text: Consumers screamed for it. Verizon answered. Later this month, the U.S. cellular carrier will offer shared data plans for entire families. Instead of each device on an account being allotted its own data limit, all devices in a family plan will draw from the same data pool. Verizon boasts that it listened to consumers and responded with an innovative service. But when it comes to the bottom line, is Verizon doing American families any favors? 
   
   Our Family of Four 
   
   ReadWriteWeb discussed the feasibility of shared data plans last year. Let’s bring back our theoretical family of four and apply the shared data rates Verizon announced today. 
   
   This theoretical upper-middle-class family has a mother, a father and two children. Both Ma and Pa have a smartphone and a tablet. The teenage kids each have a smartphone and share a tablet between them. The total is seven devices that under the old system would have required seven different data plans. 
   
   Cost: $299.97 on the middle tier of Verizon’s current family plan (AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile rates are slightly different): 
   
   four lines with 700 talk minutes: $119.97 
   
   four smartphones with 2GB monthly data: $120 
   
   three tablets with 1GB monthly data: $60 
   
   Note: Cost estimates are before taxes and fees attached by the carriers and individual states. 
   
   Focusing on the data aspect of the current family plan, that is 11GB of data for $180. Verizon points out that with the new shared plan, you pay a lot less for the data. The problem? You pay more per device. 
   
   This is the pricing chart that Verizon announced today. 
   
   Verizon's shared data plans are available on June 28. 
   
   Let’s run the numbers for our theoretical family. 
   
   four smartphones with unlimited minutes: $160 
   
   three tablets: $30 
   
   10GB monthly shared data plan: $100 
   
   In aggregate, the shared data plan comes in at $290, about $10 less than the current Verizon family plan. The family also loses 1GB of data. If we add it back as an overage charge (where the family exceeds its monthly allotment and is charged $10 for every additional GB), then the plans are exactly the same. 
   
   Does this surprise anyone? Verizon's new plan does not give families a discount. The difference amounts to an administrative change in how Verizon gauges use within a family plan, not a change in how much it charges or the revenue it generates. 
   
   Convenience and Choice 
   
   Let’s go back to our theoretical family. Last fall, we imagined that the father was a low-volume data user (to Dad, the smartphone is really just a phone) while the mother traveled a lot and was a high-volume user. Mom streams movies from Netflix, catches up on shows with Hulu Plus and listens to a lot of Pandora and talk radio with Stitcher. She just loves everything these mobile devices can do and hardly gives a thought to the amount of data she uses. The teenage kids take a lot of pictures, text and use social networks. They watch the occasional movie and a lot of YouTube. All in all, the kids are fairly normal smartphone users. 
   
   Without a shared data plan, Dad’s allotment of data pretty much goes to waste. Activities like checking and sending email on your phone take up very little data. The family is punished financially for Mom’s freewheeling ways. So, if we break it down, the family on the shared data plan is actually being far more efficient with their allotment than each individual would be on their own. 
   
   This has several benefits for both the consumer and the carrier. Individual consumers, on average, use about 2.2GB of data a month on their smartphones. Under many contracts, such as AT&T’s 3GB for $30, they are paying for data they do not use. In the new Verizon system, those users would be punished for going over their 2GB allowance. 
   
   For the carrier, the shared data plan represents a change in how consumers are measured. In the old family plan, a company like Verizon would measure average revenue per user (ARPU). In the shared data plan scenario, the measurement structure changes. The family, instead of being measured as a group of individuals, becomes a unit. When an individual uses more data in a given month, the ARPU for that person goes down. When taken as a unit, an individual’s excess data use gets rolled into a lump sum without damaging (or theoretically, enhancing) Verizon’s ARPU. 
   
   Think of your family and ask yourself: What is easier? Is it better to collect family members under one lump-sum plan or keep them partitioned to their own personal data limits? That is really what it comes down to. Verizon is going to make the same amount of money either way. Let us know in the comments what approach your family is going to take. ||||| Individuals end up paying more as Verizon now forces unlimited voice and text messages -- even if they don't want them. 
   
   (Credit: Jessica Dolcourt/CNET) 
   
   Verizon Wireless' newly unveiled "Share Everything" plan may be a revolution in the industry, but it's going to leave a lot of individual customers unhappy with the change. 
   
   "Share Everything" allows customers for the first time to share a common bucket of data, similar to what they do with voice minutes and text messages under a family plan. The benefit comes when large families sign up for a single plan, yielding some savings. 
   
   I would be fine with the changes if "Share Everything" was just one of many options, but it's not. The new shared data plans, which includes a fee for unlimited voice and text, and a set amount of data, as well as another separate fee for each device, has become the new status quo. If you're a new customer, you'll have to choose one of these plans starting June 28. Fortunately for existing customers, they can keep their existing plans, although they will have to give up unlimited data if they choose to upgrade to a new subsidized phone. 
   
   Some people may be okay with getting unlimited access to voice and text messages, but I'm not one of them. I suspect I'm not alone. At a time when people are using data services more, which power alternative text and calling apps, they are looking to lean on voice and text messages less. That's particularly the case as many folks move to the faster 4G LTE network, which consumes data even faster. 
   
   But under the change, customers will have to give up their old grandfathered unlimited data plans right as people use more data than ever. It's a classic case of a carrier giving you more of what you don't need, and taking away what you do -- all for a higher price. 
   
   The plans are clearly geared towards families -- particularly ones in which a few members don't use as much data -- at the expense of individuals. An individual with a plan that consists of 450 voice minutes, 1,000 text messages, and 2 gigabytes of data currently pays $80 a month. Under the new structure, which offers unlimited voice and text messages, the price is $100. 
   
   As Verizon customer, I fall under the $80 plan, and rarely ever go over my calling or text message caps. I don't particularly relish the notion of a forced "upgrade" to a $100 plan -- $60 for 2GB of access and unlimited voice and text messages and a $40 access fee for a smartphone -- if I move to Share Everything. 
   
   For a couple, the new share plan would cost $150 for access for two smartphones, 4GB of data, and unlimited text and voice. That's not much different than a current share plan that comes with 700 minutes, 1,000 text messages per phone, and 2GB of data each. Current couples, however, would have to give up their unlimited data plans in exchange for unlimited voice and text messages. 
   
   Part of the problem are the high access fees for devices, which make it tough for individuals who want to sign up multiple devices under one plan. The access fee for a smartphones is $40 a month, while a basic phone is $30, and laptops, Netbooks, and mobile hotspots are $20. Even the lowest rate -- $10 a month for a tablet -- seems excessively high. 
   
   Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Tami Erwin acknowledged that some people would end up paying more under the new system, but stressed the savings that families would be obtain under the new plan. 
   
   It's easy to see why Verizon wants to focus on the family. Family plans of text messages and voice service aren't new, and have been tremendously successful at keeping groups of individuals tied to a single carrier. Verizon is hoping data will add another element of stickiness -- making it hard for family members to break away and sign up for their own plan at a different carrier. 
   
   "In a world where incentives for families favor concentrating around a single provider, the biggest providers win," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "In a household with two or three AT&T; or Verizon devices -- say, a smartphone and a tablet or two, and one device from T-Mobile or Sprint...Sprint doesn't stand a chance." 
   
   The plans also open the door for AT&T; to offer an identical plan -- undoubtedly with a few slight tweaks to claim differentiation -- which is bad news for individuals on that carrier. 
   
   The Verge's Chris Ziegler earlier today called the Verizon plans lackluster. I would go further and say it represents a raw deal for a lot of people. 
   
   Corrected at 4:40 a.m. PT June 13: The story previously inaccurately suggested that a person upgrading a phone or changing a plan would be forced to move to a "Share Everything" plan. Current customers can actually keep their existing plan, although they would lose their unlimited data plan after an upgrade. ||||| Summary: I expected that carriers would not be giving anything away with shared data plans, but have to admit I am a bit disappointed that convenience comes at such a high price on Verizon. 
   
   In May Verizon stated they were going to completely change their wireless plan structure and I am blown away by how fast this is now rolling out. Starting on 28 June, Verizon's new Share Everything plans are rolling out and will be the only option for customers, unless you stick with your existing plan and buy new phones at the unsubsidized pricing. The new plans give you more options, but this convenience comes at high price for individuals with minimum voice options. If you compare unlimited voice and text, then it is a good deal and for large families who all want data the plans are a great deal. 
   
   The shared data plans are higher for individuals, but families who want multiple devices all with data will save quite a bit (if you want unlimited voice) with less worrying about per device data usage. A family of five will drop to $270 for five lines with a shared pool of 4GB, includes unlimited talk and text. Individuals who don't talk much on the phone, on the other hand, will see plan rates jump from the low of $69.99 (450 minutes and 2GB of data) to the lowest smartphone option of $90 for just 1GB of data. Granted these new shared plans come with unlimited voice and text messaging so if you make a lot of calls or send a lot of texts this may end up being a better option. I personally end up paying about 50 cents/minute for voice because I do not make that many calls on my mobile phone, but have to pay the minimum $40 per month. 
   
   I would prefer to see wireless carriers offer compelling data only packages with per minute voice options. Like many people I see on my commute, data is used much more than voice on smartphones and voice seems to be where carriers make major profits. 
   
   With these new shared plans you get unlimited voice and texts with data charged at these rates: 
   
   1 GB is $50 
   
   2 GB is $60 
   
   4 GB is $70 
   
   6 GB is $80 
   
   8 GB is $90 
   
   10GB is $100 
   
   Monthly line access fees are as follows: 
   
   $40 for a smartphone 
   
   $30 for a basic feature phone 
   
   $20 for USB stick, notebooks, netbooks 
   
   $10 for tablets 
   
   These plans also include WiFi hotspot functionality. I am not sure if things will change with the data only plans for the iPad and tablets. 
   
   Given that I see excellent Verizon coverage and my daughters are getting older and heading off to college, I am considering a switch to Verizon where everyone can get data, unlimited texts, and unlimited voice minutes for a lower price than i pay even on low cost T-Mobile. 
   
   If Sprint can get their LTE network up and running soon, they will look even more attractive for individual lines with their unlimited everything plans for $80 per smartphone. I am still grandfathered into unlimited data on Verizon at a total cost of $83, with taxes, and if I stick with Verizon I am going to just keep buying unsubsidized devices to take advantage of this data plan.
target: – Verizon yesterday unveiled its new "Share Everything" plans, in which families will share one data allowance on a family plan rather than each member having his or her own data allowance on separate plans. Despite the fact that Verizon is touting this as a money-saving opportunity for families, critics run the numbers and say it's actually not: Dan Rowinski of ReadWriteWeb finds that one hypothetical family of four will likely pay exactly the same amount per month, or may save at most $10 per month. The problem? Data may be cheaper under the new plans, but "you pay more per device," he explains. "Verizon's new plan does not give families a discount. The difference amounts to an administrative change." Troy Wolverton goes a bit further in the Mercury News, calling the new plans "a crummy deal for many consumers." He finds that many users will actually end up paying more, since the only real price breaks are on talk minutes and text messages—"services [consumers] are already using less." "Overall, the move appears to be a price hike tarted up to look consumer friendly," he writes. All the critics concede that the new plans are certainly simpler to understand, but on ZDNet, Matthew Miller is "disappointed that convenience comes at such a high price." If Sprint gets its LTE network running, it will be an "attractive" option for individual unlimited plans at $80 per phone, he notes. On CNET, Roger Cheng points out that Verizon is now "forcing" unlimited voice and text messages with these plans. "Under the change, customers will have to give up their old grandfathered unlimited data plans right as people use more data than ever," he writes. "It's a classic case of a carrier giving you more of what you don't need, and taking away what you do—all for a higher price." The new plans roll out on June 28, and the only way to keep your existing plan is to upgrade to new phones at full cost, with no discount.