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Unlimited Data

Ionut
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

What do you guys think about the new plans which are available from the main carrier. 

Telus/Rogers/Bell offer 10/15 GB of Data LTE then they throtle the speed at 3G. 

Wondering what will happen wiht Public Since this guys they don't move forward with absolutley no competition promotion.

16 REPLIES 16

Psygineer
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@AE_Collector wrote:

@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB...


You must have meant 100Mb not 10Mb. 5 pictures and you’re probably done for the month with 10 Mb!

Terry


No I meant 10 MB. Random data usage even when data is turned off. Always works out to around 10MB. Nothing to do with picture messages or anything like that. I only turn on data when I am out of wifi areas or in remote locations so technically I might not need to turn on data at all in a 30 day period.

Psygineer
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@wetcoaster wrote:

@Psygineer wrote:




@wetcoaster wrote:

@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB just because I use the data only when I have no Wifi and must do something online (usually for work.) Like rare items in video games, I tend to hoard the best ones so I can use them later, then finish the game without ever using them. I tend to never use my data just because I want to ensure I have something when I need it. Often times I would love to be able to go online, maybe kill some time in a waiting room helping out on the PM forums or something, but I don't want to use data for that. If I had unlimited even at dialup speeds I would be able to use my data more freely without the fear that one day work will need me to do something and I won't have a network connection available to me. I mean yes, I could buy a data add-on or a higher tier package and live without concern, but those data packages are very cost prohibitive for me and with wifi being so common I doubt I would even use the extra data. I'd like it as a safety net though.


@Psygineer 

Interesting that you'd be willing to pay more for reoccuring data that you think you likely don't need but call the data add-ons, that roll-over indefinitely, cost prohibitive.

 

 I hardly hit more than 1.5GB/30 days when being at my shop (after all, I'm there to do work!).

 

Slight change of habit (writing invoices on the laptop over WiFi at home is more userfriendly  anyway...) - nothing major, really, I'm not restricting myself - and I'm rarely exceding my monthly data by a couple of MB, so my data add-on likely lasts for two years or even more...

 


 

No idea where you got that idea. I never said that. I said actually quite the opposite. I rarely use my data, and I find having to either upgrade to a higher tier for more data (so I don't have to worry about going over) or buying an add-on cost prohibitive because Wifi is so prevalent. I was supporting the idea that PM follow what Chatr does (and now Bell/Telus) where if you go over your cap, you get even more throttled Internet without a limit or fee.

 

As for your snide comment about working in the shop and "being there to do work", not everyone has the same kind of job you know. Sounds nice that you can work from home too on your home wifi, and I can easily see how you can make data last forever that way. My job on the other hand has me doing field work, which of course is not in a shop or even wifi zone let alone being a home wifi. It's in remote northern fly-in communities (where actually I am often lucky to even have cell coverage). I save my data for when in the field so I can actually work. You are right that many of the productivity programs (Work email, work FTP, work web apps, etc.) that are Internet based do not use a lot of data, but you still need at least an iota of data for them to function. I was commenting that if I had unlimited, I would be able to use my personal cell data for personal wants more freely rather than hording it for the off chance I need it for work before my plan renews again. 

 

Edit: 

That sounded a bit more hostile than I meant. I really need to go back to my old style of writting. No idea why the "there to do work" comment irked me. I guess I took it as accusitory, but in all honesty, I doubt that was the intent. I don't do field work that often, but when I do, there is no notice given. It's reactionary 95% of the time. Investigating the cause of something, responding to problems, etc. I can go months without having to go into the field, or it could be multiple times in a week. Like you, I really don't need data when in the office or at home or even out shopping because there is just so much wifi in a city. But in the north, there is nothing like that available. I could expense an add-on for that, but I don't see the point of it if we had access to unlimited low speed overages like Chatr or the others..


Just... WOW!

 

Just for the record: By the sound of your  reply it's unlikely that you believe me, but I never had and still don't have any intentions of criticising you / your choices / whatever. 

 

Sorry that you felt attacked by what was simply my own experience / trying to explain where I was coming from with the unlimited vs add-on comparison (all the unlimited plans that I found in my quick search were more expensive or didn't include unlimited talk in case of the ChatR $25 data plan). And  sorry that you felt the need to, in turn, jump to conclusions about my "cozy little privileged world of working from home".

FWIW I'm running my own micro business.  Dusty,  stinky manual labour that I'm passionate about, and long days to keep customers in a niche market of a niche market happy... (yes, I know, we people who are getting our hands dirty are not considered full members of society, no need for those comments, really.) -  cell phone data is how I'm getting my business e-mails etc while at work. No WiFi, no cable, no pots at my shop.

 

Again sorry for daring to unwittingly step on your toes - I'll go back to my bookkeeping. Yes, sorry, at home, after 8:30pm on Saturday night of the July long weekend, while there is a block party going on.

But since I already have overstepped the line, by the looks of it: If your employer is requiring you to use data for work during your field work, they should pay for it, IMHO.


No need for that Wetcoaster! Like I said in my edit, I do appologize for my initial reaction to your statements. I've been attacked on here before, and today hasn't been an overly good day for me (unrelated to here!). 

Actually, I never called it cozy or privilaged! (Twisting my words again! Naughty!)  I was just meaning when I can work in an office or home, wifi is nice, and it supports my no need for a lot of data (and the reason why I don't get a higher tier package), but I was pointing out that I unfortunately have to go to places (thankfully infrequently usually) that don't have the luxuries! I just find it hard to justify $30 for 1 GB of extra data when that costs more than my plan itself (although that data does carry over so that is nice). Anyway, sorry again. It's sometimes hard for me to have my usual eloquence when my treatments leave me weak, headachey and in pain. When I am like this I really should either skip coming on here to see if I can help anyone or at least write, then come back 15 minutes later. Anyway, no hard feelings on my end Wetcoaster! Let's work together and not bicker! I didn't feel my toes being stepped on, but I did resent the impication that I am surfing the net rather than working which triggered it in the first place. Again sorry for that!

 

Edit: 

The Chatr plan I was comparing in this case was the $15 one with auto-pay. It's the same as the PM $15 plan, but has unlimiated throttled overage. Friend brags about it quite a bit that is how I learned of it, but I'm happy here at PM and Chatr isn't in my area anyway (I wouldn't be considered in-zone here). My initial message (which oddly triggered this mess) was just talking about the notion of any data containing plan being extended the unlimited lower speed Internet once the plan's normal data is exhausted. It was never about paying more for the privilage like you suggested I meant! It was about being a wishlist feature that I would love to see here at PM.


@Psygineer wrote:




@wetcoaster wrote:

@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB just because I use the data only when I have no Wifi and must do something online (usually for work.) Like rare items in video games, I tend to hoard the best ones so I can use them later, then finish the game without ever using them. I tend to never use my data just because I want to ensure I have something when I need it. Often times I would love to be able to go online, maybe kill some time in a waiting room helping out on the PM forums or something, but I don't want to use data for that. If I had unlimited even at dialup speeds I would be able to use my data more freely without the fear that one day work will need me to do something and I won't have a network connection available to me. I mean yes, I could buy a data add-on or a higher tier package and live without concern, but those data packages are very cost prohibitive for me and with wifi being so common I doubt I would even use the extra data. I'd like it as a safety net though.


@Psygineer 

Interesting that you'd be willing to pay more for reoccuring data that you think you likely don't need but call the data add-ons, that roll-over indefinitely, cost prohibitive.

 

 I hardly hit more than 1.5GB/30 days when being at my shop (after all, I'm there to do work!).

 

Slight change of habit (writing invoices on the laptop over WiFi at home is more userfriendly  anyway...) - nothing major, really, I'm not restricting myself - and I'm rarely exceding my monthly data by a couple of MB, so my data add-on likely lasts for two years or even more...

 


 

No idea where you got that idea. I never said that. I said actually quite the opposite. I rarely use my data, and I find having to either upgrade to a higher tier for more data (so I don't have to worry about going over) or buying an add-on cost prohibitive because Wifi is so prevalent. I was supporting the idea that PM follow what Chatr does (and now Bell/Telus) where if you go over your cap, you get even more throttled Internet without a limit or fee.

 

As for your snide comment about working in the shop and "being there to do work", not everyone has the same kind of job you know. Sounds nice that you can work from home too on your home wifi, and I can easily see how you can make data last forever that way. My job on the other hand has me doing field work, which of course is not in a shop or even wifi zone let alone being a home wifi. It's in remote northern fly-in communities (where actually I am often lucky to even have cell coverage). I save my data for when in the field so I can actually work. You are right that many of the productivity programs (Work email, work FTP, work web apps, etc.) that are Internet based do not use a lot of data, but you still need at least an iota of data for them to function. I was commenting that if I had unlimited, I would be able to use my personal cell data for personal wants more freely rather than hording it for the off chance I need it for work before my plan renews again. 

 

Edit: 

That sounded a bit more hostile than I meant. I really need to go back to my old style of writting. No idea why the "there to do work" comment irked me. I guess I took it as accusitory, but in all honesty, I doubt that was the intent. I don't do field work that often, but when I do, there is no notice given. It's reactionary 95% of the time. Investigating the cause of something, responding to problems, etc. I can go months without having to go into the field, or it could be multiple times in a week. Like you, I really don't need data when in the office or at home or even out shopping because there is just so much wifi in a city. But in the north, there is nothing like that available. I could expense an add-on for that, but I don't see the point of it if we had access to unlimited low speed overages like Chatr or the others..


Just... WOW!

 

Just for the record: By the sound of your  reply it's unlikely that you believe me, but I never had and still don't have any intentions of criticising you / your choices / whatever. 

 

Sorry that you felt attacked by what was simply my own experience / trying to explain where I was coming from with the unlimited vs add-on comparison (all the unlimited plans that I found in my quick search were more expensive or didn't include unlimited talk in case of the ChatR $25 data plan). And  sorry that you felt the need to, in turn, jump to conclusions about my "cozy little privileged world of working from home".

FWIW I'm running my own micro business.  Dusty,  stinky manual labour that I'm passionate about, and long days to keep customers in a niche market of a niche market happy... (yes, I know, we people who are getting our hands dirty are not considered full members of society, no need for those comments, really.) -  cell phone data is how I'm getting my business e-mails etc while at work. No WiFi, no cable, no pots at my shop. TMI, really, but it's where I was coming from.

 

Apologies again for daring to unwittingly step on your toes - I'll go back to my bookkeeping. Yes, sorry, super privileged, at home, after 8:30pm on Saturday night of the July long weekend after a 60+hour work week, while there is a block party going on

But since I already have overstepped the line, by the looks of it: If your employer is requiring you to use data for work during your field work, they should pay for it, IMHO.

NW1
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Unlimited data plans are often marketed to seem nessasary when most people will never use that much data and would be better off getting a regular plan.

Psygineer
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire




@wetcoaster wrote:

@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB just because I use the data only when I have no Wifi and must do something online (usually for work.) Like rare items in video games, I tend to hoard the best ones so I can use them later, then finish the game without ever using them. I tend to never use my data just because I want to ensure I have something when I need it. Often times I would love to be able to go online, maybe kill some time in a waiting room helping out on the PM forums or something, but I don't want to use data for that. If I had unlimited even at dialup speeds I would be able to use my data more freely without the fear that one day work will need me to do something and I won't have a network connection available to me. I mean yes, I could buy a data add-on or a higher tier package and live without concern, but those data packages are very cost prohibitive for me and with wifi being so common I doubt I would even use the extra data. I'd like it as a safety net though.


@Psygineer 

Interesting that you'd be willing to pay more for reoccuring data that you think you likely don't need but call the data add-ons, that roll-over indefinitely, cost prohibitive.

 

 I hardly hit more than 1.5GB/30 days when being at my shop (after all, I'm there to do work!).

 

Slight change of habit (writing invoices on the laptop over WiFi at home is more userfriendly  anyway...) - nothing major, really, I'm not restricting myself - and I'm rarely exceding my monthly data by a couple of MB, so my data add-on likely lasts for two years or even more...

 


 

No idea where you got that idea. I never said that. I said actually quite the opposite. I rarely use my data, and I find having to either upgrade to a higher tier for more data (so I don't have to worry about going over) or buying an add-on cost prohibitive because Wifi is so prevalent. I was supporting the idea that PM follow what Chatr does (and now Bell/Telus) where if you go over your cap, you get even more throttled Internet without a limit or fee.

 

As for your snide comment about working in the shop and "being there to do work", not everyone has the same kind of job you know. Sounds nice that you can work from home too on your home wifi, and I can easily see how you can make data last forever that way. My job on the other hand has me doing field work, which of course is not in a shop or even wifi zone let alone being a home wifi. It's in remote northern fly-in communities (where actually I am often lucky to even have cell coverage). I save my data for when in the field so I can actually work. You are right that many of the productivity programs (Work email, work FTP, work web apps, etc.) that are Internet based do not use a lot of data, but you still need at least an iota of data for them to function. I was commenting that if I had unlimited, I would be able to use my personal cell data for personal wants more freely rather than hording it for the off chance I need it for work before my plan renews again. 

 

Edit: 

That sounded a bit more hostile than I meant. I really need to go back to my old style of writting. No idea why the "there to do work" comment irked me. I guess I took it as accusitory, but in all honesty, I doubt that was the intent. I don't do field work that often, but when I do, there is no notice given. It's reactionary 95% of the time. Investigating the cause of something, responding to problems, etc. I can go months without having to go into the field, or it could be multiple times in a week. Like you, I really don't need data when in the office or at home or even out shopping because there is just so much wifi in a city. But in the north, there is nothing like that available. I could expense an add-on for that, but I don't see the point of it if we had access to unlimited low speed overages like Chatr or the others..


@Mugsy wrote:

I reached my nominal data limit while travelling through the States using a T-Mobile plan. I'm assuming something similar happens in Canada. Here's what happened

to me once I reached my data limit and was throttled:

Before throttling I could easily listen to Stitcher while driving and use Googlemaps Once I reached my limit, Stitcher was way too slow to be useful. However, Googlemaps still worked, just a lot slower.

 


Are you a Public Mobile customer?   At Public Mobile, data services stop working after using up all of the plan's included data.


@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB just because I use the data only when I have no Wifi and must do something online (usually for work.) Like rare items in video games, I tend to hoard the best ones so I can use them later, then finish the game without ever using them. I tend to never use my data just because I want to ensure I have something when I need it. Often times I would love to be able to go online, maybe kill some time in a waiting room helping out on the PM forums or something, but I don't want to use data for that. If I had unlimited even at dialup speeds I would be able to use my data more freely without the fear that one day work will need me to do something and I won't have a network connection available to me. I mean yes, I could buy a data add-on or a higher tier package and live without concern, but those data packages are very cost prohibitive for me and with wifi being so common I doubt I would even use the extra data. I'd like it as a safety net though.


@Psygineer 

Interesting that you'd be willing to pay more for reoccuring data that you think you likely don't need but call the data add-ons, that roll-over indefinitely, cost prohibitive.

 

I went from the $25 unlimited provincial talk & unlimited texts, supplemented with a 1GB data add-on that lasted me 10months (roughly $3/100MB/30days) to the $45 for 6.5GB last year because I didn't have access to WiFi at work anymore, and also consistently needed more Canada wide minutes...  Turns out that for e-mail, WhatsApp, the rare instance of Google and/or Google maps and my accounting software's invoice app, as well as the occasional tethering of my laptop, I hardly hit more than 1.5GB/30 days when being at my shop (after all, I'm there to do work!).

 

So, when the new $25 plan, with Canada wide talk and 1GB, came around I downgraded. Slight change of habit (writing invoices on the laptop over WiFi at home is more userfriendly  anyway...) - nothing major, really, I'm not restricting myself - and I'm rarely exceding my monthly data by a couple of MB, so my data add-on likely lasts for two years or even more...

 

I'm on a Android device and found our very own IWIK's Data Witness app super handy - it has a widget that shows the visual remaining amount of data vs days remaining at a glance. So I always know that I'm approximately in the average of 34MB/day. Sorry, I'm not familiar with data managing apps for iOS.


@Psygineer wrote:

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB...


You must have meant 100Mb not 10Mb. 5 pictures and you’re probably done for the month with 10 Mb!

Terry

Mugsy
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I reached my nominal data limit while travelling through the States using a T-Mobile plan. I'm assuming something similar happens in Canada. Here's what happened

to me once I reached my data limit and was throttled:

Before throttling I could easily listen to Stitcher while driving and use Googlemaps Once I reached my limit, Stitcher was way too slow to be useful. However, Googlemaps still worked, just a lot slower.

 

Psygineer
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

Honestly I would love this. I barely use 10MB of my 1GB, rare times I might hit 250MB just because I use the data only when I have no Wifi and must do something online (usually for work.) Like rare items in video games, I tend to hoard the best ones so I can use them later, then finish the game without ever using them. I tend to never use my data just because I want to ensure I have something when I need it. Often times I would love to be able to go online, maybe kill some time in a waiting room helping out on the PM forums or something, but I don't want to use data for that. If I had unlimited even at dialup speeds I would be able to use my data more freely without the fear that one day work will need me to do something and I won't have a network connection available to me. I mean yes, I could buy a data add-on or a higher tier package and live without concern, but those data packages are very cost prohibitive for me and with wifi being so common I doubt I would even use the extra data. I'd like it as a safety net though.

Freedom has a package that is 3 GB at full speed, then 6.5 GB at '3G Speeds' for around $50.  This is the only carrier I know of that has the throttled data after the full speed down to 3G Speeds...

@kelvarnsenold POTS top out at 56.6 on a good day.. 256Kbps and 512Kbps is ISDN speeds. It is not great and not usable if you are streaming youtube, but paying bills, stock buying, reading CBC, it is more than enough especially using apps since most apps these days the content is already on the device.

cavemantoronto
Mayor / Maire

@kelvarnsen @wrote:

Isn't the speed for those plans when you hit the cap much slower than 3g?  I thought I read somewhere  that it was basically old school dial up speed. Now if they could make it so that your phone made the modem sound when you hit the cap, that would be pretty funny.


That is an exaggeration.  Dial up never got close to 256Kbps or 512Kbps.  High speed internet started at about 1Mbps about 20 years ago in a lot of places.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@kelvarnsen wrote:

Isn't the speed for those plans when you hit the cap much slower than 3g?  I thought I read somewhere  that it was basically old school dial up speed. Now if they could make it so that your phone made the modem sound when you hit the cap, that would be pretty funny.


@kelvarnsen you are correct, it is far from "3G" speeds.  I saw a few articles on Mobilesyrup claiming it was 3G speeds but it's slow.  To put it in perspective, Public Mobile's "3G" speed data plans are throttled at 3Mbps, which is actually quite a bit slower than actual 3G (HSPA/HSPA+) is capable of to begin with.  No when you look at these "unlimited" plans from the big 3, they re signficiantly slower.  Telus is throttling to 512Kbps, which is 0.5Mbps, or one sixth the speed of PM's "3G" plans.  The situation is even worse with Bell and Roger's version of the plan, which throttles to 256Kbps, which is 0.25Mbps, or one twelth Public Mobile's 3G speeds.


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derrickaspan
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

It is interesting that they limit speeds. Although with a lot of guys I talk to who have the high speed big package plans, they never seem to get even close to hitting their plan limits with the high speed. So really the question in my mind is how much higher speed do we need to go at this point. Do we need to get the point with phones that shaw has gotten with home internet? I'm not sure, although I'm at the point where I'm still resisting joining the crowd that gets loads of data for their phone, while wifi is so readily available almost everywhere. If we are taking this conversation to a philisophical level, perhaps we should ask what value there is in having phones for more than maps and calling and texting. Some may say it is valuable to not need to carry around a laptop everywhere, but in my mind, the convenience of phones may provide too much convenience. I'll leave the conversation at that though since it has gotten far from your initial question.

kelvarnsen
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Isn't the speed for those plans when you hit the cap much slower than 3g?  I thought I read somewhere  that it was basically old school dial up speed. Now if they could make it so that your phone made the modem sound when you hit the cap, that would be pretty funny.

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