Patriots held off the competition, can Verizon do the same?
All the major US wireless operators releases their data usage stats for traffic generated during the Super Bowl. Verizon said its customers at the site generated 4.1 terabytes of data, up from the 1.9 terabytes of data its customers generated during the 2014 Super Bowl. AT&T, meanwhile, said it recorded 1.7 terabytes of data at the venue. Unfortunately, it is downright impossible to compare the numbers from these folks as there is no single agree method of data collection.
From Verizon blog… As the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks faced off at Super Bowl XLIX, Verizon customers at the stadium racked up more than 25 million wireless connections – nearly 25,000 per minute. The tweets, texts, status updates and more sent by Verizon customers immediately before, during and after the game in Glendale added up to 4.1 terabytes of data, compared to 1.9 terabytes during the 2014 Super Bowl. That number represents 3.67 billion social media posts, 10 million emails, 1.9 million web pages accessed and more than 122,000 videos shared.
But the competition isn’t all on the field. Verizon this week cut prices on its “More Everything” shared data plan this week and it’s raising the caps on some offerings.
All of Verizon’s More Everything plans come with unlimited voice and messaging, and data that can be shared with up to 10 devices. Under the new plans, which go into effect Thursday, new and existing customers can get 500 MB of data for $20 per month. Verizon’s 1 GB plan drops to $30 per month (from $40), 2 GB drops to $40 (from $50), 3 GB goes down to $50 (from $60), the 4 GB plan drops to $60 (from $70) and the 6 GB plan drops to $70 (from $80). The 8 GB plan will drop by $5 per month, to $85 from $90.
According to some financial analysts, this latest move signifies a dramatic shift in the game plan for Verizon. Jefferies analysts have concluded that Verizon has shifted its focus from going after AT&T on higher end plans to competing more belligerently with smaller rivals Sprint and T-Mobile at the lower end.
“We believe that today’s plan change signals a shift in strategy, from targeting AT&T on 1 GB and higher plans, to competing more aggressively with Sprint and T-Mobile on single line and lower-end 2-line family plans,” Jefferies analysts Mike McCormack, Scott Goldman and Tudor Mustata wrote in a research note. “While the plan changes could pressure [average revenue per account] trends, we also believe investors could be concerned with the company’s increased willingness to compete head-to-head with the two value carriers.”
While the Patriots managed to hold off the Seahawks, the competition in mobile data pricing game is far from over.
More Here [Fiercewireless] and [Verizon Blog]
