Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Toledo area

That fancy new smartphone you have needs access to tons of data to be truly "smart".  But with so many new customers entering the smartphone market, service providers are struggling to keep up with the demand for data.

Verizon Wireless...the nation's biggest carrier...looks to be next in line to eliminate all of its unlimited data plans.

Previously...Verizon had announced that all new customers would have to enter a limited data plan.  Existing customers who already had unlimited plans would be "grandfathered" into their new contracts, keeping the unlimited data flowing.

According to Cnet News...while speaking at the J.P. Morgan Technology Media and Telecom conference on Wednesday, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo told investors that the company's 3G unlimited data plans that customers were allowed to hang onto last year when Verizon switched to a tiered offering will soon go away entirely. Instead, the company will migrate its existing and new 4G LTE customers to a new "data share plan."

Cnet adds that Verizon has yet to announce the details of this new plan, but it has said previously that the data share plan will be introduced as soon as this coming summer. The plan will allow people on the same family plan to share buckets of data each month, much like they share voice minutes and text messaging. It will also allow individuals to share data across different 4G LTE devices.

"Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said, according to Fierce Wireless. "When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us."

But even if you aren't a Verizon customer, Cnet adds that the other companies currently offering "unlimited" plans may soon have to follow Verizon's move.

AT&T also offers this benefit to longtime smartphone customers. But the company has struggled to keep up with the demands of some of these users. In an effort to ensure that "grandfathered" unlimited users don't hog the network, the company began slowing down a proportion of these heavy users. The move outraged many customers.

T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel still offer unlimited data plans. T-Mobile also slows down users if they consume too much data each month. But Sprint claims that it is the only major wireless carrier in the U.S. to still offer unfettered unlimited data. Some people question how long the carrier will be able to offer such a plan given the steep rise in data usage.

Verizon issued this statement on Thursday morning: 

As we have stated publicly, Verizon Wireless has been re-evaluating its data pricing structure for some time. Customers have told us that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. We are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year. We will share specific details of the plans and any related policy changes well in advance of their introduction, so customers will have time to evaluate their choices and make the best decisions for their wireless service. It is our goal and commitment to continue to provide customers with the same high value service they have come to expect from Verizon Wireless.

Is Verizon pulling a "bait-and-switch"?  Are you a "grandfathered" cell data user under Verizon or another company?  What do you think of companies possibly forcing customers into limited data plans mid-contract?