Verizon Thursday announced an expansion of its government-related discount programs. Now, the company is bringing that benefit and its application to the personal phones of first responders (firefighters, police officers, etc.), who can sign up for special programs .
The discount plans are available to former members of emergency services, retirees of those services, and volunteers, who will now be able to save more on their personal Verizon Unlimited plans. Starting Thursday, the company said, those customers can sign up for a Go Unlimited plan for just $30 per line per month, for up to four lines. That’s a savings of $40 per month. Emergency service members can also save more on all Verizon Unlimited consumer plans to stay connected with their family — they can get $15 off for one line, $35 off for two lines, and $40 off for three or more lines.
Verizon says the new discount on its consumer unlimited plans is an extension of its original program for first responders and public safety teams for government agencies, which was made available to national and state contracting boards in August. To receive the discount, customers will need to log into their My Verizon account and upload the necessary documentation or visit a Verizon store to sign up.
Verizon senior vice president Mike Maiorana said this is the company's way of saying "thank you for putting your lives on the line to keep us safe." Of course, this comes just months after the company received negative criticism when it was revealed that it had stopped offering discount programs to firefighters battling the California wildfires.
It seems Verizon apparently took advantage of the opportunity to try to switch a fire department's plan to a slightly more expensive one. The fire department (in Santa Clara County) thought it had a completely unlimited plan, so there was some confusion when they found that speeds were slowed down.
Verizon later stated that there was a communication issue that led to this problem and that it was doing everything it could to make sure it never happens again.
