Verizon will begin offering unlimited data plans to customers starting Monday.

The largest U.S. wireless provider will let customers keep their current plans or opt for an $80 monthly plan, for a single line, with unlimited data, talking and texting. Customers must agree to AutoPay and paper-free billing. Families can also pay $45 per line for four lines (a total of $180).

The move comes amid growing competition in the wireless space. Verizon had been an unlimited plan holdout as T-Mobile and, to a lesser extent, Sprint have gained ground on Verizon and No. 2 provider AT&T with their unlimited offerings. As customers use their smartphones for more video and photo sharing via social media networks, T-Mobile and Sprint have grown their user base with users who don't want to worry about using more data than their plan allows.

Verizon hopes to stem any further exodus with the offerings. "Verizon is offering something nobody else can: The unlimited plan you want on the wireless network you deserve," said Ronan Dunne, president of Verizon’s wireless division, in a video posted Verizon's website Sunday.

The move by Verizon was "inevitable," said Roger Entner, a telecom analyst with Recon Analytics. He had expected Verizon to begin offering unlimited wireless plans, but the company's announcement comes "a bit earlier than expected. But only by months, not by years. ... They are fighting back hard."

As wireless networks have become better and able to handle more capacity, unlimited data plans make sense, Entner said. The company had said that the cost of delivering a gigabyte of data had dropped 40% to 50% as its network had evolved.

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