Verizon Wireless announces new 3G rate plans based on actual data usage as an alternative to its previously announced plans where customers pay for data on the basis of their airtime use. The plans are for customers of Verizon Wireless' Express Network, a CDMA2000 1x network offering customers mobile data speeds up to 144 kbps. 

Catering to business customers, the plans start at $35 per month for 10 megabits of data up to $150 per month for 150 MB. The pricing is in addition to per-minute 3G data plans starting at $30 per month in addition to regular access and airtime charges.

'For some people, one price plan will be good; for others, the new one, says Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson. 'The new size-based plan really is good for [businesses] that can best measure [and] anticipate... user experiences.' 

In January, Verizon Wireless launched its 3G Express Network in several cities along the eastern seaboard, as well as Silicon Valley and San Francisco, Calif. and Salt Lake City, Utah. Several more markets in the Midwest, Northeast and the South will have access to the Express Network starting April 2, Verizon Wireless says. Competitor Sprint PCS aims to roll out its 1x network across its entire footprint later in the year.

Data advocates and experts repeatedly have expressed concern over U.S. carriers' pricing of mobile data, alleging that carriers are seeking a quick return on network investments rather than working to build a market for wireless data services. In an exclusive column this month for Wireless Week's Wireless Internet Magazine, data guru Andrew Seybold suggested pricing plans based on the device, which determines how much information can be downloaded, and also offer options for the occasional user and the data hound.  

'Because most laptop users don't travel every month, setting both a monthly fee and pricing by the KB or minute is the wrong approach. There should be unlimited flat-rate pricing as well as pricing for the occasional user,' Seybold writes, adding that carriers could require data subscribers to buy a voice account to hike up average revenue per user. 

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