Shared Data Plans Likely Coming to Verizon in 2012

verizonlogoFierce Wireless reports on comments from Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in which he acknowledges that the carrier is planning on rolling out shared data plans in 2012.

Depending on how the sharing is implemented, the carrier could allow a single customer with multiple devices such as iPhone and a 3G iPad to draw from a single data monthly allotment rather than requiring separate data plans for each device. Shared data could also show up in family plans, where multiple family members could pull data from a single allotment much as they can today with voice minutes.

McAdam said that customers who are dealing with four or five screens--smartphones, tablets and USB modems for laptops and the like--do not want to pay for all of those devices on separate bills, and neither does Verizon. "I think in 2012 we will see it," McAdam said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. "We have been working on this for a couple of years. Getting to one bill and getting to account-level pricing is our goal."

European carriers have led the way in data allotment sharing with iPhone and iPad plans, and Verizon and AT&T had previously disclosed that they too are working on such offerings but had not offered any timeline for introducing such plans.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...

Top Rated Comments

MacAddict1978 Avatar
177 months ago
"We have been working on this for a couple of years. Getting to one bill and getting to account-level pricing is our goal."

I don't see how this takes years of planning to figure out. I think more to the point, he means, "We've ignored the ideas for years to lock as many people into contracts as possible before the pressure from foreign companies made us look bad for not offering it. Now that they are making us look like evil money grubbers, we feel it's time to offer this option as soon as we can figure out how to squeeze you as much as we can on a shared plan."

It's a great idea, and I hope everyone follows suit. My sarcasm aside, why can't I just share my data from my iPhone with my iPad period? Same price, same plan... and ding me if I go over.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
177 months ago
Why do i get the feeling that this won't help consumers and end up being more expensive in the long run?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theheadguy Avatar
177 months ago
With all of our advances and infrastructure improvements, there really is no excuse not to have unlimited data on these Apple devices. Things like shared data are just ploys to keep the sheep moving.

The excuses of how data-intensive our iPhones and the alike have become is hogwash. They act as if they have not been upgrading towers, installing fiber optics around the world, and raising prices.

What a joke.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dacapo Avatar
177 months ago
Good idea. I'd seriously consider switching to Verizon if this became reality.

EDIT: But then, they'll probably charge more right? Will have to crunch some numbers at that time I guess.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
177 months ago
I seriously doubt it's an effort for the carrier to charge less.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jca24 Avatar
177 months ago
It will be interesting to see how the pricing structure is for this if it happens.

:apple:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)