From the moment Verizon Wireless made its intentions to purchase Alltel official, subscribers of the latter began wondering what the fate of My Circle would be. As it stands, there's still no definitive answer on that topic, but VZW is introducing a new feature for its Business users that bears a striking resemblance to Alltel's current merry-go-round. The plan, which is only available to customers of the Verizon Freedom for Business unlimited long-distance service, enables users to have unlimited conversations with five chosen numbers for $4.99 per month. Sadly, we haven't a clue whether the carrier is planning to roll a similar option out to its non-enterprise users, but the timing here is certainly curious, wouldn't you agree?

[Via InformationWeek]

After yesterday's barrage of unlimited calling plans left us all terribly underwhelmed, it seems as if Sprint is hoping to emerge as the knight in shining armor by undercutting the oh-so-popular $99 price point. According to unspecified "analysts," the carrier is gearing up to "offer flat-rate calling plans at up to a 40-percent discount to its rivals," meaning that yappers could talk 'til their batteries died (and then some) for around $60 a month. Of course, Sprint has yet to confirm nor deny the reports, but we're all for a price war in the cellular space, regardless.

Clearly not wanting to seem unhip in this fast-paced, modern era of all-you-can-eat cellphone plans, T-Mobile has announced that it will begin offering a -- wait for it -- $99.99 unlimited calling and text message plan starting February 21st. Now the magenta team can join the ranks of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and, er... Helio, in giving customers almost exactly the same plan, though unlike AT&T and Verizon, this includes all the text messages you could possibly type. For those with happy fingers and a whole slew of friends, that might be the deciding factor in this war of nearly-identical calling deals. Can unlimited Faves be far away?

[Thanks, Pete]

There's no telling whether Verizon's recent announcement had anything to do with it, but something lit a fire underneath AT&T today as they've announced an unlimited plan for the same $99 Verizon is charging (well, $99.99, if you want to get down to the nitty gritty). The plan will be available starting this Friday, February 22, and much like Verizon's setup, it only includes voice calling -- data and messaging will still require an additional package. The plan will be available to both existing and new customers, and anyone can get it month-to-month with no contract extension necessary. When you add in all-you-can-eat bytes and texts, you're looking at a total package that falls roughly in line with Verizon's so-called Premium Plan, so the industry appears to be settling on a fair asking price for this kind of deal. Whether consumers agree, well, that remains to be seen.

We had a sneaking suspicion that the lineup of unlimited plans we got wind of earlier this week was just a bit too good to be true, and sure enough, it was. Now that Verizon's Unlimited Plans have gone official right on cue, we're left with three general plans that can each have additional lines tacked on for more dough. The $99 / month Basic Plan seems to include limitless calling only (read: messaging of all types and data still cost extra), while the Select Plan ($119.99 per month) throws in messaging but still demands $1.99 per MB of data. The Premium Plan is the one that's really attractive, offering up unlimited everything (for all intents and purposes) for $139.99 per month or $269.99 for two lines. Needless to say, we're a bit let down, but you can hit up the read link for more details on what's offered.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

With the way carriers tend to nickle 'n dime us all these days, you won't find this camp complaining about anything offered up gratis. AT&T's latest round of freebies does require you to be an AT&T Unity subscriber -- meaning that you rely on AT&T for wireless and landline service -- but affords those who are in the loop free calling to and from any AT&T phone number. Moreover, it allows AT&T wireless customers to keep their rollover minutes fresh for 12 months, prevents anytime minute usage when phoning another AT&T customer, and includes unlimited night and weekend minutes. Best of all, these gifts are also being given to current Unity customers in addition to newcomers, so make sure you eye your next bill extra carefully.