Verizon Wireless

Verizon gets FCC waiver to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling

Cody Lee ∙ November 13, 2015

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday gave Verizon permission to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling. As noted by MacRumors, the Commission granted the carrier a waiver today that will allow it to rollout the feature, which was introduced last year with iOS 8.

The news comes a month after AT&T was granted the same waiver, and it activated Wi-Fi Calling for compatible devices days later. In a statement, it also criticized the FCC for excusing the fact that Sprint and T-Mobile have long been offering the feature without a waiver.

Verizon raising price of grandfathered unlimited data plans by $20 in November

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Verizon on Thursday announced that it will soon be raising the price on grandfathered unlimited data plans by $20. As noted by CNET, this will bring the monthly price tag of unlimited data to $49.99 per month, which is in addition to the standard talk and text plan, and the change is set to take place in November.

The amount of people affected by this move should be relatively small. Verizon says that less than 1% of its 100+ million subscriber base still has an unlimited plan, and those that do still have one and are currently under contract from a previous phone purchase won't likely see the price hike until the contract expires.

Verizon to start field-testing 5G wireless within 12 months, commercial deployment in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 8, 2015

Verizon Wireless, the leading U.S. wireless operator, will be kicking off field trials of a fifth-generation network which promises to bring some rather insane download speeds.

With these trials, the big red carrier should become the world's first carrier to seriously move into 5G.

As reported by CNET, field trials on 5G wireless technology are set to kick off within the next 12 months, with Verizon's chief information and technology architect Roger Gurnani confirming that “some level of commercial deployment” should begin in 2017.

Verizon and Sprint to pay $158 million in bill cramming settlement

Cody Lee ∙ May 12, 2015

The FCC announced on Tuesday that Verizon and Sprint have agreed to pay $158 million to settle their bill cramming investigations with the Commission. Verizon Wireless will pay $90 million and Sprint Corporation will pay $68 million, and much of that will go to consumer refunds.

"For too long, consumers have been charged on their phone bills for things they did not buy," said the oft-outspoken FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “We call these fraudulent charges ‘cramming,’ and with today’s agreements we are calling them history for Verizon and Sprint customers.”

Verizon discounting most of its data plans by $10 per month

Jake Smith ∙ February 4, 2015

It's not often a large mobile carrier will reduce the amount you'll be paying each month, but Verizon has shocked us a little on Wednesday. Verizon announced that it's brining a nice discount to most of the data plans it offers to its customers.

A monthly shared data plan with 1 gigabyte of data will now start at $30 per month, rather than $40, with other rate plans getting a similar cut.

There’s talk Verizon wants to buy or form a joint venture with AOL

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Telecom giant Verizon has had internal talks about acquiring or forming a joint venture with AOL, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The acquisition is said to be focused around AOL's advertising technology and its video content, in an effort to combat AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV.

Carrier wars: AT&T/Verizon/Sprint doubling LTE data on shared plans until October 31

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 19, 2017

Leading United States carriers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint — have responded to the release of Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in literally the same manner, by doubling the amount of LTE data included in shared plans albeit on a temporary basis.

AT&T is doubling cellular data on 15GB and higher Mobile Share Value plans through October 31.

Sprint has responded by changing its 32/40/60GB Family Share Pack buckets to 60/80/120GB ones at no additional charge, also valid through October 31.

And arriving late to the party, Verizon is now getting in on the double-data action by increasing the amount of data available to customers who subscribe to its higher-end family plans. The Big Red carrier's time-limited promotion lasts between tomorrow and — you guessed right — October 31.

Jump past the fold for additional information and the fine print.

Verizon announces VoLTE rollout for later this year, iOS 8 expected to support it

Jake Smith ∙ May 20, 2014

Verizon Wireless has announced the roll out of its Voice over LTE technology - better known as VoLTE - will begin across the US later this year.

The new technology will move Verizon's LTE service past data and will offer an HD Voice experience, using the AMR-wideband standard. "This solution provides the best voice quality available now and allows for future interoperability with others using the standard," Verizon claims.