Verizon Says Pay Extra $10 On Unlimited Plans Or Get Stuck With 720p

It may not surprise people to know that once again, Verizon is up to something with its unlimited data plans. The company is now offering to ease the suffering of its customers a bit by allowing them the privilege of watching videos beyond 720p. They simply need to pay an extra $10 a month on top of their monthly unlimited data plan charges.

Right now, Verizon’s unlimited plans are divided into two categories, The Verge reports. There’s the lower-priced plan that offers video streaming at only 480p. Then there’s the more expensive option where video quality can only go as high as 720p on smartphones despite the $85 price tag. Users who have tablets can enjoy 1080p.

Now, customers will simply need to add an extra $10 on their plans a month and they won’t have to put up with the video quality limitations. They can go as high as 4K if they want. It’s worth noting that this only applies on a per-device basis, however. That is to say, if a plan is shared by several members of the family, the extra $10 is only good for one user to escape the 720p hell.

As to why Verizon decided to be so gracious as to offer its customers this option, it would seem that it was fueled by consumer backlash, CNET reports. It was only three months ago that Verizon had only one unlimited data plan and it had no video quality cap.

Now, regular users have to either put up with video quality akin to DVDs or pay through the nose in order to gain access to better resolutions. Then again, it’s not as if other carriers are much better since most of them offer the same video quality restrictions at the same prices. Customers simply have no choice but to cough up the cash or content themselves with low-quality videos.