Verizon revives double LTE smartphone data promotion

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) is bringing back a promotion that doubles the amount of monthly data LTE smartphone buyers receive. The action is part of a flurry of promotions aimed at juicing the carrier's smartphone and tablet sales.

motorola droid 4 verizon lte

Motorola Droid 4

The promotions will start Friday and coincide with the launch of the Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) Droid 4, which will go on sale for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Under the revived data promotion, new and existing customers who sign a contract for an LTE smartphone will get double the data allowance for the same price--4 GB of data per month for $30, for example, as opposed to the normal 2 GB. Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney said there is currently no planned end date for the promotion.

The double LTE data promotion, which Verizon ran from November through mid-January, likely helped goose the carrier's LTE subscriber numbers in the fourth quarter. Verizon activated 2.3 million LTE devices in the quarter, including 1.6 million LTE smartphones. Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo has said that the double data promotion makes sense for the company financially and allows Verizon to get more subscribers off its EV-DO network and onto LTE. The promotion also then allows Verizon to free up EV-DO capacity for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, he said.

"There are also a number of customers who are ready to make a move from a basic phone to a smartphone and the promotions are a great opportunity for them to make the transition," Raney said.

In addition to the double data promotion, Verizon is starting a buy one, get one free promotion for all Motoorla Droid Razr phones, including the recently introduced Droid Razr Maxx. The company is also looking to entice feature phone customers to trade in their existing phones for a smartphone by offering a $30 in-store credit. And finally, to increase LTE tablet sales, such as the recently introduced Motorola Xyboards, Verizon is offering $100 off any LTE tablet with the purchase of any phone with a two-year contract. 

Verizon has made it clear that it wants to migrate as many customers to its LTE network as possible and that all of its smartphones from now on will include LTE support.

Interestingly, though, at least one vendor has been burned by sales of LTE devices. HTC, which sells the LTE Thunderbolt and Rezound through Verizon, reported lackluster fourth-quarter earnings Monday. During a conference call with analysts, HTC CFO Winston Yung said the company "dropped the ball" and that it must work on improving both "design and components" as it looks to slim down its LTE phones and improve battery life.

For more:
- see this release
- see this BGR post
- see this The Verge article
- see this SlashGear post

Related Articles:
Verizon's iPhone, LTE activations soar in Q4
Verizon commits to LTE for all future smartphones
Verizon: LTE outages a result of network's 'growing pains'
Verizon's Shammo: LTE promotion frees EV-DO space for iPhone