Verizon Wireless today introduced new plans that include an interesting twist: they ditch device subsidies.
Starting Aug. 13, Verizon will offer four plans with different buckets of data, but they will require customers to get a new phone for which they will have to pay full price.
Verizon users can choose between a small ($30/month for 1GB), medium ($45/month for 3GB), large ($60/month for 6GB), or extra-large ($80/month for 12GB) shared data plan. Each plan includes unlimited talk and text, and extra data costs $15 per GB.
Each device will add an additional fee: $20 more per month per smartphone, while Jetpack hotspots are $10 per month and smartwatches are $5 per month. Each data bucket can be shared with up to 10 devices.
As for the device, buyers can pay in monthly installments or all at once. With the move, Verizon's upgrade options will no longer be known as Edge.
The upside is that this eliminates contracts, a trend started by T-Mobile in 2013, which turned it into the "un-carrier" and helped it top Sprint to become the No. 3 carrier in the U.S.
Verizon has been toying with his approach for some time. Last year, it tipped a "More Everything" promotion that tried to usher customers over to Edge, "which is just a fancy way to get people to finally pay full price for their phones," PCMag's Sascha Segan said at the time.
AT&T has also been inching away from the traditional two-year contract plans. The option for a subsidized iPhone via AT&T, for example, was removed from Apple's website earlier this summer in favor of AT&T's Next installment plans.
Sprint has also been considering a similar move.
Verizon will probably still sell most phones its consumers use. Because of its CDMA radio system, most unlocked phones bought elsewhere do not work on Verizon; the only non-Verizon-branded phones that the network supports are recent iPhones, the Nexus 6, and the new Moto X Style. However, Verizon's own phones are unlocked, so you may be able to bring your Verizon phone over to AT&T or T-Mobile if you decide to take advantage of the lack of a service contract and switch away from Verizon.
"Choosing a wireless plan is now easier than ever. You said you don't want to have to do a lot of math to figure out your best options, and we heard you," Rob Miller, vice president of consumer pricing for Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. "So a plan with small, medium, large and x-large choices makes sense for the way people actually use their wireless service."