The impact of the last minute stampede by Verizon Wireless customers (new or otherwise) to lock in the company’s unlimited data plans before they were retired last week has reached Wall Street, but the ripples extend far beyond Verizon Wireless itself.

Macquarie USA analyst Kevin Smithen this morning downgraded AT&T stock to “neutral,” expressing concern about AT&T’s slowed growth in wireless revenues.

“We see increased headwinds to wireless revenue growth, limited improvement in enterprise and a lack of clarity on the status of the [pending acquisition of T-Mobile],” he writes. “We view projected organic revenue growth of 0.5% in 2012 as uninspiring. At current levels, we believe absolute and relative risk-reward to roughly balanced given these issues.”

Customers concerned about Internet Overcharging schemes being implemented by Verizon Wireless began fleeing other providers to “lock in” unlimited data service with Verizon before it was nigh.  One big victim of that was AT&T.

“We were waiting for the next iPhone to finally jump to Verizon, even if it meant paying a termination fee to AT&T, just to escape the dreadful service,” says Shai Lee, who was among several dozen readers contacting Stop the Cap! for assistance securing unlimited data plans with Big Red.  “When Verizon announced $30 for 2GB, there was no way we were going to be locked into paying that, so we jumped early.”

Many followed.

Smithen believes customers are also fleeing other carriers, especially T-Mobile, which he believes will lose two million customers before AT&T closes the deal or faces ultimate rejection for its merger by Washington regulators.

Some analysts believe T-Mobile customers are leaving over a combination of the company’s inherent weakness as a provider-now-in-limbo while others dread the reality of being ultimately stuck with AT&T.

“It’s like fleeing a country before the invading army reaches your town,” shares Samuel, a T-Mobile customer leaving for Verizon. “I won’t live under AT&T’s regime.”

Smithen sees even greater challenges for AT&T with the arrival of iPhone 5, which will either cost the company to subsidize or start another wave of AT&T emigration.

Verizon has already managed to secure 32 percent of the U.S. iPhone 4 market, according to a study by the mobile analytics company Localytics.  Since rumors about Verizon imminently ending unlimited data plans began in May of this year, Localytics has tracked a spike in Verizon iPhone purchases, one explained by existing customers upgrading to smartphones, and new customers arriving from other carriers.

For AT&T, customers on contract with smartphones are not adding additional services and those with data plans are trying to stay within plan limits, robbing AT&T of extra revenue.

Smithen says with this track record, average revenue per customer is “stalling.”

Toronto

Except for South Korea, nobody uses the Internet more than Canadians.  That’s an important finding in a new report produced for Canada’s telecommunications regulator to better understand the current state of the broadband market in the country.

According to recent reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country generates 2,288 terabytes of data traffic per month per 100,000 residents.  That’s among the highest in the world and comes from avid web browsing, watching online video, and a love affair with smartphones.

But like many relationships, this one is also expensive.  You pay all of the money you have to spare, and your provider delivers you just enough of a usage fix to keep you from running to Ottawa to demand change.

Canadian broadband pricing is in the top third of all OECD-measured nations, with the average price for High Speed Internet running $55.18.  The average median price across all OECD members runs a lot less — $39.23 per month.  If you want to pay less, you have to bundle your landline, cell phone, television, and Internet service with the same provider, or make due with a slow speed “lite user” plan, where average pricing had been running lower until this year.

The average monthly price of the Level 1 basket increased to roughly $35 in 2011, up considerably from $31 the previous year.

Similarly, average monthly price of the Level 2 basket increased this year as well to roughly $50, up from $48 last year.  The average advertized download speed of the services included in the Level 2 basket is close to 6.5 Mbps, which is similar to the average speed in last year’s study.

The average monthly price of the Level 3 basket also increased slightly to $63, but still remains well below the 2008 price of $69 per month.  The average advertized download speed of the services included in the Level 3 basket is roughly 14 Mbps, which is slightly higher than in last year’s study (where the average speed was 12.5 Mbps).

Lastly, the average price of the new Level 4 broadband service basket is roughly $78 per month.  The advertized download speeds for the Level 4 broadband services included in the study range from 25 to 50 Mbps – the average is close to 30 Mbps.

Roughly half of the Canadian broadband service plans surveyed for this study included monthly usage caps.  For those that do, they range from 1 to 13 GB on the Level 1 service basket – the average is 7 GB per month.  The range for the Level 2 service basket is from 25 to 75 GB – the average is 55 GB per month.  The range for the Level 3 service basket is from 75 to 125 GB – the average is just over 90 GB per month.  There has been little change in these monthly usage caps, on average, compared to last year.

In the case of the new Level 4 broadband service basket, for those service providers applying data usage caps, the caps range from 75 to 250 GB per month – the average was close to 140 GB per month.

The Canadian pricing and usage study was developed by Wall Communications for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.  The best news for Canada?  Your broadband pricing remains relatively stable, with some package pricing reducing the cost of the broadband component.  Standalone service appears to have increased in price only slightly in many markets.  Increased foreign investment in the wireless marketplace is shaking up wireless pricing, as the hegemony of Bell, Telus, Rogers, and Quebecor are under increasing competitive pressure.  It’s a much sunnier outlook than what is taking place in the country to your south.

For Americans, pricing is headed in only one direction: up.

All charts courtesy of Wall Communications, Inc.

At the end of business Wednesday, Verizon Wireless will end its unlimited data plans for new customers.  If you are an existing customer, you will be able to retain unlimited data for your smartphone indefinitely, but those considering an upgrade to 4G may want to consider doing so immediately, if you want to have an unlimited 4G tethering plan for your 4G-capable phone.

Verizon Wireless data pricing effective 7/7/2011

New Verizon Wireless Customers: You must buy and activate a 3G/4G-capable phone on Verizon’s network no later than 11:59pm Wednesday evening to qualify for the $29.99 unlimited data plan.  At this point, this means buying a phone from Verizon Wireless’ website or visiting a local store.  If you want the best possible price, we recommend calling Verizon Wireless and negotiating with them directly.  Verizon is often able to match prices from online retailers like Wirefly or Amazon, usually by throwing in service credits for your first month’s invoice.  New 4G customers can score an unlimited tethering add-on plan from Verizon for an additional $30 a month.  That means $29.99 for the data plan plus $30 for the tethering option, but if comes without any usage limits.  After July 6, all those new to tethering will only find one option: $20 for up to 2GB of tethering access.

Existing Verizon Wireless Customers: You will keep your current unlimited smartphone data plan indefinitely, perhaps even after upgrading your phone.  However, if you were interested in tethering on Verizon’s 4G network, consider upgrading to a 4G phone before Thursday to qualify for the $30 unlimited tethering plan, good only for 4G users with an existing tethering relationship with Verizon.  You must select the 4G tethering option before Thursday to qualify.  Call Verizon Wireless at 611 from your handset and make sure they take care of this for you to avoid complications.  An automatic update will be pushed to the Thunderbolt, Charge, and Revolution on July 7 to cut off the Hotspot free ride those customers had been enjoying up until now.  You will have to buy the service if you want to continue using it.  All 3G phones (iPhone, Droid X, etc.) will not see any pricing changes for 3G tethering – it is still $20 a month for up to 2GB of usage, no unlimited options for you.

Other pricing details:

• Verizon customers opting for the $30 for 2GB plan will lose company discounts on their data plan.  You must select a higher-cost data plan if you want to keep any employer discount;
• Verizon is now specifically prohibiting tethering any of their phones without a Verizon add-on tethering option.  This means third-party tethering apps you may have used before now violate your contract with them.

[flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WCPO Cincinnati Verizon ending unlimited data plans 6-24-11.mp4[/flv]

WCPO-TV in Cincinnati covers the imminent funeral for Verizon’s unlimited data plans.  Verizon customers are not happy with the loss.  (2 minutes)

Videotron has opened a new window of opportunity for wireless users looking for higher usage smartphone data allowances with the introduction of a 6GB for $30 plan the company says is available for a limited time only.

Canadian wireless customers are well used to 6GB data plans — they show up periodically from Bell, Rogers, and Telus, usually coinciding with the launch of another new version of Apple’s iPhone, but Videotron seeks to heat up the competition this summer with a new offer.

Videotron, a popular wireless carrier in Quebec, may be able to inspire counteroffers from other carriers re-launching similarly priced promotions in the days ahead.

Compared to pricing in the United States, this is a reasonably good deal.  AT&T charges $25 for just 2GB per month and Verizon will seek $30 for the same allowance early next month.

Tuesday’s rush hour in South Florida featured a lot fewer commuters talking on their AT&T cell phones while driving.  The reason?  They couldn’t.

A massive AT&T service outage extending from Broward County to the Florida Keys caused wireless chaos for some customers yesterday, many showing up at AT&T stores looking for answers why they could not make or receive calls or launch 3G data sessions with the carrier.

The outage, which began shortly after 6pm, reportedly blocked cell phone calls and data sessions, and was eventually traced to a switch outage in Broward County.  Customers who rely on their AT&T cell phones were annoyed at the loss of service, particularly emergency responders and medical personnel who found their phones useless until around 10pm, when service was eventually restored.

AT&T customers told reporters they were also irritated by the lack of information from the company about the outage; some were even told there were no service problems in the area when they called AT&T for information.

When AT&T realized there was a problem, the company released a statement.

“AT&T technicians quickly worked to resolve the issue, and service is now running normally,” said AT&T spokesperson Kelly Starling. “We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.”

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WFOR Miami ATT Restores 3G Cell Service After 3 Hour Outage 6-28-11.mp4[/flv]

WBFS/WFOR-TV in Miami took a deeper look into yesterday’s massive cell phone failure for AT&T customers.  (3 minutes)