Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Verizon, and I do not represent them. Verizon's billing practices are their business, and they may change them without notice. All I can tell you is my personal experience, and about what others have reported via usenet news.

Update 6/13/05: I recently received email from an existing Verizon user who had been billed only minutes of use in the past. They upgraded to a Treo 650, and started getting billed per kilobyte even to dial their own ISP (Earthlink) and even when using the slower 14.4K circuit switched data. Anyway, be warned that the "free" data with Verizon may simply not exist any longer in any form. Note that the slow speed circuit switched data was promised to me as a standard voice plan feature, so this most certainly *is* a change in policy if true. I am personally still only getting billed as minutes of use. I have not changed my plan or upgraded my phone.

----- Old answer follows (will update once I can verify the "Update" information above):

Short Answer: Yes and No. Sorry, you have to read this whole complex thing to really understand

Background: The backdrop here is that cellular contracts really don't promise the customer anything. The printed materials don't even guarentee that your phone will work, or even a specific coverage area, even during the duration of your contract. The contract only includes protection for the carrier, and stated limits of service. Your cellular contract makes for odd reading because the service you are paying for is never detailed anywhere! The service itself is only implied by the contract's stated limitations. Anyway, many of the features we enjoy on our phones were never explicitely promised to us. We simply take it, use it, and get used to it working a certain way. We notice if it changes. We may complain if what we are provided with changes, but ultimately have little to say about it. In the case of a billing problem, the only way I've ever dealt with any billing problem is to pull up past statements showing something billed a certain way, then disputing a change based on past experience. Incidentally, I sincerely desire reform in the cellular industry where the carrier gives me a contract that includes both my and their responsibilities. For example, I'd like them to give me the set of features in writing that I am paying for, and my obligations to them (like paying my bill on time, not abusing the service etc.) Anyway, get your printed contract terms (if, like most of us, you've never seen them). Read them carefully, and see if you can determine what the carrier is providing to you. I doubt you'll find anything.

Each of us, when we start service call customer service, or visit with store staff, probably repeatedly before signing up. We ask the questions about the service that matter to us the most, and the customer service "CS" does their best to answer. All that is fine and good. The problem is that customer service tells you features, and policy at the current time. These things change in time. You can go back to the store and ask the same questions one, two, or five years later and get very different responses. Oh, you say, but we have a contract that protects us. No, actually the carrier never promised us anything specific in the contract. All you have is your memory of that friendly sales person and what they said. I was promised included data when I started voice service, both on their website, in-person, and in my written correspondence. If you walk into a Verizon store today, and ask about data, you probably won't be told about any included way to access data. The included data does still exist, even for new customers. It isn't currently advertised.

Background On "Grandfathering" In the cellular industry it is common practice to grandfather existing customers. This means that if you signed up on particular plan, even if it was years ago or no longer offered, you will continue to enjoy the same service if you don't make any changes. There's no legal requirement that cellular carriers do this, however, it is a defacto standard. There are some good reasons for the carrier to do this. The cost of acquiring new customers is a primary expense, where as keeping the check rolling in from an existing customer is relatively easy.

Data As An Included Feature: "Free Data" Data has never been free. Data has been, and continues to be an included voice plan feature that can use minutes instead of a separate monthly charge. Many of us refer to this "minutes of use" billing (or MOU) as "Free" in the sense that we have unlimited free nights and weekend minutes included with our plan. This is the context in which I refer to "free" data. Historically both Airtouch, and Verizon consistently provided a free data option as an included plan feature. Verizon called this offering "Mobile Office for Circuit Switched Data" and sold this feature as part of their normal cellular plans.Verizon also offered a mobile office kit which included the data cable to tether your laptop to your cell phone and the venturi compression software to increase performance. All of this was just a standard feature both documented on their website and officially supported via the toll-free Verizon data support group at 1800-308-3282.

In 2002 Verizon introduced "1X" high speed cellular data sold as Express Network and currently called National Access. While circuit switched data continued to be provided and supported, the 1X options were initially something you needed to pay monthly for to use. In 2002 Verizon released new AC plans which enabled users to access the high speed data for just the cost of minutes. Our local Verizon representative here at the University of Oregon told us it's OK to use minutes for either voice or data. In other words, the high speed data was now also apparently included with voice plans as a feature and without additional monthly fees. While Verizon left the mobile office web pages up, showing people how to use data as an included feature, they have never advertised 1X data as being included (at least on their website). In early 2004 Verizon removed the Mobile Office for Circuit Switched data web pages from their website. New customers who ask about data may be pointed at new expensive data specific plans.

I've been using data as an included voice plan feature for more than four years (first circuit switched) and now 1X. I've never been billed anything but minutes. New customers have the "National Access" feature on their AC plans by default which enables minutes of use access to high speed data. Circuit Switched data also continues to be available for just the cost of minutes, and included for folks on local plans (or other non-AC rate plans).

What is the current status of Verizon's policy regarding "Free Data?"
Existing customers who have been using data as part of their voice plan continue to be able to do so. This may be intentional as part of the grandfathering principle described earlier or an oversight- although it's hard to believe the oversight can remain years later. New customers who can set themselves up without any assistance seem to be able to use this data as part of their plan too. New customers who request data access from a smartphone or tethered laptop may be pointed at extremely high priced plans specific to data access. Verizon seems to be accomodating people like me who have had free data for years, and simply changing the "party line" for new customers. They also appear to be accomodating any new customer who knows enough to set themselves up without assistance. Any customer who upgrades their phone, or makes a phone change to a PDA phone may lose the minutes of use billing option. Verizon seems to consider PDA phones as something that use too much data to be used without a separate data plan. However, PDA phones should still be able to use the slower circuit switched data for just the cost of minutes, assuming the device is capable of doing so.

The Future
Verizon could take away data options as included features of voice plans. They could start charging for this feature even to folks who haven't paid for it previously. If they do either of these things, my past experience has been that they will likely waive new fees for an existing customer exactly once. They'll inform you of the change, and you won't have that feature anymore- or you'll be charged if you use it thereafter. My hope is that they'll continue to offer circuit switched data as included, per old rate plans, even if they remove 1X data from being included. If they do remove all of the free data access, I hope they at least allow folks out of their contract without an early termination fee, but they may or may not have to. I've been a long term happy Verizon user, and consider the included data option I receive from Verizon one of the main reasons I use them for my cellular service. If you really need to use an "officially supported" cellular data option, you might checkout Cingular or T-Mobile. Both have unlimited data plans at $20-$25/month.

What can cause me to lose the free data?
Some users claim to have lost the "free" high speed option when they purchased a PDA phone (think Palm, Windows CE, Microsoft SmartPhone, Blackberry). If the device supports circuit-switched (the slower speed) then you should be able to continue to use data for the cost of minutes at the slower speed (14.4K). Verizon would then put you on a pay-per use for the 1X data, currently 1.5cents/Kb, or about $15 per megabyte (ouch!). So far, folks who have upgraded to AC2, the new no roaming plan, have not automatically lost the free data option. Some new AC2 users report being able to use 1X data same as AC1 customers, so the upgrade to AC2 alone does not appear to have any effect on data access. My Advice: Avoid excessive laptop tethering, unless you are actually paying for an unlimited data plan that specifically includes it.

Disclaimer: No one knows for sure what Verizon might do in the future. All I can tell you about is my personal experience, and the information I have gleaned from newsgroup postings. You may be billed for data use when you lack a data plan. I also do not know if they will reverse charges, even once, should a billing charge occur.

How do I begin to use data?
To get started using data, most users simply need the correct serial or USB cable to connect their phone to their laptop and dial one of the pre-defined numbers. See the setting up data document for more information.

Glossary For Cellular Data:

• Analog Cellular Data - Requires you to dial your own Internet service provider, can be used for the cost of minutes (so no extra fees) and is incredibly slow (and some would argue not worth the effort). This one is a bit esoteric, and not really very related to this discussion except that it's the first form of data access available for cell phones. Special hardware (PCMCIA Card) is required.
• Circuit Switched Data - You can dial a special number provided by Verizon, or your own Internet service provider. This has been, and continues to be included with all Verizon voice rate plans. As long as you don't ask for help, or call to ask for data access, you can set this up and will not be billed beyond the cost of minutes. This is the specific type of data that Airtouch and Verizon advertised and supported until one year ago as their "mobile office for circuit switched data." Customers like myself were sold service which definitely included this service free from additional monthly charge.
• 1XRTT so called High Speed Data (National Access/Express Network) - With speeds about the same as a traditional landline modem, this service was marketed from the beginning as a for-pay option. It was not originally included with any rate plans except special data plans. Customers who signed up for the AC rate plan after June 2002, got the "National Access" or "Express Network" feature added to their account automatically. This enabled users to access high speed data for just the cost of minutes. Although my local Verizon representative gave me a written note that it's OK to use this feature for my smartphone and tethered laptop, Verizon has never advertised this feature on their website and will not support it on the phone. It's understood that this feature can go away at any time, or that the company may decide to start charging for it. I've been using it free of charge since June 2002, and never been charged save the cost of minutes.
• 1XEVDO - "Broadband"- This appears to be a truly high-speed service (3-5 times faster than 1XRTT). It's not included for free with any voice plan, and only available in fourteen cities and some airports nationally. Special hardware (PCMCIA Card) is required.
• WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) - Allowed users to access specific, usually text-only information directly from a "normal" handheld cell phone. Is now, and always has been a for-pay service and never an included feature to my knowledge. Note that smartphones have access to even more data directly from the handset and can utilize the free data connection type called circuit switched data above. This is because smartphones look the same as a tethered laptop to the provider in the sense that they can do a normal PPP dial-up connection directly from the device. For this reason, smartphone users who have the AC rate plan will very likely be able to access 1XRTT and/or Circuit Switched data free from additional charge.

Background On Verizon:
Verizon was formed by merging several cellular companies into one large one. The former companies included Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch, GTE Wireless, and Primeco. After the merger, Verizon became the nation's largest wireless provider. The recent merger between Cingular and AT&T Wireless has changed that. The new Cingular has at least 46 million voice and data customers. Anyway, Verizon is still a huge company with more than 42 million voice and data customers, and growing fast. Verizon as a company has existed since about the year 2000, so it's a relatively new entity. When I signed up for service with Verizon in my area, they still answered the phone as "Airtouch..."

More Verizon Specific Data Information