I’ve been a loyal Verizon customer for many years. And, like many, I’m quite addicted to my smartphone. I’m on the Internet on my Blackberry all the time. I can’t imagine life without it – how I managed to survive before cell phones is beyond me. Anyway, last week Verizon announced the end of unlimited data plans for new customers, but would honor existing customer contracts. Panicked, I assumed I would need to upgrade NOW so that I could maintain my free-wheeling, data-loving lifestyle on my phone.
Their new pricing structure is $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB. A co-worker told me that she’s upgrading immediately so that she can avoid paying more for data under the new plan structure. Convinced I needed the highest package as well, I reluctantly accepted I would soon be paying more for my data dependency. But then I decided to just check my data usage over the past 6 months to see if I could get away with maybe the 5GB package. And do you know what I found out? I don’t even come close to using up 2GB! Month after month, I’m leveling off at around 1GB…all that checking of email, visits to my favorite sites, shopping for those must-have shoes — and I barely accumulated that much data usage on my phone! What a pleasant surprise.
It got me wondering how many others jumped to the conclusion that they need a higher data plan. Do you pay attention to how much you use the Internet on your phone, or do you blindly plug along and surf the Web to your heart’s content?
Bottom line – don’t jump to conclusions when it comes to data usage on your smartphone. It pays to understand your real consumption!
