data plans

The gradual addition of extra fees to your cellphone bill can be a bit like gaining weight -- you don't keep track of your habits, until one day you open your bill and experience "bill shock." The FCC thinks you deserve advanced warning, and starting soon, your cell provider will have to give it to you.

When you're buying a new phone, the price can be dramatically affected by your choice of a cellular plan. But what do you really get for your money in this shotgun wedding? Is a two-year contract a fair trade for the discount? Read on for background info on some plans you may be considering.

Verizon has put off by three months its switchover from an unlimited data plan to tiered pricing for new customers, possibly to coincide with the release of the iPhone 5 this summer. Exact pricing for the new plan is still not determined.

AT&T says its retail stores will start selling Amazon.com's Kindle electronic book readers Sunday. The e-readers will cost $189, the same price as they currently sell for on Amazon.com, and buyers won't have to sign up for AT&T data plans to get the popular gadget.

At last, a Verizon iPhone. Verizon Wireless made its long-awaited announcement Tuesday, ending years of speculation over when it would carry Apple's world-beating smartphone on its CDMA network. Worth noting: It'll come with an unlimited data plan for $29.99 a month.

Verizon Wireless is sending out notices to existing customers in select markets, informing them they're eligible for a discounted plan that will give them unlimited text, mobile-to-mobile calls, data and 450 minutes of talk time for $69.99 a month -- but not everyone is eligible.

Cell phone data plans are hard to escape these days as hundreds of thousands of Google Android phones and Apple iPhones are activated every day. These smartphones bring access to the Web, streaming music, videos and apps -- all of which require a data connection to work. Most carriers now require a...

Despite the carrier's admission of overbilling, the FCC says it plans to investigate why it took Verizon two years to notify customers of the problem, reimburse them and take corrective action. Additional penalties are a possibility.