Could Unlimited Plans Grow the Market?

MediaPost reports that the recent move toward unlimited, flat-rate voice plans by three of the major U.S. wireless carriers this week could help spur the growth of mobile media and advertising, according to both industry analysts and mobile marketing executives.

They said that the unlimited $100 voice plans announced in succession by Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile could lead to more usage, and as a step toward all-you-can-eat offers that will eventually include data services—which would be a huge improvement, if it came to pass. That would help turn the cell phone into a “more ad-friendly platform as more people download content, send text messages and surf the mobile Web,” the report said.

“I think this will motivate some number of people who don’t already have them to get data plans, and bring the overall cost of mobile plans down,” said Greg Sterling, senior analyst for Local Mobile Search, a unit of Opus Research, in the article. “[The new plans would] also encourage more people to forgo their land lines in favor of cell phones instead of paying for both. The savings could be used to add a data plan,” he said.

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