Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the wireless arm of Verizon Communications, serving over 100 million subscribers through postpaid and prepaid plans. The company operates a nationwide 4G LTE and 5G network; Verizon Communications generated $138.2 billion in total revenue in 2025 across its wireless, broadband, and enterprise segments.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated. Last assessed 2026-09-26. Score revised 2026-09-26: 62 → 60.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
Verizon Wireless was formed in April 2000 as a joint venture of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone, and Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE created parent Verizon Communications that June. The carrier built its reputation on network quality under two-year contracts with early termination fees, while the 2003 sunset of the FCC's spectrum cap opened the way to consolidation. By 2005 it had added a $0.40-per-line Administrative Charge listed alongside government taxes and was sued for disabling advertised Bluetooth file transfer on the Motorola V710.
Closing the $28.1 billion Alltel purchase made Verizon Wireless the largest U.S. carrier, with regulators requiring divestitures in 105 markets. In November 2009 it doubled the smartphone early termination fee to $350, prompting an FCC inquiry, and in 2010 the FCC fined it $25 million over unexplained data charges billed to about 15 million customers. Lock-in and billing practices hardened while network quality stayed the selling point.
Verizon ended unlimited data for new smartphone customers in July 2011 and that September began throttling heavy users on grandfathered unlimited plans. More than 45,000 union workers struck in August 2011, and Verizon sued the FCC over its net neutrality rules, winning in January 2014. From late 2012 it injected undeletable 'supercookie' identifiers into customers' mobile web traffic, and it added a $30 upgrade fee and 24-month Edge device financing.
Buying Vodafone's 45% stake for about $130 billion gave Verizon full ownership of the wireless business. The supercookie program was exposed in November 2014 and its data later shared with AOL's ad network after the 2015 AOL purchase, drawing a $1.35 million FCC fine in 2016, and Verizon paid $90 million in 2015 to settle cramming charges. Two-year contracts gave way to device payment plans in August 2015, grandfathered unlimited plans rose $20 a month, and in February 2018 Verizon announced call-center closures eliminating about 3,000 customer service jobs.
A May 2018 New York Times report showed location data from Verizon and other carriers reaching a service used to track phones without court orders; Verizon kept selling to some aggregators for months and stopped entirely in March 2019. That summer it throttled Santa Clara County firefighters' data during a major wildfire until they moved to a pricier plan. Under Hans Vestberg, CEO from August 2018, about 10,400 employees took buyouts, the FCC proposed a $48 million location-data fine in February 2020, and Verizon spent $45.45 billion on C-band spectrum in 2021.
The $6.9 billion TracFone purchase brought about 20 million prepaid customers under Verizon, and within months it auto-enrolled customers in Custom Experience tracking, made 36-month device payment plans the only option and raised the Administrative Charge 70% to $3.30. Price and fee increases followed: myPlan unbundled perks in 2023, legacy plans rose $2 to $5 per line in 2023 and 2024, and the admin fee reached $3.50 in December 2024 and $3.78 in September 2025. Verizon also settled the admin-fee class action for $100 million, was fined $47 million over location data, cut 4,800 managers and ended its DEI programs to win approval of the Frontier deal, while postpaid phone subscribers shrank in the first three quarters of 2025.
The board replaced Hans Vestberg with former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman in October 2025, and seven weeks later Verizon announced more than 13,000 job cuts, its largest ever. Schulman closed the Frontier deal, won an FCC waiver ending the 60-day unlock rule, authorized a $25 billion buyback and conceded that price increases without added value had driven customers away. In 2026 Verizon returned to subscriber growth, dropped activation and upgrade fees for loyalty members and launched a $45 Simplicity plan, but quietly ended its three-year myPlan price lock for new customers and lost its Supreme Court fight over the $47 million location-data fine.
Alternatives
Prepaid MVNO on T-Mobile's network with plans from about $15 to $30 a month when paid 12 months upfront (shorter terms cost more; unlimited users may see slower speeds after 50GB a month). A way to leave Verizon's network entirely while cutting your bill: port your number online and order a SIM or eSIM. Trade-off: no retail stores, customer service is online-only, and you pay months in advance.
Prepaid service owned by Verizon that runs on Verizon's own network, with unlimited plans at about $25, $35 and $45 a month (the top Visible+ Pro tier is not deprioritized). It avoids Verizon's postpaid administrative fee and 36-month device payment plans, though since January 2026 Visible, like Verizon's other prepaid brands, locks devices for 365 days. Easy switch via eSIM; trade-off is online-only customer service.
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (80 events)
Bell Atlantic-GTE Merger Creates Verizon Communications
The Bell Atlantic-GTE merger, announced in July 1998, closed on June 30, 2000 after approvals from shareholders, 27 state regulatory commissions, the FCC and the Justice Department. The combined company, Verizon Communications, became the largest U.S. wireless company and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 3, 2000. GTE's wireless operations were folded into Verizon Wireless, the joint venture Bell Atlantic had formed with Vodafone. In its June 16, 2000 order approving the license transfers, the FCC imposed 25 merger conditions designed to enhance local phone competition in markets where Bell Atlantic or GTE was the incumbent carrier.
CWA Accuses Verizon of Blocking Wireless Workers From Unionizing
The Communications Workers of America accused Verizon of violating the previous summer's labor agreement by blocking wireless and information services workers from unionizing, and held rallies outside Verizon offices in Baltimore and New York. CEO Ivan Seidenberg said Verizon had followed the agreed rules and that two cases were in arbitration.
FCC Removes Spectrum Caps, Enabling Wireless Consolidation
The FCC's CMRS spectrum cap, which limited how much cellular, PCS and SMR spectrum one entity could hold in a market, sunset on January 1, 2003, under a November 2001 decision that replaced the bright-line cap with case-by-case review of spectrum aggregation. The change cleared the way for large combinations: Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004 and Sprint merged with Nextel in 2005.
2003 Verizon Contracts End Job Security for New Hires
The 2003 CWA and IBEW contracts with Verizon, which covered about 79,000 wireline workers, conceded that new hires would not receive the job security protections held by existing employees. It was the first of a series of two-tier concessions: a second tier on retiree health benefits for new hires followed in 2008, and pensions for new hires were eliminated only in the 2012 contract.
Verizon Introduces Administrative Charge at $0.40/Line
Verizon began adding an 'Administrative Charge' of $0.40 per line per month to postpaid wireless bills. The fee was not disclosed to customers before purchase and was presented alongside government-mandated taxes, creating the appearance of a regulatory surcharge rather than a carrier-imposed fee.
Verizon Sued Over Motorola V710 Crippled Bluetooth Features
Verizon Wireless customers in California filed a class action over the Motorola V710, which Verizon advertised as able to connect to a PC or PDA over Bluetooth but on which it had disabled Bluetooth file transfer; RCR Wireless reported that the suit accused Verizon of "willful, deceptive and oppressive conduct." Verizon said the feature conflicted with agreements with content providers in its paid 'Get It Now' download service; the suit said customers were left relying on Verizon's paid services instead. A settlement preliminarily approved in September 2005 gave affected customers $25 bill credits or the option to return the phone and cancel without an early termination fee.
Verizon Re-Enables RAZR V3c Bluetooth File Transfer It Had Disabled
Verizon's 0.1.15.04 firmware for the Motorola RAZR V3c re-enabled the Bluetooth OBEX profile after the two previous firmware updates had disabled and then removed it. OBEX gave customers a free way to transfer files, most importantly photos, from the phone to a PC.
Verizon Wins 700MHz C-Block Spectrum with Open Access Conditions
Verizon won nearly all of the FCC's 700MHz C-block licenses in Auction 73, paying about $4.74 billion. The C-block came with 'open platform' conditions requiring the licensee to let customers use the devices and applications of their choice and barring it from locking handsets to its network. Google's participation helped ensure the reserve price that triggered those conditions was met.
Verizon Acquires Alltel for $28.1 Billion, Becomes Largest U.S. Carrier
Verizon Wireless completed its purchase of Alltel, paying about $5.9 billion for the equity plus about $22.2 billion in Alltel debt, adding 12.9 million customers and becoming the largest U.S. wireless carrier with more than 83.7 million customers. As a condition of DOJ and FCC approval it had to divest overlapping properties in 105 markets across 24 states, mostly Alltel operations.
Verizon Doubles Early Termination Fee to $350 for Smartphones
Verizon doubled its early termination fee from $175 to $350 for 'advanced devices' including smartphones, prompting an FCC inquiry. The FCC questioned whether the fee was excessive and how it was prorated, but Verizon defended it as necessary to cover device subsidy costs on two-year contracts.
FCC Fines Verizon $25M for 'Mystery' Data Charges to 15 Million Customers
The FCC ordered Verizon Wireless to pay $25 million to the U.S. Treasury and refund a minimum of $52.8 million to approximately 15 million customers who were charged unexplained 'pay-as-you-go' data fees of $1.99 per megabyte. The unauthorized charges had been applied since November 2007 to customers who did not subscribe to data plans, representing the largest FCC enforcement action in history at the time. Verizon was also required to offer data-blocking options to prevent future erroneous charges.
Verizon Eliminates Unlimited Data Plans
Verizon stopped offering its $30/month unlimited data plan for new smartphone customers, replacing it with tiered pricing starting at $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, or $80 for 10GB, with a $10/GB overage charge. Existing unlimited customers were grandfathered but would face increasing pressure to switch through throttling and plan restriction tactics.
45,000 Verizon Workers Strike Over Concession Demands
More than 45,000 CWA and IBEW members from New England to Virginia struck Verizon after the company kept nearly 100 concessionary proposals on the table when their contracts expired. Labor Notes reported that Verizon was seeking to eliminate pensions and job security, limit raises, cut sick leave and disability benefits, and shift large health care costs onto current workers and retirees. Workers returned after 15 days without a new contract; new three-year contracts were ratified in October 2012.
Verizon Begins Throttling Top 5% of Unlimited Data Customers on 3G
Verizon announced it would throttle the top 5% of data users on grandfathered unlimited 3G plans when they connected to congested cell sites, tagging them as eligible for throttling for the rest of that billing cycle and the next. Customers on tiered data plans were exempt, and Verizon's suggested remedy was to move to a capped plan, which Public Knowledge argued showed the policy was a pretext to push customers off unlimited data.
Verizon Sues FCC Over Net Neutrality Rules
Verizon filed suit against the FCC challenging the 2010 Open Internet Order, arguing the Commission lacked authority to impose anti-blocking and anti-discrimination rules on broadband providers. The case would reach the D.C. Circuit in 2014, where the court vacated key provisions and effectively gutted net neutrality enforcement.
Verizon Introduces $30 Upgrade Fee, Becoming Last Major Carrier to Charge
Verizon Wireless became the last of the Big Four wireless carriers to impose an upgrade fee, charging existing customers $30 each time they purchased a new device at a subsidized price with a two-year contract. The fee added to the total cost of device ownership without being reflected in advertised plan or device prices. Verizon justified the fee as covering 'service and support' including Wireless Workshops and online tools, though the charge applied regardless of whether customers used these services.
Verizon Fined $1.25M for Blocking Tethering Apps in Violation of C-Block Rules
Verizon Wireless paid $1.25 million to settle an FCC investigation into whether it violated the 700MHz C-block open-access rules by asking an app store operator to block tethering apps. At the time Verizon required customers who tethered to pay for its Mobile Broadband Connect service. Verizon agreed to tell the app store it no longer objected to the apps and to a two-year compliance plan, and had already revised its usage-based plans to allow tethering without an extra fee.
DOJ Approves Verizon-SpectrumCo Spectrum Deal with Antitrust Conditions
The Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit and simultaneous settlement over Verizon's $3.6 billion purchase of spectrum from SpectrumCo (Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House) and Cox, and the cross-marketing agreements that came with it. DOJ said the deals threatened competition between Verizon's FiOS and the cable companies; the consent decree barred Verizon from selling cable services where FiOS was available and limited the agreements to five years, ending in December 2016. DOJ separately allowed Verizon to sell some spectrum to T-Mobile. The DOJ complaint said the agreements would "unreasonably diminish future incentives to compete" on integrated broadband, video and wireless products, and would diminish the cable companies' incentives to offer their own wireless services.
Verizon Secretly Deploys Supercookie Tracking Headers
Verizon began injecting unique identifier headers (X-UIDH) into all unencrypted HTTP requests from mobile customers, enabling pervasive tracking of web browsing activity that could not be deleted through normal browser controls or privacy settings. The tracking was deployed without customer knowledge or consent and operated for two years before public discovery.
Verizon Edge Launches 24-Month Device Payment Plans
Verizon introduced the Edge program, offering interest-free device financing over 24 monthly installments as an alternative to two-year subsidized contracts. While marketed as contract-free, customers who left before paying off the device owed the full remaining balance immediately. Edge required enrollment in the more expensive 'Share Everything' plan and excluded grandfathered unlimited data customers, creating a two-tier system that pressured unlimited holdouts to switch plans. The remaining device balance functioned as a de facto early termination fee.
Verizon Wins Net Neutrality Lawsuit Against FCC
The D.C. Circuit Court ruled in Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC that the FCC lacked authority to enforce net neutrality rules on ISPs classified under Title I. The ruling struck down anti-blocking and anti-discrimination provisions, effectively freeing Verizon and other carriers from key consumer protections until the FCC reclassified broadband under Title II in 2015.
Verizon Completes $130 Billion Vodafone Buyout
Verizon Communications completed the acquisition of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for approximately $130 billion ($58.9 billion in cash, $60.15 billion in stock, $5 billion in notes), the third-largest corporate deal in history. Full ownership gave Verizon complete control over pricing, strategy, and profit distribution without Vodafone's oversight.
FCC 'Deeply Troubled' by Verizon LTE Throttling Plans
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sent a strongly worded letter to Verizon expressing deep concern over plans to extend data throttling to unlimited LTE customers. Wheeler questioned whether basing network management on plan type rather than network conditions constituted 'reasonable network management.' Verizon backed down in October 2014, dropping the LTE throttling proposal.
Supercookie Tracking Publicly Exposed
The EFF and journalists reported that Verizon was injecting unique identifier headers (X-UIDH) into unencrypted web requests from its mobile customers, creating identifiers that could not be cleared with browser settings. Verizon said it had run the Precision Market Insights program since 2012; its opt-out stopped sharing with advertisers but not collection. Verizon and AT&T together were tracking more than 100 million users this way.
Verizon Pays $90 Million to Settle Mobile Cramming Charges
Verizon Wireless agreed to pay $90 million to settle FCC, CFPB and state attorney general investigations into unauthorized third-party premium text message charges placed on customers' bills, a practice known as cramming. The charges typically ran $9.99 a month, Verizon kept 30% or more of each one, and many customers who complained were denied refunds. At least $70 million funded consumer redress.
Verizon Union Coverage Falls From 79,000 to Under 40,000
Verizon's union contracts struck in 2003 covered 79,000 workers; when those contracts expired in August 2015, fewer than 40,000 were covered. Over the same period wireless, where almost no workers are unionized, grew to about 70% of Verizon's revenue while the landline business shrank to 29%.
Verizon Ends Two-Year Contracts for New Customers
Verizon stopped offering subsidized phones with two-year contracts for new customers, requiring them to either pay full retail price or enroll in 24-month interest-free device payment plans. While marketed as eliminating contracts, the shift moved lock-in costs from explicit ETFs to device payment obligations with similar financial penalties for early departure.
Verizon Shares Supercookie Data with AOL Advertising Network
After acquiring AOL for $4.4 billion in June 2015, Verizon began sharing customer mobile browsing data with AOL's advertising network via the supercookie system. Shared information included browsing history, app usage, email addresses, age, gender, interests, and location data, directly monetizing the tracking infrastructure that had been secretly deployed since 2012.
Verizon Raises Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plan Price by $20/Month
Verizon increased the monthly cost of grandfathered unlimited data plans by $20, from $30 to $50 per month, effective November 15, 2015. Verizon said 99% of customers were already on metered plans, framing the increase as affecting a 'tiny percentage.' The price hike came on top of years of throttling unlimited users and requiring them to pay full retail price for device upgrades, creating a sustained campaign to force legacy unlimited customers onto metered shared data plans that generated higher per-gigabyte revenue.
FCC Fines Verizon $1.35M for Supercookie Privacy Violation
The FCC fined Verizon $1.35 million and imposed a three-year consent decree for the supercookie tracking program that secretly monitored customers' web activity. The settlement required Verizon to obtain opt-in consent before sharing unique identifier data with third parties, though the base tracking program was allowed to continue with an opt-out mechanism.
39,000 Verizon Workers Strike for 45 Days
Around 39,000 CWA and IBEW members struck Verizon's wireline business for 45 days over outsourcing, health care costs and work rules, the largest U.S. strike in five years. The settlement included a cumulative 10.5% raise, 1,300 additional U.S. call center jobs, and the first union coverage for Verizon Wireless workers: about 65 retail store employees and 100 wireless technicians. CWA said the first wireless retail contract covered store employees in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Everett, Mass.
Verizon Caught Throttling Netflix and YouTube Traffic
Users discovered Verizon was limiting streaming speeds to 10Mbps for Netflix and YouTube on all unlimited plans regardless of data usage, confirmed through speed test comparisons. Verizon described it as 'temporary testing of video optimization,' but the throttling applied to all tiers and was implemented without disclosure. The practice continued with formalized video quality caps in subsequent plan tiers.
FCC Repeals Net Neutrality with Former Verizon Lawyer as Chairman
The FCC voted 3-2 along party lines to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, removing the bans on blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. Chairman Ajit Pai, Verizon's associate general counsel from 2001 to 2003, had spoken at Verizon's Washington headquarters days before the vote as protests were planned at Verizon stores. A 2013 Common Cause study found Verizon had spent more than $53 million since 2010 on lobbying and on helping elect members of Congress and President Obama, as it fought the FCC's net neutrality rules in court.
Verizon Wireless Closes Six of 18 Call Centers, About 3,000 Jobs Cut
Verizon Wireless announced in February 2018 that it would close six of its 18 call centers, in Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and South Carolina, eliminating about 3,000 customer service jobs as only half of the 6,500 positions moved to a home-based model. The union noted the cuts came despite continued profitability and a $3-4 billion tax-cut windfall, and that Verizon Wireless had closed 19 call centers since 2012.
Location Data Selling to Law Enforcement Exposed
The New York Times reported that a former Mississippi County, Missouri sheriff used a Securus Technologies service to track people's phones without court orders. The service obtained location data from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon through the aggregator LocationSmart via 3Cinteractive, a system carriers sold access to for marketing and other uses on the basis of contractual consent promises.
Hans Vestberg Becomes Verizon CEO
Hans Vestberg, Verizon's chief technology officer and head of global networks, succeeded Lowell McAdam as CEO on August 1, 2018, with a base salary of $1.5 million and a special one-time performance stock award. McAdam stayed on as chairman.
Verizon Throttled Firefighters' 'Unlimited' Data During Wildfire
Santa Clara County's fire chief said Verizon slowed his department's data to about 1/200th of normal speed during the Mendocino Complex Fire because it exceeded a cap on a plan it believed was unlimited, and lifted the throttling only after the department subscribed to a more expensive plan. Verizon called it a customer support mistake.
Verizon Offers 44,000 Employees Voluntary Separation, 10,400 Accept
Verizon said about 10,400 employees, roughly 7% of its global workforce, had accepted a voluntary separation offer of up to 60 weeks of salary, bonus and benefits. The program, offered to 44,000 employees and announced in September, was part of a goal to save $10 billion in cash by 2021; departures ran from the end of 2018 to June 2019.
Verizon Fully Ends Location Data Sales to Aggregators in March 2019
Verizon cut off Securus and 3Cinteractive the day after the New York Times report and announced in June 2018 that it would end its location-based services program. It ended its Zumigo contract and most LocationSmart access in November 2018 but kept supplying LocationSmart for roadside-assistance providers until March 2019. The FCC later found Verizon kept selling data to 58 entities for over six months and to five more for over ten months after the Times article.
Verizon Starts Locking New Phones for 60 Days
With FCC approval granted in June 2019, Verizon began locking newly purchased phones to its network for 60 days, ending its practice of selling phones unlocked; after 60 days phones unlocked automatically whether or not they were paid off. Verizon cited handset fraud that it said cost about $190 million in 2018.
FCC Proposes $48 Million Location-Data Fine Against Verizon
The FCC proposed more than $200 million in fines against the four national carriers, including more than $48 million for Verizon, for selling access to customers' location information to aggregators without reasonable safeguards, following the May 2018 Securus revelations. The notices were proposals; the final forfeitures came in April 2024.
Verizon Spends $45.45 Billion in C-Band Spectrum Auction
Verizon won $45.45 billion of C-band licenses, 3,511 of them, in the FCC's Auction 107, nearly double AT&T's $23.4 billion, building a nationwide mid-band footprint for 5G. The purchase expanded network capacity but further concentrated spectrum among the largest carriers.
Verizon Sells Yahoo and AOL Media Assets to Apollo for $5 Billion After $4.6B Write-Down
Verizon sold its Verizon Media division (Yahoo and AOL) to Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, keeping a 10% stake, after paying $4.4 billion for AOL in 2015 and about $4.5 billion for Yahoo in 2017. Verizon had taken a $4.6 billion goodwill impairment on the Oath media unit in 2018. In September 2021 Verizon raised its quarterly dividend for the 15th consecutive year.
Verizon Acquires TracFone for $6.9 Billion
Verizon completed its $6.9 billion acquisition of TracFone Wireless from America Movil, adding approximately 20 million prepaid subscribers. The deal consolidated prepaid market share and brought brands like Straight Talk and Total Wireless under Verizon's control, with the FCC imposing conditions to protect low-income consumers and Lifeline participants from price increases.
Custom Experience Tracking Auto-Enrolls All Customers
Verizon launched its Custom Experience program, automatically enrolling customers unless they opt out. It uses the websites customers visit and the apps they use, collected from Verizon's network, to infer interests; the Custom Experience Plus tier also uses call detail records. Opting out requires changing settings in My Verizon for each line.
Verizon Moves to 36-Month-Only Device Payment Plans
Verizon eliminated 24-month and 30-month device payment options, making 36-month plans the only financing choice for all new device purchases. Combined with 'free phone' promotions that spread bill credits over 36 months (forfeited upon departure), this extended the effective lock-in period by 50% compared to the previous 24-month standard.
Administrative Fee Hiked 70% from $1.95 to $3.30/Line
Verizon raised its Administrative Charge, renamed the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge, by 70% from $1.95 to $3.30 per line per month in June 2022. The fee appears among surcharges next to government taxes and fees and is not included in advertised plan prices; the increase added about $16 per line per year.
Verizon Consolidates TracFone Brands into Verizon Value Division
Verizon reorganized its prepaid and low-cost brands into a new Verizon Value division led by Angie Klein, bringing TracFone's brands (including Straight Talk, Total Wireless and Simple Mobile) together with Verizon Prepaid and Visible. TracFone's brands had about 20 million customers when Verizon agreed to buy the company.
Verizon Adds $2/Line Plan Rate Adjustment to Older Unlimited Plans
Starting April 10, 2023, Verizon added a $2 per phone line monthly 'plan rate adjustment' to older unlimited plans no longer sold, including Go Unlimited 1.0, Beyond Unlimited 1.0 and 55+ plans, pointing affected customers toward current plans. It was the first of several increases on legacy plans in 2023 and 2024.
myPlan Launches with Unbundled $10/Month Perks
Verizon launched myPlan, replacing its 5G Get More, Play More, and Do More tiers with Unlimited Welcome and Unlimited Plus plans. The restructuring unbundled previously included streaming perks into a la carte $10/month add-ons, effectively raising the total cost for equivalent features while marketing lower base prices. The Welcome tier subjects all data to deprioritization during congestion.
Verizon Raises Legacy Plan Prices $3-$5/Line
Verizon added a $3 per line monthly 'Plan Rate Adjustment' to its Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, Above Unlimited and 5G Start plans, and $5 per line to the Single Basic Phone plan, effective August 29, 2023. The increases came months after the myPlan launch and pushed legacy customers toward the new plans.
Verizon Settles $100 Million Admin Fee Class Action
Verizon agreed to a $100 million settlement in a class action alleging its Administrative Charge was a hidden, undisclosed fee disguised as a government tax. The settlement covered charges from January 2016 through November 2023, with eligible customers receiving up to $100 each. Verizon denied wrongdoing and continued charging the fee, which it subsequently increased further.
Verizon Raises Legacy Plan Prices by $4/Line
Verizon increased prices by $4 per line on its 5G Get More, 5G Play More, 5G Do More, and 5G Start unlimited plans, effective with March 2024 billing cycles. The increase hit customers who had not migrated to myPlan, penalizing loyalty to older plans while myPlan prices remained unchanged.
FCC Fines Verizon $47 Million for Location Data Selling
The FCC fined Verizon about $46.9 million as part of nearly $200 million in fines against the four major carriers for selling access to customer location data to aggregators without valid consent. The penalty was based on the aggregator and service-provider relationships that kept access more than 30 days after the 2018 Securus report; the FCC found Verizon kept selling data to 58 entities for over six months and to five others for over ten months.
Verizon Announces $20 Billion Frontier Acquisition
Verizon agreed to acquire Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion, adding 2.2 million fiber subscribers and extending its fiber reach to about 25 million premises across 31 states and Washington, D.C. Verizon said customers with both its mobile and home internet service show about 50% better postpaid mobile churn, and projected at least $500 million in annual cost synergies.
Verizon Cuts 4,800 Managers in Voluntary Separation, Takes Up to $1.9B Severance Charge
Verizon disclosed that about 4,800 U.S. management employees would leave under a voluntary separation program announced in June 2024, more than half in September 2024, and that it expected a $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion severance charge in the third quarter. The cuts came as Verizon pursued its $20 billion Frontier acquisition.
Admin Fee Rises to $3.50 per Voice Line
Verizon raised its Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge by $0.20 per line starting December 18, 2024, from $3.30 to $3.50 per voice line and from $1.40 to $1.60 per data-only line, an 80% increase over the $1.95 charged before mid-2022. The fee is not included in advertised plan prices.
Verizon Raises myPlan and New Verizon Plan Prices $3-$5 Per Line
Verizon raised monthly rates for myPlan and New Verizon Plan accounts by $3 to $5 per line in February 2025, citing rising operational costs, one of several fee and price increases during 2025. In the third quarter of 2025 Verizon lost 7,000 postpaid phone customers, and new CEO Dan Schulman said the company's growth had relied too heavily on price increases.
Verizon Ends DEI Programs; FCC Approves Frontier Deal a Day Later
Verizon told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr it would end DEI-related practices, removing DEI references from training and websites, ending bonuses and goals tied to workforce diversity and dissolving its diversity HR unit. The FCC approved the $20 billion Frontier acquisition the next day, citing that commitment.
Admin Fee Reaches $3.78 per Voice Line
Verizon raised its Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge from $3.50 to $3.78 per voice line and from $1.60 to $3.97 per data-only line starting September 1, 2025, along with a $5 higher activation fee and higher tablet plan prices. The fee had been $0.40 per line in 2005 and $1.95 before June 2022; at $3.78 it adds more than $45 per line a year outside advertised plan prices.
Second Circuit Upholds $47M FCC Fine Against Verizon
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the FCC's $46.9 million fine against Verizon for the location data sharing violations, rejecting all of Verizon's legal challenges. Verizon subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed in January 2026 to review the case, potentially challenging the FCC's constitutional authority to impose such fines.
Dan Schulman Replaces Hans Vestberg as CEO
Verizon's board named lead independent director and former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman chief executive, effective immediately, with Mark Bertolini as chairman and Hans Vestberg staying on as special advisor. Schulman said Verizon was at a critical juncture and pledged to grow market share, reduce its cost to serve and optimize capital allocation.
Verizon Announces 13,000 Layoffs, Largest in Company History
Verizon announced it would cut more than 13,000 jobs, its largest single layoff, about 13% of its roughly 100,000 U.S. employees, and convert 179 corporate-owned stores to franchise operations. CEO Dan Schulman set up a $20 million career transition fund, about 0.1% of 2024 free cash flow. Verizon had already cut almost 20,000 jobs over the prior three years.
Supreme Court Agrees to Review FCC's Authority to Fine Verizon
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Verizon's challenge to the FCC's $47 million location data fine, taking up the question of whether the FCC has constitutional authority to impose such penalties. A ruling in Verizon's favor could fundamentally weaken the FCC's enforcement power over the entire telecommunications industry.
FCC Grants Verizon Waiver to End 60-Day Auto-Unlock Requirement
The FCC's Wireless Bureau waived the rule requiring Verizon to unlock phones 60 days after activation, an obligation that stemmed from its 2007-era 700MHz C-block conditions and its 2021 TracFone approval. Verizon now follows the CTIA industry code: within weeks its prepaid brands moved to 365-day locks, and on January 27 Verizon said postpaid phones stay locked until paid off and prepaid phones until 365 days of paid service.
Nationwide Verizon Outage Lasts About 10 Hours
A software issue knocked out Verizon wireless voice, text and data for much of a day, leaving many phones in SOS mode; Downdetector logged 2.3 million outage reports. Verizon offered $20 credits and the FCC opened an investigation into the outage's effects, including on 911 calling.
Verizon Completes $20 Billion Frontier Acquisition
Verizon closed the $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, expanding its fiber footprint to approximately 30 million passings across 31 states. The deal, announced in September 2024, creates cross-product bundling leverage between wireless and fiber services, with Verizon projecting $500 million in annual cost synergies by year three.
CEO Says Price Hikes Without Value Drove Customers Away
On the fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, CEO Dan Schulman said Verizon had kept raising prices without corresponding value, calculating that higher churn over three years had cut net additions by about 2.25 million after four separate price increases in 2025. He pledged not to rely on price increases for short-term revenue and guided to flat wireless service revenue in 2026.
Verizon Authorizes $25 Billion Share Buyback
Verizon's board authorized repurchases of up to $25 billion of common stock, with at least $3 billion expected in 2026, and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.7075, an annualized increase of 2.5%. The buyback followed the more than 13,000 job cuts announced in November 2025.
Verizon Adds 35-Day Unlock Delay for Paid-Off Phones
A policy effective January 27, 2026, but posted to Verizon's support page only around February 11, delayed unlocking by 35 days when customers paid off a phone online, in the My Verizon app or at authorized retailers; only 'secure' payments in Verizon stores unlocked immediately. After a backlash Verizon called the delay a pain point and said it was working to offer immediate unlocking for all payment methods.
CWA and IBEW Ratify Verizon Contract Extensions Through 2030
Members in CWA Districts 1 and 2-13 and the IBEW ratified contract extensions at Verizon, Verizon Wireless Retail and Verizon Wireless Tech running to August 3, 2030, with wage increases, higher pension band values, more bargaining-unit work, new union jobs and no givebacks. Frontier workers in New York and Pennsylvania moved into Verizon's bargaining units.
Netflix and HBO Max Perk Rises From $10 to $13
Verizon raised its Netflix and HBO Max (with ads) myPlan perk from $10 to $13 a month starting May 6, 2026 or the following billing cycle, about $36 more a year for subscribers to the bundle.
Unlimited Ultimate Rises $5 for New Customers
Verizon raised its top Unlimited Ultimate plan to $85 for a single line for new subscribers and switchers, building in Identity Secure and Verizon Family Plus, services it valued at $15 a month; customers cannot opt out of them. Existing Unlimited Ultimate customers kept their price.
Verizon Cuts Several Hundred More Jobs
About six months after its 13,000-job layoff, Verizon cut several hundred more jobs, roughly 1% of its employees, with the heaviest impact at its Basking Ridge, New Jersey headquarters. A spokesperson said Verizon was adding headcount in growing businesses while making targeted reductions elsewhere.
FCC Approves Verizon's $1 Billion Array Spectrum Purchase
The FCC approved Verizon's purchase of AWS-3, AWS-1 and PCS licenses covering about 8% of the U.S. population from Array Digital Infrastructure, the former UScellular. The Rural Wireless Association had asked for divestitures and roaming conditions, warning its members would lose UScellular roaming agreements, and called the big three's spectrum deals the death of mobile wireless competition.
Supreme Court Upholds FCC Fine Process Against Verizon, 8-1
In FCC v. AT&T and Verizon Communications v. FCC, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the FCC's forfeiture process does not violate the Seventh Amendment because carriers can obtain a jury trial before being forced to pay. It affirmed the Second Circuit ruling upholding Verizon's roughly $47 million location-data penalty.
Verizon Drops Activation and Upgrade Fees, Launches Simplicity Plan
Verizon launched a loyalty program with 3% back in Verizon Dollars and ended activation and upgrade fees of up to $40 per device for postpaid customers who opt into it. It also introduced a $45 Simplicity plan giving every line 5G Ultra Wideband access ($30 promotional for switchers, plus taxes and fees) and a Verizon One mobile-plus-home plan with taxes and fees included.
Verizon Quietly Ends Three-Year myPlan Price Lock
On the day Simplicity launched, Verizon stopped including its three-year price lock guarantee, introduced in April 2025, for new myPlan activations and line changes, and removed mentions of it from myPlan pages without an announcement. Customers enrolled before June 16, 2026 keep the lock on their base plan rate.
Verizon Returns $9.4 Billion to Shareholders in First Half, Raises Buyback Target
Verizon reported 184,000 postpaid phone net additions in the second quarter of 2026, its highest-ever adjusted EBITDA and second-quarter free cash flow up 24.4%, and said it had returned $9.4 billion to shareholders in the first half while raising its 2026 buyback target to up to $4.5 billion.
Supreme Court Denies Verizon Rehearing on $46.9 Million Fine
The Supreme Court denied without explanation Verizon's petition for rehearing, in which it argued it had paid its $46.9 million location-data forfeiture believing payment was mandatory. The denial ended Verizon's effort to change the June ruling's outcome.
Evidence (58 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (7 entries)
Checked 22 removed/trimmed claims: 1 restored, 8 partly restored, 10 confirmed removed, 3 already present. Added timeline items: 2001-06-25 CWA organizing allegation (PARTLY RESTORED, RCR Wireless 2001-06-25, attributed as a CWA allegation); 2006-04-20 RAZR V3c OBEX disabled then re-enabled (PARTLY RESTORED, Engadget 2006-04-20; replaces forum-sourced item). Added evidence: FCC 2000-06-16 release (25 merger conditions), Federal Register DOJ complaint/CIS 2012-08-23, Labor Notes 2011-08-18, Common Cause 2013 $53M study, Verizon 2021-09-02 dividend release. Updated timeline: merger (25 FCC conditions), V710 suit quote (RCR), 2011 strike demands (Labor Notes), SpectrumCo DOJ quote, 2016 strike Brooklyn/Everett stores (CWA), net neutrality (Pai 2001-2003 per Inverse; Common Cause $53M), Yahoo/AOL sale (15th dividend increase). Already present: call-center closures (timeline 2018-02-01), 2.25M net-additions figure (timeline 2026-01-30), Custom Experience claim (re-sourced only). Confirmed removed: 2003 pension elimination, 90% revenue share (DOJ page unreadable), undisclosed throttling thresholds, 324-days framing, admin fee 'since Aug 2020' and '80%', QCI 9 (blog/forum sources only), 'record revenue', 'inflate ARPU', Glassdoor '4-6 months'.
Checked 101 items + prose. 43 verified, 34 corrected (6 date-only), 22 re-sourced, 2 removed (forum-sourced duplicate; distorted deprioritization item). Invented specifics removed: '2.25 million subscribers lost' after Feb 2025 hike, Glassdoor 'quotas raised every 4-6 months', claim that Verizon filed ULP charges against retail organizing. Fixed admin-fee chronology ($3.78 took effect Sept 2025; 80% figure was for $3.50), 2003 contract (job security, not pensions), ACSI direction, dividend streak, stale Supreme Court tense (decided June 2026), location-data '324 days', lobbying total, Visible unlock claim. [Amended by regrade 2026-09-26: The fact audit removed '2.25 million subscribers lost' as invented. The figure is real but was mis-framed: CEO Dan Schulman said on the Jan 30, 2026 earnings call that higher churn over three years cut net additions by about 2.25 million (Motley Fool, 2026-02-01). Re-added with correct framing as a 2026-01-30 timeline event and D1 evidence.]
62→60. Since Feb 2026 (window Sept 2025-Sept 2026): Schulman replaced Vestberg (Oct 2025), 13,000+ layoffs, Frontier closed and 60-day unlock waiver granted (Jan 2026), $25B buyback, CEO renounced value-less price hikes, 35-day unlock delay (Feb 2026), CWA extensions to 2030, Ultimate +$5 and Netflix perk +$3 (May 2026), Array spectrum approved, SCOTUS upheld $47M fine 8-1 (June 2026; rehearing denied Aug), activation/upgrade fees dropped for loyalty members and Simplicity plan launched while 3-year price lock quietly ended (June 2026), subscriber growth resumed. D1 6→5 (event: 2026 retreat from price hikes, fee removal, ACSI up to 76), D2 6→5 (recalibration: MVNO deprioritization fits the medium band; no evidence of unusable service), D5 6→5 (recalibration: limits disclosed in fine print, quiet term changes fit 4-5 not 6-7), D7 7→6 (recalibration: location-data sales ended 2019; current monetization is add-ons, perks and opt-out marketing data), D10 4→6 (recalibration: Supreme Court challenge to FCC forfeiture power and unlock-waiver lobbying fit 6-7). D3, D4, D6, D8, D9 unchanged. Trajectory worsening→stable: consumer pricing and fees improved while lock-in, layoffs and buybacks worsened. Eras: all 7 re-dated to inflection events (Founded 2000-04-04; Alltel 2009-01-09; unlimited ended 2011-07-07; Vodafone buyout 2014-02-21; NYT location report 2018-05-10; TracFone close 2021-11-23; Schulman appointed 2025-10-06); relabeled 'Wireless Duopoly Formation'→'Joint Venture Launch', 'Lock-in Escalation'→'Lock-in & Fee Escalation', 'Frontier & Fee Escalation'→'Schulman Cost Reboot'. Added 25 timeline events (10 historical: 2015 cramming, 2018 call centers, Vestberg CEO, firefighter throttling, 2019 60-day phone locking, 2020 NAL, C-band, Apr 2023 $2 plan adjustment, Dec 2024 fee, DEI/Frontier approval), 16 evidence items, Schulman milestone; Mint Mobile pricing caveats. Category OK.
Triaged 2026-06-29; no rescore warranted (no material change since baseline, or changes sub-threshold).