After more than five years, the recent actions of T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint have forced Verizon Wireless to make a U-turn and start offering users with unlimited data plans.
But like its counterparts, Verizon Wireless has revived the plan with some tricks behind it, which basically means you don’t get the real unlimited data plans of 5 years ago. There is no more of getting stuck on a plan that gives you only 2GB and 4GB data yet paying up to $100, whether you are on Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T.
T-Mobile was the first to start offering unlimited data plans through T-Mobile ONE and later on, Sprint joined the party. Not so long ago, Verizon started offering its own unlimited plans and as expected, AT&T had also made some tweaks to its unlimited plan so as to make it even more competitive in the market. Here’s a closer look at what each of these four carriers has to offer in the name of unlimited data plans.
Verizon Wireless
At Verizon Wireless, an unlimited plan demands a monthly fee of $80 per single line. In case of multiple lines, you’ll part with $100 for the account and an additional $20 per line through Autopay. This will give you unlimited data per line, but management will come in once you start going past 22GB. For those who want to enjoy tethering, you can only get LTE speeds with 10GB of this data and after that, the speeds are capped to 3G.
Verizon promises to keep video streaming in HD quality, even when management sets in. Of course, this plan includes unlimited calls and texts to Canada and Mexico as well as 500MB of LTE roaming data for the two countries.
AT&T
As for AT&T, the unlimited plan offered here costs $100 for the first line and in case of additional lines, you’ll have to pay $40 for each. As a promo, the carrier is offering the fourth line for free. This fee will get you the same unlimited data cap as Verizon Wireless, with management for all lines coming in after 22GB of usage. However, AT&T doesn’t include tethering data, but to make up for this, you get video quality as sent by the provider along with a Stream Saver feature for optional throttling.
Like Verizon, this unlimited plan includes calling and texting as well as data to and from Canada and Mexico, but one needs to enable the free Roam North American feature first.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile is the pioneer of this change, leading the way a few months ago with a deal that sees you pay $70 per line, $100 for two lines and $160 for four lines. Similar to Verizon, you need to go with Autopay and taxes and fees are also part of the whole thing. The good side of the story is that you get an extra 6GB of LTE data compared to Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
At T-Mobile, you can enjoy LTE data up to 28GB and after this, management will take over each line. The carrier also offers 10GB of tethering data and like Verizon, the speeds will get to 3G after this 10GB limit. You also get content as it is from the provider, although one needs to toggle off Binge On. Like the other two carriers, T-Mobile’s plan also includes unlimited calls and texts as well as data to and from Canada and Mexico.
Sprint
Sprint have not been left out either and in fact, the wireless carrier has the best offer in the market right now, although it is limited to time. Here, you only need $50 for a single line and $40 for the second line. In case of line three and four, you pay $0 for each of them. As noted, Sprint has an offer for multi-line users where the first line needs $60, the second line is $40 and for line three and four, you pay $30 per line. Autopay is also needed in this case.
In terms of data, each line will get unlimited LTE data of up to 23GB, after which management will take over. At this point, music streaming will be limited to 1.5Mbps while gaming will remain at 8Mbps. As for tethering, there is a 10GB limit and after that, you get mere 2G speeds. Video streaming is set at 1080p, but there is no calling, texting or data to and from Mexico and Canada.
So, there you go! Which one suits your needs better? Let us know in the comments section below.