Verizon to scrap family deals, introduce plans for multiple devices

Los Angeles - Verizon Wireless is set to introduce its "Share Everything" pricing structure and stop offering its family share plans in late June.

Verizon announced the change Tuesday, saying existing customers will be allowed to make the switch to the new pricing plan on June 28, the day it rolls out.

The plan includes unlimited talk minutes and messages, and it begins at $50 for 1 GB of data that can be shared with up to 10 mobile devices.

But for every device, there will be an additional charge. For smartphones, that charge will be $40, basic phones will cost $30 and laptops, as well as Verizon Jetpack mobile hotspot devices that tether Internet connectivity to other devices, will cost $20 to add. Tablets will be $10.

For $60, customers get 2 GB of data instead of 1, and from that point, adding $10 gets them 2 additional GBs of data, going up to 10 GBs for $100.

Verizon Wireless customers can opt to keep their existing plans if they wish, including users with grandfathered unlimited data plans - although they will be required to pay the unsubsidized price the next time they want to buy a new phone if they want to keep their unlimited data.

Verizon also announced it will no longer charge its users an additional fee to tether from their devices. Instead, tethering will simply count against users' shared data.

New customers will not be forced to get a plan under "Share Everything." Verizon will keep usage-based plans and allow customers the option to pay for voice, message and data differently.