'Big and tall' smart phone data plans don't fit
News Room | Columns by CUB's Executive Director | 'Big and tall' smart phone data plans don't fit
This past July, Verizon Wireless joined AT&T and T-Mobile in eliminating unlimited data plans for smart phone users, instead switching to tiered data plans of 2 gigabytes (2 GB), 5 GB and 10 GB, starting at $30 per month. While a small percentage of data-heavy users rightly mourn the loss of unlimited plans, CUB found that typical smart phone users are stuck paying for far more data than they actually use.
An analysis of more than 19,000 wireless bills analyzed by the CUB Cellphone Saver, created by a Houston, Texas company called Validas, showed that a typical smart phone user consumed an average of just 456 megabytes (MB) of data per month—less than a quarter of the 2 GB included in most standard plans. (See CUB's fact sheet on data plans.)
Not only is that a waste of data—it's a waste of money. Considering the $30 price tag of Verizon's standard data plan, smart phone users could be spending up to $278 a year on megabytes and gigabytes they never use.
It's the equivalent of forcing smart phone users to shop at the cell phone industry's big and tall store.
That's why CUB is encouraging consumers to upload their bill to the CUB Cellphone Saver. CUB's free online service automatically analyzes wireless bills from the top four carriers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon—spots unnecessary charges, and recommends the best plans. It's shown 71 percent of consumers how to save an average of $331 a year. All billing data is kept completely private.
The CUB Cellphone Saver has shown that across the wireless industry, consumers' bills are bloated with plans and services that don't fit the way they use their phones. Changing that is the responsibility of wireless carriers.
At a news conference in July, CUB called on the wireless industry to offer:
· Lower tired data plans. A 500 MB plan wouuld be enough for a typical smart phone user;
· Family share plans. Two gigabytes of dataa is more than a enough for a typical family of four—not one; and
· Rollover data. If consumers are paying foor data, they should have every opportunity to use it, or cash it in for rewards or billing discounts.
We have smart phones. It's time for smart plans to go with them.