Verizon To Cut EV-DO Data Pricing?

Reuters is reporting that Verizon is expected to lower prices for its high-speed wireless data service in order to encourage customer adoption and stay ahead of Sprint as it begins to roll out its rival EV-DO service. According to American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin, Verizon will "cut its $80 a month rate plan to about $60."

"I think it'll be a significant cut. I think they're trying to maximize the time they have as a monopoly in order to build a customer base lead before there's competition," said Lin.

Verizon's rumored move is aimed at laptop-toting business customers, and Lin opined that "he does not expect the company to make dramatic changes to its high-speed consumer service, known as Vcast, which delivers content such as Web surfing and video downloads to phones for about $15 a month."

Currently, Verizon's high-speed EV-DO network costs $45 a month for handhelds so if the 25 percent cut does occur, it just might kick-start customer takeup beyond the small circle of power users, which is a good thing...