VZW plan change: Customers can change plans

Verizon Wireless has announced another consumer-friendly change to its policies: It will allow customers to change their wireless service plans without requiring an extension of their contracts.
The carrier said the change will be effective Oct. 7, at which point new and existing customers will be able to change their voice and data plans without changing the end date of their contracts. Typically, national carriers require customers to agree to a new, two-year contract term if they decide to make a change to their service plans.
Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless became the first national carrier to introduce a pro-rated early termination fee. The company also this year put into place a 30-day “test drive” policy, which allows customers to try out the network and services, and the carrier pays for their usage for the first 30 days if they end up opting to port their number to another carrier prior to the end of the trial period.
Alltel Wireless has a similar policy in place regarding plan changes and has made a point of promoting it as part of its advertising campaigns featuring “sales guys” from the four national carriers.
In a separate announcement, Verizon Wireless introduced new bundled calling plans that include unlimited calling between a customer’s home and wireless phone, in much the same vein as the Unity plans from AT&T Inc.
The plan features include a single bill for wireline and wireless calling, and also can be paired with Verizon’s broadband and entertainment offers to create a quadruple-play bundle.
The plans start at $60 per month in most Verizon markets, and at $65 per month in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The $60 plan includes 200 wireless anytime minutes, unlimited in-network calling, and unlimited local and long distance calling on the home line. For an additional $15 per month, users can get 450 anytime minutes and some additional calling features on the home line. Verizon Wireless Family Share plans can be linked to the landline offer at an additional cost, according to Verizon.