Verizon isn’t trying to charge customers $5 a month for unlimited 2G data anymore

Over the past few years T-Mobile has done a lot to change the industry, and despite some missteps, the changes it has implemented have changed other carriers for the better. One of the best examples of this is unlimited 2G data. Instead of getting a set amount of data followed by overage fees, customers get a limited amount of high-speed data, followed by unlimited data at considerably slower 2G speeds.

Obviously, no one really wants to use 2G to get anything done, but having it without having to pay for it can be useful in a pinch. Over time other carriers such as Cricket Wireless and even AT&T adopted the feature, but when Verizon finally got around to it, well, let’s just say it was pretty bad.

Instead of offering this unlimited, basically unusable data for free, Verizon decided that it was better to require customers not only to sign up for the feature but they also had to pay extra for it!

Now it seems the company has changed its mind. Verizon’s “Safety Mode” will come standard on all of Verizon’s new data plans starting on September 6th. While again, no one really wants to use this, Safety Mode does live up to its name. Instead of paying $15 for an extra GB, users can just rely on the super-slow data when they need it, without paying for it.

One thing worth noting here is that if you are on one of Verizon’s older plans, this will not apply. You will need to be on one of the “Verizon Plan” data plans.