Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference on Thursday, Verizon (VZ) CFO Fran Shammo highlighted the success of the company’s Share Everything plans, the latest iPhone and the decline of 3G. The executive revealed that not only are more customers switching to shared data plans, but they are also adding more devices than the carrier had previously expected, according to CNET. Shammo said Verizon was surprised to see such a large number of subscribers with unlimited data plans have actually switched to the company’s shared offerings. “Unlimited is just a word,” he said. “It doesn’t really mean anything. … The whole unlimited thing is going by the wayside.”
Verizon has the largest 4G LTE network in the U.S. and is expected to benefit greatly from the launch of the iPhone 5, ZDNet reported. While Shammo didn’t talk about the number of people who preordered the latest iPhone, he praised the device and the company’s partnership with Apple (AAPL). “I think the iPhone is a great product. Apple is a great partner of ours,” he said. “They help us build our business and, look, I think if you look at this strategically I don’t think anyone can dispute that Verizon Wireless is an absolutely a strategic advantage when it comes to LTE.”
The executive also believes the launch of the iPhone 5 will be the beginning of the end for Verizon’s older and slower 3G network. “With the launch of the LTE iPhone, usage on 3G will start to decline, so we will be able to reappropriate that spectrum over 4G,” Shammo said.
