In May of 2011, Verizon’s CFO Fran Shammo mentioned the idea of shared family data plans but ultimately never responded to when such a thing would be available. This would allow different iPhones/iPads within a “family” share a data plan. Currently each device must pay for it’s own $30 a month data plan.
Recently a photo was leaked showing what appears to be a family data usage calculator.
According to PhoneArena:
A screen cap shared with us suggests that Verizon, at least, is moving ahead with the back-end upgrading that will be necessary to implement a shared data plan. While we can’t vouch for the images beyond what is seen below, it appears to be an online calculator available for families to use to figure out whether a shared data plan is right for them.
Shared data plans will definitely be a great move for families with more than one smartphone. Allowing customers to share data plans will not only save money, but potentially allow you to share a 4G LTE data plan between your iPhone and iPad. According to statements made by Verizon’s CFO this is expected to roll0ut sometime this year.
Be warned, if you switch to a “family shared” plan from your unlimited data plan, you’ll more than likely lose your unlimited data package. Though it may be worth the compromise for the average user. Eventually all of us with iPhones will lose our unlimited packages if we upgrade to the new iPhone which is expected to have 4G LTE connectivity.
