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Just because these unlimited plans are being offered doesn't mean they'll take off. The economics might work well for single people, but if you're a family of f

Just because these unlimited plans are being offered doesn't mean they'll take off. The economics might work well for single people, but if you're a family of five, how many phones and unlimited plans are you willing to get? $500 can get you a good desktop that'll last for 5-10 years, that same amount gets you a mid-to-high range phone that will maybe last for four years. Plenty of places still don't get a good signal either - every trip to the in-laws' place reminds me of this. This world does look possible, but I don't think it's close yet.

adventured 10y ago
That's a weird question to pose frankly. US family plans have almost always functioned by discount per phone added to the plan. They average out to being cheaper per person, not more expensive, which is the entire point of the family plans. That's the direction this will move for households, just as it did for each previous unlimited thing (minutes, texting, etc). To answer it though, the plans will take off and will be extremely popular. This round of competition will be to push up data limitations and speeds, as infrastructure deployment is mostly saturated. Unlimited data will become nearly universal and the speeds will increase significantly.
- Brendinooo 10y ago
  I hope you're right! I'm not against the possibility; I just think the pricing isn't there yet for an average family. Then again I only got my first smartphone in late 2014, so maybe I'm just looking at this differently.
scarface74 10y ago
I have a family plan on T-Mobile. Unlimited data, 14Gb tethering per line, of course unlimited voice, text and I get unlimited data in other countries. I went to Mexico last year and got 3G speeds. I pay $200 a month for 5 lines. It will be 6 soon since they are running a get free line promotion.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago
  Easy with that free line promotion. I got two free lines for Black Friday (4->6 lines) and my billing still hasn't been correct since then (being charged $20/month for each of my "free" lines). I had to escalate to John Legere's office, and it still isn't fixed ("next billing cycle we promise"). Otherwise, have been a happy T-Mobile customer for 16 years.
- Brendinooo 10y ago
  That's a lot of money compared to cable Internet. $50/month can get you unlimited wired access.

adventured 10y ago

That's a weird question to pose frankly. US family plans have almost always functioned by discount per phone added to the plan. They average out to being cheaper per person, not more expensive, which is the entire point of the family plans. That's the direction this will move for households, just as it did for each previous unlimited thing (minutes, texting, etc). To answer it though, the plans will take off and will be extremely popular. This round of competition will be to push up data limitations and speeds, as infrastructure deployment is mostly saturated. Unlimited data will become nearly universal and the speeds will increase significantly.

Brendinooo 10y ago
I hope you're right! I'm not against the possibility; I just think the pricing isn't there yet for an average family. Then again I only got my first smartphone in late 2014, so maybe I'm just looking at this differently.

scarface74 10y ago

I have a family plan on T-Mobile. Unlimited data, 14Gb tethering per line, of course unlimited voice, text and I get unlimited data in other countries. I went to Mexico last year and got 3G speeds. I pay $200 a month for 5 lines. It will be 6 soon since they are running a get free line promotion.

toomuchtodo 10y ago
Easy with that free line promotion. I got two free lines for Black Friday (4->6 lines) and my billing still hasn't been correct since then (being charged $20/month for each of my "free" lines). I had to escalate to John Legere's office, and it still isn't fixed ("next billing cycle we promise"). Otherwise, have been a happy T-Mobile customer for 16 years.
Brendinooo 10y ago
That's a lot of money compared to cable Internet. $50/month can get you unlimited wired access.