Verizon Wireless is aiming to sell more of its fastest wireless phones with a holiday promotion that allows twice as many data downloads for the same price, potentially putting pressure on AT&T Inc to follow suit.

For example, instead of limiting usage to 2 gigabytes a month for customers on its $30 plan, the company will offer customers who buy phones with its highest-speed data connections 4 gigabytes of downloads per month.

In comparison its biggest rival AT&T charges $25 for 2 gigabytes of data and $15 for 200 gigabytes of data. AT&T declined to say whether or not it would change its own pricing in response to Verizon's move.

In an effort to compete with AT&T's cheaper plan, Verizon is also introducing a $20 per month plan for 300 megabytes of data for customers of all its phones, similar to a promotion it held in the holidays last year for a $15 plan for 150 megabytes.

Their smaller rival Sprint Nextel still offers unlimited data downloads for a set monthly.

Verizon Wireless is also hoping to make more money from text and picture messages by eliminating a $5 plan that allows customers to exchange 250 messages a month. Instead it is raising the text limit to 1,000 from 500 for its $10 plan.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc. is the biggest U.S. mobile service.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Bernard Orr)

Verizon Communications Inc. Broadband