Verizon Wireless of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is set to woo customers with a transition in its Share Everything wireless plans. The company is converting Share Everything into a new plan called “MORE Everything,” which would offer increased data and unlimited global text messaging over and above the Share Everything package at the same cost. We believe the company’s move to complement customers with more offerings at the same price is likely to be accretive to its subscriber base, enhancing market penetration.
Further, the competitive pricing will also give Verizon an edge over rivals like Sprint Corp. (S) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS).
The news comes on the heels of AT&T Inc.’s (T) announcement to cut pricing for family plans on Feb 1, including data on its G LTE network. Customers with a family of four can now switch to AT&T’s family plan that offers unlimited talk and text, and 10GB of data for $160 a month.
Apart from offering cost effective pricing plans, Verizon is riding high on smartphones with the introduction of devices that would boost data revenues going forward. During the quarter, the company’s smartphone penetration increased to 70%. It activated 8.8 million smartphones in the fourth quarter and introduced numerous devices to attract customers to 4G LTE that covers over 69% of total data traffic. In addition, the plan to roll out VoLTE is expected to boost its performance level.
The first series of handsets will be available by the end of 2014. We believe that these handsets will gradually reduce Verizon's reliance on CDMA chipsets, leading to lower device cost.
Additionally, voice traffic on LTE will help the company in refarming its 3G spectrum to accommodate LTE and increase bandwidth. Further, the company’s 4G LTE Router – an Internet access gadget compatible with both wired and Wi-Fi-enabled devices – will likely gain popularity in the coming days.
Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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