(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. The benefit comes when large families sign up for a single plan, yielding some savings. 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. 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. 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. 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.  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. The new plans give you more options, but this convenience comes at high price for individuals with minimum voice options. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
– 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.