Verizon is following its competitors' footsteps by discounting plans when customers pay in full for their phones.

In response to T-Mobile's "Un-carrier" idea, which meant an end to contract plans, Verizon is allowing customers the choice of paying full price for a phone or breaking up the cost into monthly installments in exchange for lower monthly bills.

For example, a customer can choose to buy a 32GB iPhone for $750 and enjoy a cheaper monthly bill or the customer could pay for that pricey phone in 24 monthly installments. Verizon calls the plans Verizon Edge, which is very similar to AT&T's "Next" plans. 

So, how much savings will customers enjoy? It will depend on how much data they use.

The best discounts will come from using the most data, 10GB or more. Verizon will offer $25 per line to those choosing the 10GB or more plans, but only $10 per line for those who choose lower data plans.

In the past, customers were rewarded with a subsidy for signing a two-year contract on pricey phones like the iPhone. That $750 phone could be $299 at the store and the customer would be happy.

Verizon customers currently on those old 2-year contract plans will have to wait until they expire before upgrading to a Verizon Edge plan though.

By calculations, the old plans were giving you a benefit of $18.75 a month and you had to wait two years before upgrading your phone, but these new Edge plans will give you a benefit of $25 and you can upgrade your phone in as little as 30 days, provided it is at least 50 percent paid for.

So, if you buy the latest gadget and a couple months later, a newer, cooler phone comes out, you can upgrade to that new phone without a penalty.

All of these rate battles between AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are beneficial for customers. The companies want to retain or gain customers and they're willing to drop prices to do so.

A possibilty of Sprint buying T-Mobile could mean even more discounts for customers. Stay tuned.