Verizon To Launch Prepaid Calling Service

Verizon said that the new 3G pay-as-you-go data package would enable customers to access unlimited data on select smartphones and other multimedia handsets for a regularly monthly fee of $30. In addition, the company is offering a package for $10 a month allowing 25 MB of data downloads per month, with a $.20 per MB overage fee.

"These new data offerings will help our prepaid customers experience the full breadth of Verizon Wireless’ robust device portfolio and the many engaging, informative and helpful applications that depend on a data plan," said Jim Sullivan, Verizon director of marketing, in a statement. "Our prepaid customers will now have the freedom to enjoy all of the capabilities that these phones have to offer, while controlling costs and without being tied to a contract."

Verizon customers can sign up immediately for the prepaid service, which will start at the end of September.

Verizon did not stipulate a price list for the new prepaid smartphones, however, pricing could be close to the "amount it charges customers signing up for a one-year postpaid contract," according to Reuters.

Typically users are required to sign a two-year service plan in order to get various discounts on phones -- depending on the model -- which are then subsidized by the carrier. However, without the two-year contract, there is a strong chance that users will have to pay a more expensive price for any Verizon smartphone they purchase.

Verizon's decision to launch a prepaid calling service puts them in direct competition with its biggest market challenger, AT&T, which already offers its customers a prepaid service with unlimited talk and texting features.

The new prepaid service also puts Verizon on par with prepaid wireless services like Metro PCS and others, which have captured the growing market of users who prefer a prepaid plan, or who aren't able to be approved for a regular monthly calling plan.

Verizon smartphones available under the new prepaid service include an array of RIM's devices, including the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2, the BlackBerry Tour and the BlackBerry Bold, as well as the Palm Pre Plus, the Palm Pixi Plus. Droid phones include the Motorola Droid, Droid X, and Droid 2, the HTC Droid Eris and Droid Incredible. Other multimedia phones available on the plan include the LG Ally, the LG enV 3 and enV Touch, the LG Chocolate Touch, the Samsung Alias 2 and Samsung Renown, the Nokia Twist, and the Casio Exilim.