Verizon, AT&T Trade Price Plan Punches

Verizon and AT&T have recently been at odds over their coverage and 3G network speeds, gearing advertising toward disparaging each other. Verizon claims a larger coverage area while AT&T claims a higher-speed network and the ability to talk on the phone while surfing the Web.

Now, the kerfuffle has jumped off the television and will reach consumers' wallets.

Verizon last week chopped the price of its unlimited voice plan and updated its data packages, reducing its number of plans from 40 to 14 -- six single line plans and eight family plans. For voice, Verizon has cut $30 off its unlimited voice service, from $100 to $70. Verizon also will now offer a required $30-per-month unlimited data plan for all 3G smartphones, while non-smartphone 3G devices will require a $10 monthly data package that includes 25 MB of data. That means unlimited voice and data service for a 3G smartphone will run about $100.

Shortly after Verizon unveiled its latest plans, AT&T launched a counterattack: unlimited voice and data for $100 per month for all smartphone users, even users of the Apple iPhone, which had previously been subjected to $100 for unlimited voice service and an additional $30 for unlimited data.

While competitive pricing is nothing new in the wireless carrier game, the newly waged price war is the next chapter in the increasingly contentious co-existence between Verizon and AT&T.

The Verizon and AT&T price reductions also level the playing field for the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 players, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, respectively. Both Sprint and T-Mobile have offered unlimited voice and data plans that top out at roughly $100 per month.