Verizon has a new pay-to-play data plan (VZ)

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Last week, Verizon introduced a newprogram that will let customers pay for unlimited data in time-limited intervals.

Under the offering, dubbed PopData, customers can pay $2 for 30 minutes of unlimited data, or $3 for an hour of unlimited data. This data does not count against the customer’s monthly stipend. The plan, which is currently in a beta testing phase, will allow the company to investigate how consumers react to “time-based” data options.

Verizon is likely hoping the new offering will encourage subscribers to use their data rather than Wi-Fi for heavy usage. Low-cost data plans have proven popular for rival networks like T-Mobile and Sprint.

These two networks' customers transmit the highest share of their data over cellular, both at 34%, compared with AT&T and Verizon users, who transmit 25% and 32%, respectively, according to P3 and FierceWireless. The pay-as-you-go data package will likely prove particularly popular with users as mobile video streaming continues to gain in popularity among consumers.

Already, video accounts for 43% of global mobile traffic, according to Ericsson's Mobility report. It could also help offset the costs associated with increased video streaming, which typically requires higher data loads than other forms of media. This is particularly true as new video services like live-streaming and 360-degree video gain traction, which require even more data transmission. 

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