In a week where the carriers might have thought they’d get some well-earned rest after the Mobile World Congress, Verizon Wireless managed to spark off a price war.  In fact, $100 unlimited calling plans are apparently the new black – after Verizon’s announcement on Tuesday morning, AT&T and T-Mobile both fired back with their own versions; T-Mobile even added unlimited messaging into the deal.  Attention thus turned to Sprint, who are still yet to reveal their offering; analysts suspect the company might dramatically undercut the market with a $60 unlimited package.

T-Mobile also took the opportunity to announce the next phase in their Hotspot @Home landline replacement service.  Called “Talk Forever“, the system uses a SIM-enabled Linksys router to funnel voice calls over broadband, bypassing a traditional landline.  Right now it’s available in just Dallas and Seattle, but you can bet telcos and customers alike will be watching the $10 add-on closely.

 Next-gen networks got some coverage this week too, ranging from the relatively straightforward WiMax unification deal rumors between Sprint and Clearwire, through the 5Gbps promised by Melbourne University’s new GiFi wireless, to the bizarre news that NASA is planning a cellphone network on the moon. 

Meanwhile, RIM had a surprisingly eventful week with the US BlackBerry network suffering delays and outages on Wednesday; users must really be addicted to their crackberries, though, as sales in the last quarter have been so positive that RIM are increasing their predicted subscriber growth to 2.1m.  It’s performance that Motorola must be watching in confusion; despite the US giant again hitting the top spot in domestic cellphone sales, profits are down and penny-pinching Tom Meredith is stepping down from the position of Chief Financial Officer to let ex-private-equity Paul Liska take the purse strings.

Speaking of handsets, PHONE Magazine brought you launch-day reviews of the Samsung Ace on Sprint and AT&T’s version of the Palm Centro.  We were also mildly sceptical of the latest gPhone rumors, courtesy of that hero of heresay, Robert X. Cringely; message to Google, people are still desperate for that definite Android cellphone so you may as well slap your logo on a handset and watch the cash roll in.