Verizon Wireless has seen some success getting their off-contract customers who have stubbornly refused to upgrade their phones to jump on board the smartphone craze… by lowering their prices.

The entry fee for smartphones on most carriers includes the up front cost of the device (often $199 for the most coveted phones) and a $30 monthly mandatory data plan.  That’s a price too high for many consumers to pay in this economy, and the result has been an increase in the number of customers letting their two-year contracts expire.

AT&T has tried to reduce the bite with a paltry $15 monthly plan that only includes 200MB of usage per month, which is nearly pointless for smartphone users who want to really use the multimedia features the phones were designed to provide. Verizon responded with a holiday season promotional offer charging $15 a month for an even lower 150MB per month, with widespread speculation the “limited time only” part of the offer will soon become “available every day.”

But for most smartphone customers who plan to regularly use data-hungry applications, neither “budget plan” will suffice.  That leaves one alternative for Verizon customers — the $29.99 unlimited plan.  Ouch.

To prod price-sensitive customers, Verizon has offered family plan members the option of upgrading their old phones to new smartphones, and has sweetened the deal with a $10 price break.  While technically a credit on the “additional line” charge, some Verizon employees pitch the discount as a reduction in price for the mandatory data plan.  Where $30 a month sounds obscene, $20 a month sounds somewhat better.

The offer has proven sufficiently successful that Verizon has now extended it until Jan. 30 (note just prior to next month’s iPhone introduction) and any customer who has not upgraded their phone in the last 180 days qualifies.  A new, two year contract is required and the offer is good if you want to add a new secondary line.

Unfortunately, the offer does not extend to the primary line.  Verizon would probably see an even larger number of upgrades if the offer extended to every legacy phone on a customer’s account.

The $9.99 credit applies for 24 months.  Over the life of the contract, that is worth $240 in savings per smartphone, which isn’t bad from America’s Cadillac wireless carrier.

AT&T claims every family should have access on the go, which is why they are “introducing” Smartphone data plans for the family.  Only one problem.  There is nothing new about the data plan, which still starts at $15 per month, per line, for up to 200MB of usage.

AT&T changed the plan’s name, but left the same high price in place.  An Internet Overcharging scheme is still an Internet Overcharging scheme no matter how a wireless company pitches it.

The plan, which throws in AT&T Wi-Fi, which customers can also already get, “is designed for families that primarily surf the web, send and receive personal email and visit social networking sites,” says AT&T spokeswoman Mari Melguizo.

But a real data plan for families would let every user on the account share from one data plan, billed once on the account, not per phone.  That’s not on offer from AT&T, although analysts predict the next wave of smartphone upgrades will come only when data pricing comes down, especially on accounts with multiple phones.

[flv width=”480″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/ATT Family Smartphone Data Plan Ad.flv[/flv]

AT&T’s new ad for the same old, overpriced product.  (1 minute)

A message from Senator Al Franken:

[flv width=”540″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/A Message from Senator Franken on Comcast-NBC Merger 1-12-11.flv[/flv]

As you know, the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal is an important moment in our effort to stop big corporations from controlling our media.

But the FCC and Department of Justice may be about to approve this deal. This would have serious consequences for Minnesotans and consumers across America.

Once you’ve watched the video, please sign our open letter asking that this merger be stopped.  Forward this video to all of your friends–we don’t have much time to act. And stay tuned for more information.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bloomberg Doherty Sees Exodus of ATT IPhone Users to Verizon 1-11-11.flv[/flv]

Richard Doherty, research director at Envisioneering Group, Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Roben Farzad talk about Verizon Wireless’s agreement to start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone. They talk with Pimm Fox and Julie Hyman on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.”  (9 minutes)