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How are you charged for data?

B

Blazing angel

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 19, 2010
131
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Hi from Canada :)
I was wondering how you guys in the states are charged for data. In my plan, my data charge flexes depending on how much I use, but I'm only charged for uploads, not downloads
I also have tethering for free
I rarely use more than 200 mb :)
I was wondering if you're charged the same, or differently
 
Lucky you, not getting charged for downloads and having free tethering!

How people get charged for data in the US varies widely. It depends on the carrier, and even when and how they signed up.

Right now if you're on Verizon getting an iPhone 4, you can get unlimited data for a flat price ($30). They allude to this being for a limited time only, however, and there may be plans in the future to change to capped data plans, but there's no specific timeframe for this yet. One would assume though that if you're on an unlimited plan now, you should be able to keep it.

Unlimited, for all intents and purposes, is unlimited: the flat fee pays for all of your usage on the iPhone, except tethering.

A personal hotspot (tethering) option on Verizon adds an additional $20 per month, but the fine print appears to limit you to 2GB of data per month via the tether. Not sure what happens if you exceed this amount.

On AT&T, it's a little more complex. If you were an iPhone user before the iPhone 4 and upgraded, it was possible to "grandfather" the original iPhone 3G data plan, which was $30 for unlimited data. Same deal as Verizon: unlimited is unlimited use on the iPhone, except for tethering. Some people will (and have) erroneously argue that there is actually a 5GB cap on this plan, but that's not true: the 5GB cap is for laptop data plans.

The no-tethering thing is key here: On AT&T's unlimited plan, tethering is NOT allowed. AT&T has apparently been doing checks recently, and if you have jailbroken your iPhone and tether with it, AT&T will take notice and take you off this plan.

The unlimited plan is officially no longer available on AT&T, but there are loopholes and ways to get on it, if you know what to do/who to talk to.

The new AT&T data plans (starting with the iPhone 4, if you were new and couldn't keep your old plan) are as follows: 200MB of data for $15 per month, or 2GB of data for $25 per month. You can ("legally") tether for an additional $20 per month, and this adds another 2GB allowance to your plan per month, bringing the total to 4GB.



On AT&T, data overage is $10 per additional GB.

In all of these cases, both uploading and downloading of data counts against whatever data allowance you have.

Of course, any data usage you do on your iPhone via WiFi does not count... including any data an AT&T iPhone user would use at AT&T WiFi hotspots.

Clear as mud? :)
 
Last edited:
scaredpoet said:
The new AT&T data plans are as follows: 250MB of data for $15 per month, or 2GB of data for $25 per month.
Click to expand...

I thought the $15 plan was only for 200mb (not 250) correct?

Either way thanks for taking the time to write the good post scaredpoet :)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Pretty clear
thanks for the lengthy explanation :)
The new plans sound pretty rough :(
ps I'm not sure if it's still only uploading, I'll check again and report ;)
 
ap3604 said:
I thought the $15 plan was only for 200mb (not 250) correct?
Click to expand...

You're right, my bad: 200MB for the $15 plan.

In my book, you really can't get by on 200 MB on an iPhone (or even 250MB), unless you never, ever leave WiFi, or hardly use the phone at all for anything related to data (and if that's the case, then why even have an iPhone?). It seems like I sneeze, and use at least that much data. :rolleyes:
 
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Nice to have the unlimited plan with verizon. I stream Sirius every day at about 350 mb a day, so after a month about 10 GB. I would hate to have a fixed plan with overage charges! :eek:
 
I pay £35 inc. tax a month for my entire bill which on top of my minutes and texts, includes unlimited internet and tethering.

This is with Three UK on the One Plan.
 
Multiple times, thats how.

If I talk on the phone, that is Data and they charge me.
Then when I text that also is Data and they charge me seperately for that.
Then if I want to look at a web page, that also is Data so they charge me even more extra for that.

How am I charged for data, Multiple times and it sucks, its all Data or "The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables"
 
scaredpoet said:
In my book, you really can't get by on 200 MB on an iPhone (or even 250MB), unless you never, ever leave WiFi, or hardly use the phone at all for anything related to data (and if that's the case, then why even have an iPhone?). It seems like I sneeze, and use at least that much data. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's weird I used to feel exactly the same way :)

I had thought that I needed unlimited data since I was used to browsing on the web all the time while I was outside my house. But once I made a conscious effort to conserve data I use about an average of 50mb a month outside of wifi! :eek:

Easiest way for me to do this is to use Pulse reader app and have a ton of rss feeds of popular websites that you read daily, then update all your rss feeds on wifi before you leave the house and you'll be able to read all the new stories of the day data free :D

Maybe I'll just make a thread filled with tips as to how I survive on only 200mb a month ;)
 
It's really brutal that you have to pay extra for tethering in the U.S. I guess this is due to the unlimited data plans and to make sure you don't abuse it.

Do you have to pay for tethering even if you have a plan that's limited to say 2GB?

I'm in Canada as well and I get 6GB a month but tethering is included.
 
ap3604 said:
I had thought that I needed unlimited data since I was used to browsing on the web all the time while I was outside my house. But once I made a conscious effort to conserve data I use about an average of 50mb a month outside of wifi!
Click to expand...

That's nice, but since I use my iPhone for work, and work is a very e-mail intensive, data-heavy environment, making a conscious effort to conserve data is a luxury I don't have... or rather, if I HAVE to make that conscious effort, then there is no point at all in me carrying a smartphone.

It also goes back to a paradox that the carriers gleefully nurture: they sell devices that inherently use a lot of data, and they cry to regulators and at bill-time that they don't have enough bandwidth to support all those devices on their network... as if they showed up uninvited. Then, when it's earnings time, it's back to how great it is that they've activated umpteen million new smartphones on that network that supposedly can't support them all.



ThaDoggg said:
Do you have to pay for tethering even if you have a plan that's limited to say 2GB?
Click to expand...

If you intend to use tethering, yes. If not, tethering is disabled and you don't pay for it.

In any case on AT&T, the 2GB plan is a requirement for the tethering option, and then you add the tethering on top of it, which adds another 2GB to the plan, giving you a 4GB per month total.

On the other hand, you can jailbreak your iPhone and use MiWi or PDANet to avoid paying for tethering, but if you're caught (at least on AT&T), then they stick you on the tethering plan.



I'm in Canada as well and I get 6GB a month but tethering is included.
Click to expand...

How much do you pay for that?
 
Last edited:
ThaDoggg said:
It's really brutal that you have to pay extra for tethering in the U.S. I guess this is due to the unlimited data plans and to make sure you don't abuse it.

Do you have to pay for tethering even if you have a plan that's limited to say 2GB?

I'm in Canada as well and I get 6GB a month but tethering is included.
Click to expand...

Well with Fido, every data plan for the iphone comes with tethering. I'm not so sure about other carriers though
 
I agree that it is ironic that the wireless carriers in the US say allowing tethering will overload the system, but yet they will still sell you the smartphones, mifi devices and data plans that will do just that. There's no doubt in my mind that there is not enough spectrum available to deal with the quickly increasing smartphone market especially with more 4G devices coming out. Will be intersting to see just how fast 4G will be in 5 years when millions more will be using that network. My guess is a huge bottleneck coming.
 
Blazing angel said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Hi from Canada :)
I was wondering how you guys in the states are charged for data. In my plan, my data charge flexes depending on how much I use, but I'm only charged for uploads, not downloads
I also have tethering for free
I rarely use more than 200 mb :)
I was wondering if you're charged the same, or differently
Click to expand...

which plan is this?
 
walie said:
which plan is this?
Click to expand...

I've got a regular plan with fido + a flexible data agreement that a phone rep mentioned to me (starts of at 10$, increases from there(. It is a 1 gig plan (It starts at 10$ for 100mb, 15$ for 250..., I believe it maxes out at 30$). I've tried to get my friend this plan, but another Fido rep said it doesn't exist..:confused:. I'm not sure how they mentioned it to me.

I've concluded that I am only charged for uploads by comparing my usage statistics, my usage on the bill with the upload value in
Settings-General-Usage on my phone. The usage is close to or equal to my uploads.
 
I'm not on an iPhone yet (waiting for the iPhone 5 announcement) I just activated a Palm Pixi Plus the other day, they gave me the Unlimited data for $29.99 and said that a tethering option with a 5GB limit was included based upon the phone that I activated. I asked up front if the plans would transfer if I got an iPhone down the line, they said Yes to the Unlimited data but were not entirely sure about the tethering. (I would assume, since I have it, it would be grandfathered just like my $5/Mo Unlimited MMS has been for the past 6 years)
 
Blazing angel said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Hi from Canada :)
I was wondering how you guys in the states are charged for data. In my plan, my data charge flexes depending on how much I use, but I'm only charged for uploads, not downloads
I also have tethering for free
I rarely use more than 200 mb :)
I was wondering if you're charged the same, or differently
Click to expand...

Who are you with in Canada that doesn't charge for downloads? :confused:
 
Does data get used when making phone calls or using the GPS? Is there a way to turn the data network off if I am using a wifi network? Some of the time I have access to wifi (home, some work places, Starbuck's, etc), so for the most part I would be using that. Basically, is the 3g/4g network needed for anything other than accessing (and doing downloads/uploads, viewing videos, etc) the internet? I would not use it for those things. My main internet use would be for web browsing - reading news/sports websites, work-related sites, reading/sending e-mail, things like that. So, would 200 mb/month be enough? I would not be watching videos/movies, downloading songs, etc through my phone. If I want to do those things, can't I do it at home on my main computer and then transfer them to the phone when syncing? Thanks!
- Scott
 
SHirsch999 said:
Does data get used when making phone calls or using the GPS? Is there a way to turn the data network off if I am using a wifi network? Some of the time I have access to wifi (home, some work places, Starbuck's, etc), so for the most part I would be using that. Basically, is the 3g/4g network needed for anything other than accessing (and doing downloads/uploads, viewing videos, etc) the internet? I would not use it for those things. My main internet use would be for web browsing - reading news/sports websites, work-related sites, reading/sending e-mail, things like that. So, would 200 mb/month be enough? I would not be watching videos/movies, downloading songs, etc through my phone. If I want to do those things, can't I do it at home on my main computer and then transfer them to the phone when syncing? Thanks!
- Scott
Click to expand...
It depends, where do you live? I'm with Fido, and i find for me i rarely pass 250-300mb.
 
I have the standard "big" data plan for Canada - 6 gigs, tethering included. Its 30 dollars a month on top of my voice/text service, 1 gig would be 20 a month so I figured I would just go for the 6gig since I have a slingbox.

Never heard of anyone mentioning a Fido plan that was uploads only. I am sure they are charging for both uploads and downloads, the phone is just showing more data then the network thinks you're using.
 
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