How many GB is unlimited data?
Today it is common to hear such offers as “free unlimited data” from mobile carriers and internet service providers. However, what is the meaning of unlimited data? As you watch, listen, and play, how many gigabytes (GB) of storage space are you receiving? The answer to what makes people happy is - it depends.
Defining Unlimited Data
This is why the term “unlimited” would infer that the usage of the product is unrestricted in any way. But where people have to select a cell phone plan or home Internet access, then it is rarely true that unlimited means unbounded or unlimited in the true sense of the term. Nearly all carriers offer an unlimited data plan but these typically come with fine print and come with some form of throttle where the speeds are reduced after a certain amount of high-speed data usage in one month.
So when someone is subscribing to an “unlimited” data plan, it simply means that the person can continue using data beyond the point of paying for it without his or her data service being turned off. However, your data may be slowed at a certain point usually referred to as “throttling”.
No Official Limit
Indeed, there is no fixed number of GB or any standard with the label Unlimited stitched on it. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, four key cell phone carriers in the United States were not clear on the amount of data in their unlimited plans that get throttled. They deliberately avoid giving precise meaning to those terms.
This allows them to limit the use of their service more often by users who violate an undisclosed ‘AUP’. Customers usually become aware of throttling limits through usage, negative experiences, or by going through terms and conditions.
Typical Throttling Limits
Well if plans with open data limits do not state an actual data cap, what can be common throttling rates users may encounter? Here are some guidelines:
- Verizon: Typically, users are allowed an average data usage of approximately 22GB monthly before throttling may be implemented.
- AT&T: Usually about the same up and that is 22GB before throttling of speed may occur.
- T-Mobile: Usually it is around 50-55 GB before the internet speed is reduced to the basic.
- Sprint: 50-100 GB based on user reports before throttling begins.
This chart shows, that T-Mobile and Sprint let you use considerably more full-speed unlimited data than Verizon and AT&T’s limits. However, these are not strict boundaries – some users claim they face throttling at a lower rate, whereas others can upload much higher quantities without experiencing any trouble.
Factors That Trigger Throttling
There are usually a few key factors that determine throttling limits on unlimited plans: There are usually a few key factors that determine throttling limits on unlimited plans:
- Network Congestion – There is a tendency that if many customers are using a certain cell tower heavily, they will experience throttling of their connection to ensure that every customer connected is given a fair usage right.
- Simplified Plan – There is usually a difference in the amount of throttling that is imposed on prepaid unlimited plans and postpaid unlimited plans. While some ISPs offer “unlimited” plans for their high tiers, they throttle considerably earlier for lower price points.
- Location – Customers in some regions are less likely to be throttled since few users are connected thus competition for bandwidth is minimal. On average, unofficial caps tend to be lower in regions with heavier traffic.
- Usage Type - Watching Streamed HD video and downloading big files consumes more bandwidth compared to sending an email thus usage type also influences limits.
Unlimited Data Still Useful
Although offering mobile and home internet unlimited doesn’t mean that it allows entirely unrestricted access it still provides more access than a limited or ‘capped’ plan. Users do not need to keep checking usage to avoid crossing some often undisclosed thresholds where throttling occurs, even if this slows down speeds during peak hours or in congested places.
So long as one comprehends that this is not a free-for-all and is restricted reasonably, these plans are a boon for customers who wish to use data with abandon now and then, without being charged more. By using the typical amounts of the Smartphone and home internet usage for most people, makes one notice that he or she gets sufficient leeway to stay within reasonable throttling limits – even if there is no explicit gigabyte number that defines what ‘unlimited’ is.
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