Earlier this week,
Verizon unveiled
three new options for unlimited data plans: Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, and
Business Unlimited. Go Unlimited
starts at $75 per month and video is “DVD-quality” – standard-definition
on phones (480p) and high-definition (HD) on tablets (720p). Beyond Unlimited starts at $85 per month and supports
HD for phones and tablets (720p for phones and 1080p for tablets). Go Unlimited and Beyond Unlimited both provide monthly discounts for each additional line, but the Business
Unlimited plan gives customers flat monthly rates. Verizon is also
introducing an unlimited option for customers on prepaid plans. (See the
chart below.)
Some people are criticizing
Verizon for limiting the video quality in some of the new plans, but Verizon is
upfront and transparent about the details of each offering. In response to
pro-regulatory advocates who state that Verizon’s new plans violate net neutrality principles, Free State Foundation President Randolph May stated:
"Whether the new
plans violate 'net neutrality' depends of course on who defines how strictly
and in what context the plans are offered. Aside from definitional constructs,
I'd say that this type of differentiation is good for consumers, considered
overall, and what is expected in a competitive marketplace. This is also a good
example of why the FTC should handle these issues that really relate to how
plans are marketed to consumers."
Many
pro-regulatory advocates also have criticized mobile providers for offering free
data services instead of offering unlimited data plans. But as I stated in a February
2017 blog, it was not until FCC Chairman Ajit Pai ended the investigation
of free data services and established an environment of permissionless
innovation that mobile providers were willing to offer unlimited data plans. Of
course, with permissionless innovation in a dynamically competitive marketplace,
Verizon has tripled its consumer-friendly options for unlimited data plans.
In general, more options for unlimited data plans, as well as
free data services, give consumers the freedom to choose the option which best
fits their preferences and cost allocations. This type of marketplace freedom
spurs consumer demand for online content and encourages additional innovation
and investment in broadband networks.
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