Unlocking The 3G Data Cap Mystery
When AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon say you can use 5 GB (gigabytes) of data each month, it’s like telling someone they can have 95,236 calories for the month.
Huh?
What the heck is that?
If it were daytime minutes then it’s something you’d get right away. Not something that’s super hard to figure out since it’s based on time. That’s something you deal with everyday.
On the other hand, who thinks in kb, MB, and GB?
Let’s be honest, did you check how many kb you used to load this webpage? Even if you did, who’d want that mind-numbing job all day?
You’ve got a life and time is short.
Instead, there’s got to be some way to either get an idea of:
- What Can You Do With 5GB?
- Is 5 GB Enough For You?
- How To Keep Track Of Data Use (like how you track your cell phone minutes).
By figuring that stuff out, you’ll be able to enjoy the freedom of mobile broadband, work from anywhere and anytime. No more piggybacking on unreliable free WiFi, imposing on friends everytime you visit, or being stuck with abysmally slow dial up.
On the other hand, if you don’t know how much 5GB is and how to keep track, then you run the risk of paying practically a second mortgage on your house in addition to the normal $60 a month AT&T, Sprint & Verizon like to charge.
So let’s get to demystifying all the techno-jargon.
Here’s a roundup of things you might do, how much bandwidth (data) they’d eat up out of 5 GB and how many times you could do each:
| Stuff You Might Do | How Much It Uses | How Many Times Could You Do It With 300 MB | How Many Times You Could Do It With 5GB |
|
Email (no attachment) |
3 KB | 99,998 | 1,666,667 |
|
Update Facebook Status |
25-40 KB | 7,500 – 12,000 | 125,000 – 200,000 |
|
Word document |
70 KB | 4283 | 71,429 |
|
Web page look-up |
150 KB | 2003 | 33,333 |
|
Low resolution digital image |
500 KB | 600 | 10,000 |
|
PowerPoint presentation |
3 MB | 98 | 1,667 |
|
Download a Song (3 minutes) |
3 MB | 98 | 1,667 |
|
YouTube video (3 minutes) |
15 MB | 23 | 333 |
|
1 hour of Skype (audio) @ 64kb/s |
28 MB | 10 | 178 |
|
1 hour of MagicJack @ 128kb/s |
56 MB | 5 | 89 |
|
1 hour of Skype Video Chat @ 384 kb/s |
169 MB | 1.5 | 29 |
|
TV show download (30 minutes) |
350 MB | 0 | 14 |
|
Movie download |
700 MB | 0 | 7 |
*This doesn’t include software updates that can easily blow you through your limit each month especially if you’ve got them set to automatic. As soon as you turn your back they’ll be eating up your 5 GB limit. To avoid that, you may need to turn them off or closely monitor the size of each update.
Is 5 GB Enough For You?
While the table above is handy, who really sits down and just does any single one of these things online?
Even if you just do email, you’ll have emails with attachments and emails that don’t have attachments. On the flip side however, it’s easy to see what sucks up the most data.
If you didn’t do video and music, it’d be actually hard to blow through 5 GB of data each month. This is doubly true if mobile broadband wasn’t your primary connection to the internet.
I’ll
give it to you straight.
A 5 GB plan will cover most people’s needs. It is not for power users. Now, how do you figure out if you’re regular or a power user?
Ask
yourself these questions:
| Questions | Average User | Power User |
|
Use the internet more than 3 hours per day? |
No | Yes |
|
Will mobile broadband be your main connection? |
No | Yes |
|
Do you download movies or music regularly? |
No | Yes |
|
Do you stream movies or music regularly? |
No | Yes |
Answered
yes to more than 1 of these questions? Then you’re probably a power
user and should check out an unlimited plan if Clear 4G WiMAX is in your area.
If you are a mobile worker that uses mobile broadband as a secondary connection, you will most likely be fine with a 5 Gigabytes.
A Real World Example Of 5 GB Being More Than Enough
The Nielson company (the TV ratings guys) did a study showing the average amount of time spent online by most people being 68 hours.
That’s about 2 hours and 15 minutes a day. The big question becomes, what do you do during your time online? That’d become the biggest factor in whether or not 5 GB is enough for you.
Using the data from the table of example activities, let’s see how that might work out if you did almost double the time of the average person:
The Scenario
Let’s say you use the internet for 4 hours per day. You browse the web for 2 hours, check email for an hour, and make skype phone calls for another hour.
Let’s also say you spend about 1 minute per email and about 2 minutes per web page. That means you’d get through 60 emails (half have attachments while the others don’t) and 60 web pages.
30 emails without attachments = 90 KB = 0.09 MB
30 emails with attachments = 100 KB * 30 = 3000 KB = 3 MB
60 web pages = 150 KB * 60 = 9500 KB = 9 MB
1 hour of Skype = 28 MB
That’s about 40.09 MB per day or about 1202.7 MB (1.2 GB)
You could check email, browse the web and talk on Skype for a total of 4 hours everyday and only use 1.2 GB each month.
You’d still have 3.8 Gigabytes left over each month that you could download 5 movies with.
But what if you still have concerns and just want to check in to see how you’re doing each week or every other day?
It definitely doesn’t hurt to be in control by knowing exactly how much you’re using as you’re using it.
Here’s How To Keep Track of Your Data Usage Anytime
How you keep track of you data usage will vary from carrier to carrier. For most however, it’s pretty much the same deal.
1. Log into their website
2. Click around
3. View your usage
Checking Data Usage with AT&T
You can check your data usage by logging into at wireless.att.com. If you haven’t created an account you’ll need to ‘sign up’. When logged in, click the “account overview” tab (close to the top) and select the device you want to check the usage for.
Checking Data Usage with Sprint
Log in at Sprint.com to check your data usage. As with AT&T, if you haven’t created an account then you’ll need to do so first. When logged in, click the “Phone & Plan” tab close to the top and then click on "usage details".
Checking Data Usage with T-Mobile
Log in at t-mobile.com (and create an account if you haven’t yet done so). When logged in, click on "Monitor Use" close to the top (it may already be highlighted), and then click on "see details".
Checking Data Usage with Verizon
Log in at verizonwireless.com (and create an account if you haven’t already done so). Click on "My Services" then click on "My Usage" in the left hand column. When the next page loads, you may have to click on the "Data" tab if the information isn’t already displayed by default.
Now that you know what you can do with 5 GB, if 5GB is enough for you and how to keep track of your data usage at anytime, you’ve overcome the biggest roadblock to getting mobile broadband. I hope you found that it’ll be enough for you.
Pop some bubbly, celebrate and:
Stop Worrying About 5 GB Limits & Get A Free Broadband Card
If you decide to get mobile broadband through one of the links below, I do make some money. Just some full disclosure. Besides, every broadband card is free or puts money in your pocket. Talk about win-win.
I found your site because I had just purchased the Virgin USB recently (I missed the cutoff) and when you drop $50 to $80 bucks on an antenna you expect to be able to use it!
I am a power user. I will say that MOST PEOPLE are… contrary to the marketing apologists for the carriers who say otherwise. I mean, what is the point of promoting 3G or 4G speed using video in commercials if you can’t actually do it?
My purpose for mobile broadband is complete cutting of the cord. Broadband replacement.
1. Privacy- No social security number with order.
2. Pre-Paid, No Contract, ever.
3. Low price – $40/mo unlimited use/unthrottled true broadband speeds (like cable modems or at least higher end DSL)
4. With Cradlepoint or similar USB WAN router, able to create wireless Lan on-the-go, in the car, anywhere on the carrier net.
5. Watch VOD, Download massive torrents, work files over VPN, large file attachments in email- like we do now using home wi-fi.
6. VOIP- run skype, or other SIP over the net, so that I never need a minutes plan- completely irrelevent- yes that’s right- I see all telecoms as DUMB PIPES. I am willing to pay $40/mo to move all my high speed traffic over dumb pipes, and I prefer to do it wirelessly, anywhere I am without restriction, anonymously.
7. Last-but-not-least: STICK IT TO HOMELAND SECURITY, 1 DHS, and CHUCKY SCHUMER. The internet should be free, private, and I should not be cataloged, filed, scanned or tracked by any means, especially my social security number. Anonymous communication is freedom. If we have lost that, then the terrorists have won already.
Hi John,
It sounds like we have a lot in common. We should grab a cup of coffee or something lol.
John Smith, 16 Apr 2011
Is the USB deivice the Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go? (Ovation MC760 by Novatel Wireless)
Was the cutoff when they raised the price to $50 a month because that seems to be all I see for the monthly fee now?
Are you happy with the service?
Thank you for the information.
Mike
These caps may be acceptable for most, but some of us in rural America may only have choice between cellular, or satelite with its 200mb per day or 5gb per month. In this case thank you Altell (until absorbed) for their truly unlimited tethering or aircard plans. My typical usage per month (updates, watching podcast, wading through dozens of spams) can be upwards of 20GB per month with updates accounting for 2-4GB on its own. ATT REQUIRES me to change plans if I wish to upgrade any of my devices which they state will cause my bill to go from the normal $300 per month to over $700+ per month. They also state I can use their free WiFi hotspots, but don’t acknowledge the fact that the nearest 1 is 35 miles away to Yankton, SD & then you have 1 location & that is McDonald’s.
I have the MIFI 5 gig from Verizon, I have had it for 2 weeks and have used 0.867 gigs. Is this a lot and am i close to going over? I maily do facebook and play wheel of fortune. Also do I need to disconnect and turn it off when I am not at the computer?
thanks for your help
lost in alabama…lol
Elaine apparently failed basic math.
Yes, Tim, I did, when it comes to math or gigs or snything related to that…all I can say is DUH!
you still have 4.133 GB so you still have ALOT left
Like Mike, I live in a rural area where the only internet options are satellite and mobile. I have AT&T Mobile, which has the same 5GB/mo cap as many of the other mobile providers do. I seems almost like it’s required by law to set that limit. I’ve had to give up video streaming, voice chat, frequent trips to OCRemix and Newgrounds for music downloads, and playing Flash/Java games. It gets even more challenging to stay under these caps when you have more than one person using the internet.
I have to 100% agree with amber on this. Either this article is misconstruding what 5 gb is or At&t and Verizon dont know how to calculate data. But since being on At&t’s mifi, I have had to completely cut off the use of youtube, or music downloads, no updates on my computer (not even antivirus protection updates) minimal facebook, and have had to limit ourselves to just the extremely basic web searching. We average about 2 hrs of internet usage/day, but by the end of the month we have racked up anywhere from 6-8gb. Thats a far far stretch from the 4 hrs of interneting (email, skype, and web browsing) and only using 1.2gb as shown in the example. Go figure
I am going to America for one month during this upcoming summer. I’ll be staying in a dorm and there is no wi-fi so i am planing on purchasing a Mobile Broadband USB Modem to use. I would be using it on a daily use for facebook (1hour) and skype video calls (30min-1hour). Do you have any recommendations as to any particular broadband plans or at least how much bandwidth space I will need for the 30 days?
Thank you:)
None of the 5GB limits offer solutions for connect up to monitor security camera’s over the web that are installed at your home in the country. You need to have a constant connection 24/7. Does anyone have any suggestions for this situation.
This website was very useful. Thank you for the information.
Hello,
I am planning on taking a trip for a few months for work – I use a VPN with softphone for inbound calls. I also have to bounce around to different web pages and enter disposition forms. I am going to order AT&T AT&T USBConnect Shockwave 4G* with the 4G* data plan – I work 40 hours a week. I have been trying to figure out if 5G to 10G would be enough to do that for work only – The rest I will rely on free wi-fi and an unlimited 4g CLEAR device I have already.
Thanks for this site. It really cleared up some questions I had about 5GB being enough data monthly.
I’ve had Verizons’ 3G MiFi as my only Internet (*waves howdy from rural America*) for the past year. My monthly contracted plan is 3Gb for $35/mo, then $10 per GB thereafter.
The last time I had Verizon for cell phone service (2002-2006) their network was awesome, but their inaccurate billing practices were why I left. Sadly, nothing has changed in the last 5 years…and I’m looking at alternatives.
I’m extremely careful (to the point of being anal retentive) about bandwidth usage. No Hulu, no YouTube, no MagicJack/Skype, no updating Windows or programs (I set up Internet at my mom’s house just so I could upgrade there!)…and yet my bandwidth is ALWAYS over. Always. Last month Verizon claims I used 7GB.
I think their accounting system sucks, I think they’re “phantom charging” me, but I also think that charts like those on this page are deceptive, and nowhere near a real world example.
I got Verizon’s 5gb mifi and was wondering about how much time it should get?
[...] an idea of "how much 5 GB is"………..and you can decide if it'll work for you. How Much Is 5 GB & Is It Enough? Reply With Quote + Reply to [...]
[...] fees of $20 (10GB), $40 (20GB) and $100 (50GB), but Apple’s customer research indicates that 5GB of storage should be sufficient for most people. There are numerous variables – the size of your Camera [...]
OK, so i changed from verizon to US CELLULAR (I know you have never heard of it….smaller carrier in NC) Anyhow, i just got the new Motorola Electrify, fast dual processor, 32 gigs of space.. sweet phone. So i join Netflix and then ask the carrier about the 5GB data plan…Get this, she tells me that 2 movies would eat all of the 5GB up and then it is .25 per meg with a $200 cap!!! WTH???? she basically told me that i couldnt use netflix on my phone…I got rid of WiFi, and home phone, everything is on this neat little “SUPER SMARTPHONE” that i cant even watch a movie on….This doesnt even make sense!
I just bought the Virgin Mobile MiFi and they allow for 3g connections up to 2.5gb. The fine print says after that, they throttle you to 256k for the rest of the month. I got it all hooked up and did a bandwidth test and I’m just barely getting 300k down. keeping this in mind I have a wireless printer that connects to the internet, a kindle fire that uses wifi, my laptop, and a Roku that streams Netflix. For 50 bucks a month and unlimited data (even with throttling) you can’t beat it. I’ve been streaming Netflix and surfing the web with no latency at all. Kudos to them, I think they got it figured out !
I telecommute using a VPN – working 8-10 hours a day, 30-40 emails, and internet research. I see Verizon has a 10GB plan… how would I know if that would work for a month?
I live in a place that only offers DSL and increased bandwidth with 4G would be nice. How would I calculate how much I use?
I have a Walmart Family Mobile account on the TMobile network. I pay Walmart Family Mobile extra for internet access. Right now I have $10.00 on my Internet Card but Walmart is giving all their current customers free “unlimited” internet until Dec 31.
Well, the last two months on the free “unlimited” internet, T-Mobile has been throttling my speed. Last month, I called Customer Service and told them to just use the $10.00 I have on my account to give me my speed back, because I use my mobile internet for EVERYTHING (including tethering). Walmart Family Mobile told me they couldn’t do that, and I would have to wait until the next billing cycle.
Well, the next billing cycle started on Dec 10, and I had 3G for about FOUR (4) DAYS, and then I get a text saying I’ve gone over my limit and am being throttled again!
That upset me because I really tried hard not to download anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Four days???
Supposedly we had 5G of data, but I find it hard to believe that I used 5G in only 4 days when I downloaded almost nothing.
I have never gone over on my 4g lte with verizon UNTIL my son came home for Christmas and popped on as well. I think he skyped and such. THEN this month. I rented a room and have no cable service so I thought I would catch up on my one fav. show at least. I watched one tv show. Milled around the site Television Fantastic which I downloaded from the NBC page THEN I watched an old movie on Crackle, also part of the tool bar I downloaded form the NBC page. Today I rec’d a text from Verizon stating that in the first 2 days of my pay period I have used half of my 5 GB already. So is this TV and movie thing killing me? Note. I also was only able to ues the 3g signal as no 4g was coming up.