Verizon to raise prices again

(This Aug. 9 story has been corrected to rectify the details on price increases for plans after the company clarified, in paragraph 2)

(Reuters) – Verizon Communications is raising prices on some of its wireless plans as the No. 1 U.S. telecom firm by subscribers looks to boost revenue growth after a post-pandemic slowdown.

Customers on specific legacy Unlimited postpaid wireless plans will see a $3 increase in rates, while those on the Basic postpaid wireless plans would pay $5 more, the company said.

“We felt it was the right time to take a look at pricing and remove what I’ll call the introductory part of the pricing and move to something that reflects the value for what folks are getting,” finance chief Tony Skiadas said at an investor conference on Wednesday.

The changes will roll out with the September bill cycle and notifications to customers started going out in the last few weeks.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Verizon was raising the monthly price on its wireless home internet offering by $10.

The company beat second-quarter profit estimates last month and posted a surprise rise in subscriber additions defying analyst expectations for a loss.

But its consolidated operating revenue fell 3.5% in the quarter, after falling nearly 2% in the previous three months.

Rival AT&T had also said in July that it was raising the rates on its retired Unlimited Elite plan, with price increases starting to reflect from the August bill.

(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

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