Prepaid cell phone plans may be quite different from the postpaid services of major cell phone carriers, but the truth is, most people shopping for wireless communications don't know the difference Verizon's prepaid service, Total by Verizon, has begun rebranding itself to ensure that this is not the case

The Verizon-owned phone service will rebrand itself as Total Wireless, complete with a new logo at least vaguely reminiscent of the carrier's Verizon roots More importantly, however, the rebranding introduces new unlimited data services with monthly fees of $40, $50, and $60

Speaking about the new look of Total Wireless, David Kim, chief revenue officer of Verizon Value, said, "This has been a journey focused on what our customers want and need"

Specifically, Kim said that Total's customers told the carrier that they did not want to see speeds deprioritized, throttled, or capped, which can happen with prepaid wireless service when traffic is heavy on the parent carrier's network

Prepaid customers like the appeal of paying a fixed monthly fee with no surprise overages at the end of the billing cycle, and they also worry about their bills rising over time Total customers also expressed a desire to save money on 5G devices, which are typically only offered on more expensive wireless services

"We've heard a lot of different things from our customers," said Bryant Our goal was to incorporate them all and relaunch Total Wireless as the best prepaid value proposition"

To that end, Total's new plan includes a five-year price guarantee, during which the price is fixed Total's customers will also have access to Verizon's faster, ultra-wideband 5G network (In the Total by Verizon era, 5G coverage was from Verizon's nationwide 5G network, which is not as fast as Ultra Wideband)

Customers switching service to Total will receive a free 5G phone

One of the more interesting changes is the appeal to families, and Total is employing a tactic used by the major carriers: families who add a line with Total can add a fourth line for free Under this approach, a family of four would pay $110 per month for unlimited data with high-speed 5G access

Total Wireless' rebranding comes at a time when many rival wireless services are shuffling their offerings to address some of the main complaints about prepaid services In May, Metro by T-Mobile, a T-Mobile-owned launched a new Metro Flex plan aimed at rewarding existing customers of its services

Meanwhile, Cricket Wireless expanded its low-cost plans to accommodate those who no longer receive wireless service subsidies under the now-defunct US government's Affordable Connectivity Program

In other words, if you are looking for one of the best low-cost cell phone plans, this is a good time to revisit prepaid carriers you may have overlooked in the past Add Total Wireless to the mix of wireless providers that are stepping up to earn your business