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Prior to purchasing this phone, I was confused about whether or not the LG Dare required a Data plan, since many people on this review stated that it does not work without a data plan. So now that I have the phone bought and activated, I thought I would let everyone know what I think is the definitive answer to whether or not this phone is compatible with Verizon's NO DATA plan option. Here's my experience: - Before I clicked the "buy now" button, I called Verizon on the phone to ask. - Verizon specifically stated that this phone does NOT require a data plan. - After I received the phone and tried to activate it online on Verizon's website, the site said "DATA PLAN IS REQUIRED FOR THIS PHONE." - I called Verizon, to ask them why I was getting a message that said "Data plan required" when I was told prior to the purchase that a data plan was NOT required. - Here's what they told me: o Whenever you buy a phone that has the capability to go online, their website automatically asks you to purchase a data plan. There is an option online that says "pay as you go" data plan with no fixed charge, but a fee of something like $2.50 per MB of usage. If you choose this option, you will not be charged a monthly fee, but you will be charged if you use the phone's internet access feature. o However, if you call Verizon and ask them to disable the internet access feature, you will not only not incur any monthly charges, but you also do not have to choose the "pay as you go" data plan. ==>> So to make a long story short - after you buy the phone, just call Verizon and tell them that you want to use the phone without any data plan and to disable any internet features of the phone. And voila, you will have a touchscreen phone with no monthly or pay-as-you-go data fees.