Verizon (VZ has repeatedly ) made it clear that it is not shy about price increases, especially when it is facing higher profits.
In Verizon’s fourth-quarter earnings report for 2024, the company revealed that it earned $27.6 billion in total consumer revenue, a 2.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
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Its wireless service revenue also spiked by 3% year over year, which it claims was mainly due to recent “pricing actions.”
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Verizon, the top mobile provider in the U.S., increased prices for its wireless services multiple times last year. Most notably, in March, it raised the monthly price of its 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Get More, and 5G Do More unlimited mobile plans by $4. In October, it reduced its autopay discount from $10 to $5 monthly for customers on older phone plans.
By December, it increased its monthly Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge for mobile users by $0.20 per line.
Also, just last month, Verizon hiked monthly prices for wireless customers who have myPlan and New Verizon Plan accounts due to “rising operational costs.”
Verizon makes another bold move
Now, it appears that Verizon’s wireless customers will have to brace themselves for another round of price increases that will soon take effect.
According to a new brochure added to Verizon’s website, it revealed that the monthly price for its Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device plan for customers who have four to 20 lines will increase from $60 to $68, effective March 27.
A shopper speaks with an employee at a Verizon Communications Inc. store on Market Street in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.
Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device provides customers with insurance if their device is lost, damaged, stolen, or malfunctions after the manufacturer’s warranty expires.
Customers who have two or three lines under the protection plan will not face a price hike as the charges will remain at $38 a month and $57 a month, respectively.
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Verizon’s Mobile Secure Multi-Device plan, which provides customers with 24/7 tech support as well as performance, privacy and security features, etc., will also increase in price on March 27.
For customers who have four to 20 lines on the plan, they will have to cough up an extra $8 a month as the monthly price will increase from $21.60 to $29.60.
More Verizon price increases may be on the way
Verizon did not specify why it was raising prices for both plans or if there will be any new features added to the services. It also did not immediately respond to TheStreet’s request for comment.
However, during an earnings call on Jan. 24, Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath said that the company was adding more “value” with recent price hikes.
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“We had four major price-ups in 2024, we’ve had two in 2025, because we are delivering more value to our customers, and they feel very comfortable with our price structure,” said Sampath. “We cannot, of course, comment on future price-ups, but we will look where we see lower churn, where input prices are a little higher, and more importantly, the value that we deliver to customers. For 2025, the price actions that we’ve already done are in the hopper. More than $1 billion-plus of our service revenue growth is already baked in just with those price-ups.”
Many Verizon customers have recently taken to social media to express frustration over the company’s consistent price hikes over the past few months.
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Verizon’s price increases come during a time when many consumers across the country are facing inflated cell phone bills.
A recent report from Doxo revealed that the average amount of money 94% of Americans spent on phone bills per month last year was $121, which is a 2% increase from what they spent monthly in 2023.
Consumers across the country have also recently been avoiding upgrading their cell phones due to inflation. According to a recent survey from WalletHub, 63% of Americans said that because of inflation, they will not be buying a new phone anytime soon. Also, 9 in 10 Americans believe that iPhones are overpriced.
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