Verizon Wireless will introduce tiered pricing for mobile data within six months and hopes the move will encourage Apple to launch a CDMA iPhone, Verizon boss Ivan Seidenberg says.
While the telco has yet to firm up the details of its new data pricing, Seidenberg said the pricing models would be differentiated from its main US rival AT&T, and could be introduced when the firm launches 4G services, WSJ.com reports.
Verizon announced in June that it would end unlimited data bundles when it launches 4G services, joining a growing number of carriers that are ending all you can eat packages in a bid to cope with increasing demand for mobile data.
The announcement came just after AT&T led the way by dropping its unlimited data packages in favor of two limited packages offering 200Mb of data for $15 (€11) per month, or 2Gb for $25 per month.
Seidenberg told the Journal that he hoped the new data pricing and 4G services would attract new device vendors – including Apple – to the Verizon fold, but said the carrier would have to earn the iPhone.
Apple has reportedly been stocking up on CDMA chipsets, fuelling rumors of a Verizon iPhone, CNET.com said.
A CDMA version of the iPhone would also open the door for China Telecom to stock the device, allowing it to compete with rival China Unicom which has sold the unit since October 2009 and recently launched the iPhone 4.
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