Verizon Wireless may have canned its all-you-can-eat data plans this summer, but it hasn't entirely given up on unlimited.
On Thursday, the company will debut a $50 prepaid plan with unlimited talk, text and Web, Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney said. As with Verizon's current prepaid plans, e-mail costs an extra $7 per month.
"Many customers today have prepaid lifestyles and prefer not having a contract," Raney said. "This meets their needs and gives them an opportunity to be on the nation's most reliable network."
The new plan is being offered with four new prepaid devices, the LG Revere, the LG Cosmos, the Pantech Caper and the Samsung Gusto, as well as some older prepaid phones. The entry-level handsets run from $40 to $100 and don't have the full HTML web browsers found on smartphones.
Customers can sign up for the new buffet-style plans at Verizon retail stores. The service is also being sold at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target and RadioShack.
Verizon Wireless' current unlimited talk and text plan for its prepaid customers costs $95. The operator also offers a prepaid plan with 450 minutes and unlimited SMS for $65, and a $85 prepaid plan that includes 900 voice minutes and all-you-can eat text. Prepaid customers using smartphones can get unlimited data for $30.
Verizon has historically focused on the postpaid market, and its prepaid plans have been too expensive to compete with low-cost competitors like Sprint prepaid brand Boost Mobile. Some Boost subscribers pay as little as $35 per month, and MetroPCS' unlimited plans go as low as $40 per month.
The move into cheaper prepaid plans indicates Verizon intends to compete more aggressively in the pay-as-you-go market, which could be bad news for Sprint.
Verizon's move comes just days after AT&T announced a cheaper $25 prepaid plan for its GoPhone customers. AT&T's new plan costs half of the $50 plan it currently offers to GoPhone users.