Verizon Wireless axed Unlimited Data quite some time ago, back in July of 2011. But those that were able to pick up unlimited data before the carrier officially stopped offering it, are able to keep their unlimited data although they have seen some price increases as of late, with the latest being a $20 increase a few months ago. Recently, AT&T brought back unlimited data – AT&T was the first carrier to get rid of it – but in order to get unlimited data, you have to sign up with DirecTV or be a current customer of DirecTV whom AT&T purchased last year. Many had wondered if Verizon might bring back unlimited data. Today, Verizon’s CFO, Fran Shammo confirmed that the largest carrier in the US will not bring it back.
What Verizon is looking towards is ad revenue. In 2015, the company acquired AOL. The biggest reason for them buying AOL was for their ad technology, as well as their original video which would go well with their then, planned Go90 mobile video service. Go90 launched in October of 2015, and so far it’s not making Verizon any money. But they don’t expect it to for a few years. Verizon is expecting to increase ad revenues though, with Go90. Ad revenue is a big deal, just ask Google. Verizon is already offering Go90 for free, basically, to subscribers. Even subscribers that don’t use Verizon. Those that do use Verizon will get pro-rated data for Go90, so the data used by Go90 doesn’t count against your data plan. The way Verizon is looking to make money is from ads, which the revenue will get better over time.
In some way, it is unlimited data. Really only if you like their Go90 service, considering you can watch as much of it as you want without paying a dime for it. Even on their 4G LTE network. However many customers would much rather them offer unlimited data, or do something similar to T-Mobile where users can stream video from places like Netflix, HBO Go, and many others for free without it hitting their data cap. We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out for Verizon, who is already $110 billion in debt. So they are looking for more ways to drive in cash.