Verizon Wireless slashes prepaid plan prices: New rates undercut postpaid plans

Verizon Wireless (VZ) made some recent price adjustments to its prepaid offerings that now allow some of those plans to undercut pricing on its postpaid services.
The carrier has slashed the price of its prepaid daily unlimited calling plans to $2, effectively pricing a month of service at $60, or $10 less than the $70 it charges for unlimited calling with a two-year contract. In addition, the prepaid plan only costs the $2 per day on those days a customer actually uses their phone, so per-month charges could be even less.
The catch? Well, the daily plan is only available with a select number of “feature phones” from the carrier, though there is no indication that a customer could not activate a more feature-packed phone they may already have with the service.
Customers can also add unlimited text messaging to other Verizon Wireless customers and 250 text messages to any phone for $10 per month, or unlimited text messaging for $20 per month.
Verizon Wireless earlier this year altered its prepaid pricing scheme so that customers selecting to go without a contract were charged a $5 premium compared with similar postpaid plans.
While the new pricing undercuts Verizon Wireless’ postpaid plan, it’s still priced at a premium compared to its rivals. AT&T Mobility offers unlimited talk and text messaging through its GoPhone prepaid service for $2 per day or $60 per month.
Tracfone Wireless Inc.’s Straight Talk offering, which uses Verizon Wireless’ network, also undercuts the new plans by offering unlimited calling, messaging and data for $45 per month without a contract.