Verizon’s Unlimited data plans are leading to more evenly distributed data use from its customers, which is according to Verizon’s CFO Matt Ellis who spoke about these changes in Verizon’s network at the recent 45th Annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. The interesting part about Ellis’ statement and revelation if you will, is that Verizon’s network has been heavily criticized following the launch of unlimited much earlier this year due to perceived notions of congestion because more and more people were using data and the argument was that Verizon’s network wasn’t able to handle all that new traffic.
That’s not to say that Verizon hasn’t seen data increases. They certainly have seen more people using more data since the re-launch of Unlimited, but the fact that it’s been more spread throughout the day compared to before seems to suggest that bringing back unlimited data plans has actually helped Verizon’s network more than not, and in a way it probably wasn’t expecting. That also doesn’t mean that customers aren’t experiencing some very real issues with data congestion after unlimited plans were put into place on the U.S. largest wireless network, as it’s entirely possible that data speeds and network reliability did decrease for some following the re-launch, but it’s just as possible that the majority of users aren’t having any issues because not everyone is getting online all that the same time.
Ellis reportedly referred to Verizon’s network as “fantastic” when discussing the fact that data use is now more evenly distributed because of the two new Unlimited plans that the carrier offers, and that shouldn’t be too surprising as Verizon is surely proud that its network is now experiencing less strain and working more reliable for more people evenly throughout the day. It’s also worth noting that Ellis mentioned these points at a conference that is happening in the month of December, whereas the unlimited plans were launched in the early part of the year, so that more evenly distributed data use is also potentially a factor of the plans having been out for some time now, and customers becoming more familiar with a new routine in how and when they use their data now that they have as much of it or as little of it at the their disposal as they like.