On November 15 of last year, Verizon raised unlimited data plan pricing by $20, from $29.99 to $49.99. According to sources of ours, that was only “phase 1” of Big Red’s plan to price unlimited data users out of their plans and features and into a tiered option. We still have two more phases to go, with the next starting next month.

“Phase 2” will kick off on May 15 as a similar $20 increase to what we saw in November for lines that are out of contract that weren’t affected by the initial November 15 price increase. The specific details are that Verizon is “increasing the price of other data features with unlimited allowances $20 per month for lines that are out of contract.” Think unlimited hotspot or an older legacy plan that weren’t hit the first time around.

Keep in mind that this isn’t an additional $20 on top of the $20 you saw for your data plan in November; at least that is our understanding. In other words, your unlimited data plan isn’t going up $40 since November, just that initial $20.

If you want to know if you are affected this time around, feel free to contact Verizon – their service reps are already up-to-speed on this latest change and can tell you.

Why the change? Because there is an increased demand for data these days, largely driven by video streaming and application use, according to Verizon. Verizon does think that the price is still a great value, even at a $20 increase from what many of you have been paying for years.

Verizon will begin telling customers the news on their next billing cycle beginning April 1 (today). But again, the price increase won’t go into effect until May 15, or on your next billing cycle following that date.

Also, a “phase 3” is in the works, so expect another change of some sort in the future.

We are also aware that today is April Fools’ Day. This is not an April Fools’ prank, as Verizon has notified their employees of the change and told them to brace for “objections from customers.”

We reached out to Verizon for comment and clarification and they said, “This fee isn’t new – we announced it in November. As you may imagine, it takes time to apply it to all accounts currently on unlimited data plans.”