Verizon revives 2 GB/month bonus data promotion as competition stays heated

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is bringing back its offer to give new or existing customers 24 GB of extra data every year when they upgrade or activate a new phone on its equipment installment plan, reviving a promotion the carrier ran during the holidays. The data is available as 2 GB every month and is shareable. It's available to users on Verizon's XL plan (which includes 12 GB of data for $80 a month) or its XXL plan (18 GB of data for $100 a month).

The offer is good on accounts of up to 10 lines including tablets and other connected devices. The extra data is available as long as users remain active on the XL or higher plans.

The nation's largest operator has largely maintained a conservative position in recent months regarding promotions, touting its network coverage and performance rather than joining its competitors in targeting each other's users. But that strategy has had mixed results in 2015, as the carrier's net postpaid adds during the year totaled less than half of T-Mobile's net adds.

Verizon began to rebound in the third quarter of 2015, though, and it finished the year with a solid -- if not spectacular -- quarter. And late in 2015 it launched a campaign to pay the early termination fees of users who switch from their existing carriers -- the move was seen as an indication that Verizon was growing concerned about the effectiveness of its competitors' promotional tactics. That campaign was accompanied by a temporary promotion by Verizon to give users an extra 2 GB of monthly data for as long as the device is active on its network.

The move to revive that campaign may indicate that Verizon continues to feel vulnerable in a U.S. market where growth may be plateauing.

For more:
- see Verizon's page

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