Amount of Data I'll need & 3G vs 4G LTE Network

[jamestychen]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to make the switch from Rogers to PM very soon and I have a few questions that I'm hoping can be answered here. Currently I have the Rogers Pay as U go prepaid service which is set to expire Oct 30, 2017 and I haven't found the need for any data (since I have access to wifi at work/home). However, I'm looking forward to finally getting it to make life more convenient (using google maps on the road, messaging while outdoors etc).

My primary uses would be instant messaging such as whatsapp, some social media platforms such as snapchat, IG, FB and checking emails. I rarely do any streaming or youtube watching (only if I find myself looking to kill time). I have been on some online data usage calculators but I'm not sure how accurate they are; they recommend me 2GB/month.

Also, I am a bit disappointed to have missed the PM promo of 4GB on 4G LTE for $45/month so I was looking at the other plans such as the 12GB on 3G network (90days) for $45/month. Since I've never had any data, I don't know if 3G is good enough or will it be really slow or lag? I am currently using a Google Nexus 6P device.

Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks in advance!

J

[Michael77]

Yes, very true, the responses are very good.  

@jamestychen, I hope you become a happy PM customer. 🙂

[Mary_M]

I agree @daredogg 🙂

Mary

[daredogg]

I'm impressed with everyone's replies... good job Community! 

[jamestychen]

Thank you all for your help! I think I will be safe and select the 90 day plan with 6+6GB of 3G data for $45/month. 

I appreciate it guys, already loving this community! 🙂

J

[sheytoon]

@jamestychen

I would say the 3G plan (which is really LTE, but slowed down) is good enough for your needs. Even 1 GB of data would be enough for your usage.

[NDesai]

@jamestychen As mentioned by @Taekgun, we tested the new 3G plans with several apps and services. We have provided some feedback around the community including a video demonstration i made that shows normal usage doesn't have any affect with lag or any other issue. I suggest you to give a try, and if you are really worried, you can get on the 30 days plan and switch over to whatever you like best after testing. 

[wetcoaster]

In additon to the excellent points made above, just throwing into the mix that PM's 3G plans are actually throttled LTE where LTE is available. So slower upload and download speeds, but similar latency as 4G LTE.

Disclaimer: I can't speak from experience since I don't have a data plan at all, Provincial talk and global text, combined with the 1GB data add-on (which as a stand alone is 4G LTE) serves my minimalistic / occasional data needs as perfectly as it gets.

[aip0401]

@jamestychen You can always try 2 GB for now and change later.  The beauty of PM is that all the plans are prepaid and you're not locked into a contract, so you're always free to adjust the next cycle's plan if you want.  

Another thing you can consider as well is getting a data add-on if you find yourself running over.  The advantage of the add-on is that any data you purchase remains in your account until it's all used up; this is in contrast to the data included in your plan, which does not roll over.

[ShawnC13]

@jamestychen, I switched from Rogers almost a year ago now.  My wife and I were on a share everything plan.  We were paying $110 a month and that was with a BYOD and had to sahre 2.5GB of data.  We were able to do that.

We made the jump during the fall promo and have the 12gb for $120  I am a heavier data user than my wife and I don't come close to using my data.  I have no experience with the 3G here but the Oracles have run it and they were streaming 720 I believe and had positive experiences.

With the 3gb+3 on 3g for 90 days $120 or the 6gb+6gb for $135 you are doubling your data for $5 a month.  If it is within your proposed budget and you aren't a heavy streamer or uploader I think that would be a great plan for you.

[mimmo]

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@jamestychen wrote:

@Taekgun

Thanks so much for your input. When you mentioned future dating a plan, does that mean I am able to "reserve" the promo offer so once my 90day contract expires, it automatically switches to the promo? 

J

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yes futuredating allows you to reserve any curretly availble plan to take effect on your renewal date.

[mimmo]

I havent used the 3g but my reccomendation would be

1. go for the 3g,  for your current needs it should be good
2. find a  data amount that you feel is ok within your price range,  I would go more data than you think you need
3. futuredate a lowerpriced data  (just incase prices change, can be canceled if needed)

track your data usage over the 90 days and then cancel or keep the futuredated depending on your usage.

Another option is to try a 30 day plan on 3g then 30 days on   lte and see which one works best for you.  

for data its always better to have a little more then less.   that is why i reccomeded higer data first that way you are not artificially limiting your usage.

also install a data tracker like mydatamanager

[jamestychen]

@Taekgun

Thanks so much for your input. When you mentioned future dating a plan, does that mean I am able to "reserve" the promo offer so once my 90day contract expires, it automatically switches to the promo? 

J

[Taekgun]

Hey @jamestychen,

I think you'll like PM once you come here - I too left Rogers and haven't looked back since.  Regarding your data usage, 2GB should be right for the amount you use but the 12GB/90 days would be good in the event you have a heavier usage month.

I've never used the 3G on PM's network myself, but I read a number of posts from our Oracles who were testing out the usage on the network when it was released back in July of this year and they had nothing but good things to say about it (adequate speed and low latency).  Again, given what you are looking to use your phones data for, I think it would be very sufficent.

Another benefit of coming over now is when the next promo does come available, you are able to future date your plan to take advantage of it no matter where you are in your term.  Many of the PM moderators have been making mention of promos continuing in the future.

Lets us know if you have any other questions at all, hope to see you on this side soon.

*** I’m glad to help but I’m not a MOD, so please don’t message me with any personal information. ***