Verizon eyes family data plans

Verizon Wireless expects to offer family plans for data services supporting multiple devices including smartphones and tablet computers at some point in the future, according to a top executive of parent company Verizon Communications.

Verizon Wireless plans to kick off pricing changes this summer by eliminating smartphone plans that allow unlimited Web access for a flat fee. It will replace them with tiered pricing that forces heavy data users to pay more for mobile data. After this change the company will look to soften the blow by offering more options such as family plans for data services, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo. While families can share a bucket of minutes for phone calls today, each family member with a smartphone has to pay $30 per month each for data services. If they own a tablet computer they pay another separate data fee.