method should start rolling out by mid-year. And according to a leaked screenshot obtained by PhoneArena, it looks like the carrier is moving forward swiftly with its plans.

The screenshot depicts a family data usage calculator app that will presumably be made available to customers for determining if a family shared data plan would be advantageous for their particular needs. It lets customers estimate numbers of emails sent, web pages viewed, and time spent with online gaming to calculate overall monthly data usage for deciding on the best data plan.

However, no details have been revealed yet on the actual pricing of the shared data plans. Verizon has said that setting the price is a complex matter and has been weighing the benefits for both its business and customers. Family shared data plans should get a decent discounted from individual data plans if Verizon can offset the bill reduction with increased hardware sales and move more customers off of grandfathered unlimited data plans.

[via Android Community]