I dunno, some journalist on G+ is claiming Verizon not only is going to force you on a tiered plan if you want a subsidized iphone 5, they are going to make you choose one of their shared data plans (They won't even grandfather previous tiered plans). He claims he even talked to a Verizon rep who confirmed it:
Which may be ok for some. But would suck for others.
I don't understand how Verizon expects to compete with AT&T in areas that both have good coverage when AT&T still offers other options that are better for many people.
People had a huge hissy fit about AT&T only offering facetime on the shared plans, but I prefer their method of trying to persuade you to change than Verizon's much more heavy handed methods to persuade you to change (at least I can still get a subsidized phone if I want to keep my plan and just have to give up something I don't use now that much anyways).
Which at that point, why not shop around for a better deal? because honestly, you'll pay less for some small cellular company to pay as you go then if you go with the big three. If they aren't going to subsidize your phone, there really is no reason to sign a contract with them or even stay with them when there are far cheaper options.