Verizon piqued our interest last week when it announced that it would double the speed of its top-tier Fios plan but didn’t reveal how much it would cost.
The new service, which will boost speeds to 300 Mbps for downloads and 65 Mbps for uploads, will cost customers $204.99 a month, according to purported training material (see below) sent to The Verge by an anonymous Verizon employee. While that may sound like a lot to spend on Internet service, that price is only $5 more than Verizon customers pay for the current top-tier, 150 Mbps plan.
Price and speed changes are coming to Verizon’s lower-speed plans as well. The price of the company’s base 15/5 Mbps service will increase $10 to $64.99, while the prices for the new 50/25 Mbps and 150/65 Mbps plans will remain unchanged from their predecessor plans, at $74.99 and $94.99, respectively.
Month-to-month plans will tack on another $5, as will plans that aren’t associated with existing phone service. The two top-tier plans also require an equipment upgrade that will cost $100, but it won’t apply to new customers, current 150 Mbps customers, or those who commit to a two-year contract for the service, which is expected to go into effect June 17.
Verizon CFO Fran Shammo revealed last month at an investor conference that the company planned to increase the prices and fees of its Internet subscription plans. The company is working hard to monetize the $23 billion it’s spent on its Fios fiber network through 2010.