Verizon Overhauls Unlimited Plans (and Cuts Prices) Amid U.S. 5G Rollout

Verizon is making some big changes to its unlimited plans, seemingly in preparation for a more general rollout of 5G service across the U.S.

The New Plans

The carrier announced on Friday that it would be replacing its current Go, Above and Beyond plans with four new options. The new plans will debut on Monday, August 5. Here’s how they break down.

1. Start: $70 a line.
2. Play More: $80 a line.
3. Do More: $80 a line.
4. Get More: $90 a line.

Compared to the previous Go, Above and Beyond options, the new plans all see a $5 price cut. Verizon also broke its middle-tier Above plan into two separate options aimed at different target markets.

It’s also worth noting that adding 5G service to any one of these plans will cost an additional $10 a month per line. But Verizon is currently holding a limited-time offer in which that fee is waived for every plan except the base tier.

In other words, if a customer purchases a 5G device now, they’ll be able to keep 5G service at no additional charge. There’s no word on when the promotion ends, however.

Other Changes

Ostensibly, the new plans will net users a slight discount on wireless service and offer them more options. But the new lineup of unlimited plans are a bit confusing.

For example, the base-tier Start plan won’t come with any hotspot data. That’s different than the current Go plan, which did allow users to have hotspot capabilities at a capped speed.

The Start plan will retain unlimited 4G LTE data, the six-month Apple Music trial, 480p video streaming, and unlimited talk and text in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The Play More and Do More plans, which replace the Above plan, are priced the same and do come with unlimited hotspot data (but only 15GB worth at 4G LTE speeds). There are differences between the two.

• Play More is aimed at entertainment consumption and will come with 25GB of 4G LTE data, 720p video streaming and a subscription to Apple Music.
• Do More will offer 50GB of 4G LTE data and a 50 percent discount when adding a tablet or portable hotspot data plan. Streaming is capped at 480p and there’s no bundled Apple Music subscription (though the free trial remains).

The Get More plan combines all of the features of Do More and Play More, as well as 30GB of 4G LTE hotspot data.