What does ‘unlimited data’ truly mean? Well, in an essence, it means that the quantity of data one can access has no numerical limit. This does not mean that the quality of data speeds will be unlimited as well, and this technicality is what allows for certain service providers to get people excited, until they read the fine print. The only two plans that I am aware of that offer truly unlimited data in terms of both quality and quantity are T-Mobile’s $70 plan and Sprint’s $80 plan (both prices are for single phones). T-Mobile also offers a 500MB high-speed plan for $50, which allows you to access their 4G LTE network until you use 500MB of data, then your speed is reduced to 2G. Technically, this is still offering unlimited data, just not all of it is coming at the same speed. Plans like those seem to be gaining traction, however, as U.S. Cellular is now offering a $50 plan with the same restrictions as T-Mobile’s. The plan is also priced the same as their 1GM high-speed plan, which tells us that either the 500MB will be the new thing and the 1GB will die out, or the 500MB plan is just a temporary deal.
The only real reason you would want this plan is if you lived in a region that had terrible T-Mobile support, as U.S. Cellular (USC) has an even smaller nationwide network than the UNCarrier. Looking at the way the market is going now, I am really not sure as to what USC is hoping to accomplish here. The way things are looking right now, T-Mobile is on the track to success, assuming they don’t get bought out by Sprint. USC is clearly moving to try to take some of T-Mobile’s customers, but until their network is larger than T-Mobile’s then there is very little value in it. For those of you interested, USC is offering the Moto X ($300), the Samsung Axiom ($130), the Kyocera Hydro XTRM ($130), and theZTE Director($50) with the new plan.
T0 be clear, I am on the $50/mo. T-Mobile plan with 500MB of high-speed, and that works for me rather well. I am typically in places with Wi-Fi, so I do not use a lot of data. This makes a plan like this an interesting option, but again, as T-Mobile has the bigger network, I’ll be sticking with them. What do you feel about this? Is USC in a position to steal T-Mobile’s customers, or is this effort in vain? Would a 500MB high-speed plan be enough for you? Let us know down below!
Via: Android Police