By David
If you have just gotten your first smartphone or just started using one for more than talking and texting, you have probably discovered that there are a few different options to go with as far as data plans are concerned. To help you sort through the options, we have created a simple guide to show you what is available and what it is for.
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Pay Per Plans
The “pay per” or pay-as-you-go types of data plans are set up in such a way that you pay an extra amount on your monthly bill based upon how much data you use over the course of the month. These plans will typically charge a few cents for each MB (megabyte) that you use. The best way to use these types of data plans is to have them if you do not ever use data on your phone or you almost never use data on your phone outside of a Wi-Fi area. Most companies allow you to stream data through a wireless connection rather than the cell phone network allowing you to avoid data charges because you are not using their equipment to access said data. If however you use a moderate level or more data outside a Wi-Fi area on a regular basis, you will want to look at the other types of data plans
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Limited Data Plans
Unlike the “pay per” data plans, a limited data plan will charge you a fixed amount each month for so many MB of data usage. If you exceed your data cap, these plans use a “pay per” system to calculate the overage costs. These types of plans are great if you use a moderate amount of data without the benefit of a Wi-Fi area as they are far cheaper per MB than a “pay per” plan from the same company would be. These types of data plans also come in tiered levels, allowing you to choose a data cap that is appropriate to your level of usage.
Unlimited Data Plans
The final types of data plans are your unlimited data plans. These types of data plans provide users with an unlimited amount of data usage for a consistent monthly fee. While it seems like these plans are the best deal for everyone, they do have a couple drawbacks; first of which is that for those who do not use a great deal of data outside of a Wi-Fi area, they cost more than a limited plan that would more than cover their needs. Secondly, even though the data is unlimited the speed is not. After a certain data cap has been reached speed is throttled (slowed) from the fastest speed possible (3 or 4 G) down to a lower level (2 or 3 G respectively). Still, despite these drawbacks, if you use a large amount of data on your phone consistently than this could be the best valued plan for you.
Now that you know what is available as far as data plans are concerned, you can find the best one for your particular situation.
Click here to compare data plans and save 100s. Free comparison tools.
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