Launched in January, Verizon Wireless’ CDMA 2000 1X Express Network allows subscribers to surf the Web and check e-mail from mobile phones and laptop computers at transmission speeds equivalent to most dial-up connections — 40 to 60 kbps, peaking at 144 kbps. For an extra $30, subscribers use minutes from their voice plan for data. Since its inception, industry observers have criticized the pricing plan as expensive and confusing.

Beginning in June, the Bedminster, N.J.-based firm will offer individual and business users a package of unlimited use for $99.99, or a choice of plans ranging from $35 for 150 voice or data minutes to $75 for 600 minutes.

Starting last week the wireless phone company expanded the Express Network service to 29 metropolitan areas in the U.S., including Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit and Cleveland.

This latest roll out places the service in the hands of 130 potential customers across the U.S., or 60 percent of the population. Verizon Wireless plans to roll out Express Network in smaller markets throughout the rest of the year and will offer high-speed data services in 100 percent of its market by the end of the year, Dennis Strigl, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, told a Lehman Brothers wireless conference in New York.

For more information: http://verizon.com