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'Unlimited' plans are the best deal, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless recently lowered pricing on unlimited voice plans, generating headlines of increased competition and consumer benefits. Great. But, ask officials of Validas (News - Alert), an online wireless billing analysis and service vendor, 'do consumers really know whether the new unlimited plans will actually benefit them?'

Tom Pepe, founder and CEO of Validas, says 'the reality is that the more options there are and the more plans change, the less consumers actually know what's best for them.'

In some cases, Pepe says, 'subscribers will actually be forced to pay more for the wireless plans, especially in the case of family plans. Because carriers are now offering fewer options for big family plans, more people are being forced to move up-plan into unlimited plans, even though unlimited plans are actually oversized for them.'

For example: Validas officials say some popular 4,000-minute family plans were discontinued with the introduction of the new unlimited plans. 'Now a family of five will actually pay $480 more per year on the new unlimited plan, which is the closest option to their previous plan.'

Pepe notes that in an industry 'where the FCC (News - Alert) is asking carriers to simplify wireless billing practices, new services, applications and calling plans are continuously coming to market, which inevitably creates more confusion.'

Validas sells online wireless billing analysis, providing an online service letting customers optimize rate plans.

A couple weeks ago TMC's (News - Alert) Shamila Janakiraman reported that Validas, 'which specializes in online wireless billing analysis, reportedly announced the introduction of a new wireless billing self-service portal for businesses that have up to 500 lines.'

The portal, she wrote, 'is capable of performing several million calculations to analyze bills that may be in electronic PDF format. It helps identify savings and eliminate unnecessary charges. Validas sources added that the company’s service encompasses all major wireless carriers in the United States such as AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile (News - Alert), Verizon and U.S. Cellular.'