FCC Ruling Will Save Verizon Wireless Customers Big Bucks

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission handed down a decision that could save millions of Verizon Wireless subscribers up to $240 a year.

Smartphones now account for more than half of the mobile phone subscriptions in the United States, and adoption is accelerating. But that computer in your pocket doesn't come cheap. Recent data from J.D. Power and Associates indicates that the average monthly wireless bill in 2011 was $86 — representing a twenty-five-percent jump over four years.

But thanks to the innovation created by the open Internet, consumers now have more options and choices today for how they use their connections. To the relief of everyone who has stared in horror at their monthly voice and text bills, there are apps like Viber, Skype and Google Voice that help consumers replace or reduce their use of their carriers' overpriced texting and voice plans.

This growth in the use of "over-the-top" voice and text alternatives shows that with today's technology, data is, well, just data — whether it's a voice or video chat, a text message or a webpage. And since we're all paying our cellphone carriers ever-higher prices for our monthly buckets of data, we might as well make the most of what we're paying for.

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