Speaking at a Merrill Lynch Communications Forum this morning in New York, Verizon Communications Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg told investors that the early results from last week's announcement by Verizon of an unlimited rate plan for $99 per month have been great. "Our stores are seeing an excellent reaction to it," Seidenberg said.
He also encouraged everyone to go to the stores of competitors AT&T and T-Mobile USA to evaluate their unlimited $99 per month plans that were announced immediately following Verizon's news last week. "Go to their stores and ask what they are. They are different. The announcement was the same but they are different."
Seidenberg also said that the company had its unlimited plans in place for 60 to 90 days prior to the announcement on Feb. 19 and that's why the company was able to immediately market it to customers. "We timed it so that we were the first to market with this," he said.
But the company doesn't expect the flat-rate plan to have a lot of impact on its bottom line. "There's been a lot of hullabaloo about flat rate but only a few customers have plans over $100 per month," Seidenberg said. And he added that the company's research indicates that Verizon would be in a greater position to attract new customers at that price range with the unlimited plan. -Sue
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