Verizon Wireless is set to announce Thursday that subscribers on some qualifying plans will be able to pick five or 10 phone numbers that they can call for free, without drawing down their plan's minutes.
There is no added charge for the service. It mimics a popular feature called "My Circle" at Alltel Corp., a smaller carrier that Verizon Wireless bought in January.
Verizon Wireless' announcement means that former Alltel customers will be able to keep the feature when they sign up for new plans, and expands the availability to other Verizon Wireless customers.
Verizon Wireless, now the country's largest cellular carrier, is calling the feature "Friends & Family." It will be available starting Sunday. Customers on single-line plans starting at $60 per month will get five free numbers, and those on family plans starting at $90 per month for two lines will get ten free numbers.
Customers will need to sign up for the feature and pick their numbers online.
T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest carrier, has a similar feature, which it calls "myFaves."
MCI, which Verizon Communications Inc. later bought, had a long-distance plan called "Friends & Family" in the early 1990s.
Via Yahoo Tech
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