"The New York Times" is launching digital subscriptions, which will affect some users of its award-winning website, NYTimes.com, and its applications for smartphones and tablets.

The subscription plan allows for free access to a set amount of content across digital platforms. When the monthly reading limit is reached, users who aren't already home delivery subscribers will be asked to become digital subscribers.

Digital subscriptions will be available in the United States and globally on March 28. "The Times" is launching digital subscriptions in the Canadian market beginning today in order to fine-tune the customer experience prior to the global launch.

For non-home delivery subscribers, the basic package -- NYTimes.com plus Smartphone App -- will start at $15 every four weeks. The NYTimes.com plus Smartphone App package is currently available for purchase by users in Canada. On March 28, the global launch, "The Times" will offer three digital subscription packages, all of which include access to the website. For more details about The Times’s digital subscriptions, go to http://www.nytimes.com/access .

In making today’s announcement, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of "The New York Times," said: "Today marks a significant transition for The Times, an important day in our 159-year history of evolution and reinvention. Our decision to begin charging for digital access will result in another source of revenue, strengthening our ability to continue to invest in the journalism and digital innovation on which our readers have come to depend. This move will enhance The Times’s position as a source of trustworthy news, information and high-quality opinion for many years to come.”

Janet Robinson, president and CEO of The New York Times Company, added: “As the market for and delivery of digital content evolves, we believe that supplementing advertising revenue with digital subscription revenue makes tremendous sense. The step we are taking today will further improve our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers across the world on any platform, while maintaining the large and growing audience that supports our robust advertising business.”