Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Verizon adds rollover data to its prepaid plans, you still shouldn’t go with them

Verizon has updated its prepaid offerings with what it calls the ALLSET PLANS. These plans start at $45 for smartphones and include 500MB of data (1GB if you enroll in auto pay) and unlimited talk and text.

If you need more than that base level of data, you have the option of buying “Bridge Data” at:

500MB for $5 (expiring after 30 days)
1GB for $10 (expiring after 60 days)
3GB for $20 (expiring after 90 days)

To be clear on how the Bridge Data works, you buy it whenever you need more data and then it kicks in as soon as you exhaust your 500MB monthly allotment. If you buy some Bridge Data and don’t use up your 500 MB for the month, the Bridge Data won’t just disappear. However, as soon as you tap into the Bridge Data, its expiration date kicks in.

These plans also include tethering, unlimited texting to Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico and 1,000 minutes of international long distance to Canada and Mexico.

So why aren’t they a good option? Well, the $45 price is fairly costly for what you are getting in terms of the base level data. My own plan with T-Mobile is $30 for unlimited data and texting, though it is admittedly pretty slim on calling with just 100 minutes. Straight Talk would be another option, offering a $45 plan that includes unlimited talk, text and data. Straight Talk’s unlimited data does include a caveat that only the first 2.5GB of usage is at high speeds, but that brings me to the second big downside of the Verizon offering.

Verizon ALLSET PLANS only offer 3G connectivity, regardless of whether or not your phone supports LTE. As a longtime Verizon customer, its 3G coverage may nearly blanket the country, but the speeds are absolutely terrible. The strongest argument for Verizon is its wide LTE coverage, and these plans negate that advantage.

This unquestionably makes Verizon’s ALLSET prepaid offerings more desirable than they were previously, but they still far from the best option for most users.

I know we have some prepaid fans here, so in the interest of helping out those desperate souls that may be eyeballing Verizon’s new plans, go ahead and share your prepaid plan recommendations in the comments section below.