In a significant move reflecting how mobile is increasingly about data as much as or even more than video, Verizon Wireless is the first major U.S. wireless carrier to launch a shared data plan.

The move reflects both consumer interest in sharing data across multiple devices and the need for wireless carriers to offer attractive service plans that address the growing use of data on mobile devices. The new Share Everything Plans include unlimited voice minutes, unlimited text, video and picture messaging, data allowances for up to 10 Verizon Wireless devices as well as mobile hotspot service on all devices at no additional charge.

? This is a very significant event ? mobility is no longer about voice, but about data, and people want connectivity for their many devices as well as more simplicity and clarity in their service plans,? said Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, director of mobile broadband opportunities at Strategy Analytics, Boston.

?Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T have said for some time that they were working on launching shared data plans, so it is good to see this launch,? she said.

Shared data catches on
In the past year, numerous markets have launched shared data plans, including Canada and several European countries.

The goal of Verizon?s move is to simplify wireless service plans by eliminating the need to have to think about their voice and message use, since both are unlimited.

Additionally, Verizon wants to encourage more people on family plans to upgrade to smartphones and also connect a tablet.

The ability for users to double their GB allotment for only an extra $10 could push some to opt for the 2GB or 4GB categories to insure they are covered, thereby pushing more consumers into higher data consumption categories. Under the new pricing strategy, the first 1GB of data costs $50 but an additional 1GB is only $10 more

On the downside, the new plans could be a turnoff for consumers thinking of upgrading to a smartphone and encouraging them to look at one of the value-oriented carriers.

?For users, this may be seen as added value for their money OR an attempt to get them into higher priced plans with more voice than they really want or need, depending on the user,? Ms. Welsh de Grimaldo said. ?It certainly is a plus for people who like unlimited voice and data and also want to have their tablet connected, or for families on a family plan who would like to have opportunity to connect tablets and not be concerned about budgeting use of texts or voice calls.?

Marketing implications
The new pricing could have implications for marketers reaching consumers via mobile devices, especially those engaged in SMS text marketing campaigns and using data-heavy content such as video.

?For marketers, having new plans with unlimited text as a baseline is a benefit for any text-based campaigns, and the potential to have more always-connected tablets as a more video-centric device is also a plus,? Ms. Welsh de Grimaldo said.

Under the new pricing strategy, c ustomers purchase one plan for monthly access and a data plan with caps ranging between 1 GB up to 10 GB of data that can be shared across up to 10 devices.

Customers select the devices they want on their accounts and can add a tablet for an additional $10 with no long-term contract requirement.

Prices for monthly line access are $40 for smartphone access with unlimited shared minutes and shared messages up, $30 for basic phones, $20 for USBs and netbooks and $10 for tablets.

Data prices are $50 for 1 GB of data, $60 for 2 GB, $70 for 4 GB, $80 for 6 GB, $90 for 8 GB and $100 for 10 GB.

The new plans will be available on June 28. They will be available to new customers with existing customers able to move to the new plans if they wish.

The move by Verizon Wireless is likely to be followed by other wireless carriers.

?AT&T has already been preparing for shared data plans, recent comments made it seem as though they were more interested in plans to share data between a smartphone and tablet to drive tablet growth rather than plans that shared data on multiple smartphones on a family plan,? said Ms. Welsh de Grimaldo.

?I think Verizon Wireless move to have the price per device differ by device type gets around the concern that carriers would lose money on the new plans - so adding a smartphone is still $40 to capture that value as on today?s family plans ? which leaves room for AT&T to also address the family plan segment without risking erosion of value of required separate data plans for each smartphone,? she said.