Apple and Verizon announced yesterday that the iPad will be coming to Verizon Wireless stores on October 28. Although the iPad will not include built-in access to the Verizon network, Verizon is bundling its MiFi cards with a Wi-Fi iPad for the same price as the 3G-enabled iPad on AT&T.
Yesterday, Verizon noted that a 1GB data plan would be available for $20 per month. Like AT&T, Verizon will not enforce any contract length on its service agreements, and plans will be available on a month-to-month basis. Today Verizon has released new information about its other iPad data plans. Interestingly, these plans are larger than AT&T’s pre-bundled rates.
According to a new iPad and MiFi Bundle FAQ, Verizon will offer these rate plans:
- $20 per month for 1GB ($20 for each additional 1GB).
- $35 per month for 3GB ($10 for each additional GB).
- $50 per month for 5GB ($10 for each additional GB).
AT&T, which originally offered customers the ability to get unlimited data for $29.99 a month, changed its plans in June. Unless you are grandfathered into the older plan, AT&T’s iPad data options are:
- 200 MB of data for $15 per month — this can be stacked if you blow through 200 MB, or you can upgrade to the 2GB plan before you reach 200 MB.
- 2GB of data for $25 per month (each additional GB is $10 per month).
So the pricing is actually the same until you hit the 5GB data-consumption rate, at which point Verizon comes in at $5 less, presuming you started with the 5GB plan.
Depending on how you use the iPad, your data usage may fall below 2GB per month. However, keep in mind that streaming movies from Netflix, Hulu or other video services can eat up bandwidth.
AT&T has certain provisions in play that require the HTTP streaming protocol used in iOS to lower itself while connected over 3G. This reduces network traffic but also saves consumer money. It isn’t clear if Verizon will impose any of those same limitations.
What do you think of the Verizon MiFi plans? Are you interested in using an iPad on the Verizon network? Let us know.
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