Cheapest "data only: plan - dont need calls or texts

[Nvidiaguy07]

Using google voice with hangouts - almost never make calls anymore, so using hangouts over wifi, or over data or make calls is perfectly fine to me.

Whats the cheapest plan out there for data ONLY. Ive seen ringplus pop up on slickdeals, but it seems kinda sketchy (top up plan - pay everytime you use up your credit).

Ive heard OK things about T-Mobile, but since I dont need a contract, Im thinking I can get even cheaper.

Whats the cheapest plan out there for me?

 

[jchu14]

how much data do you need?

Tmobile has no contracts. You should check out Tmobile's tablet plans. 2gb data for $20. 6gb for $35 (includes binge-on and data stash).

There is also the $30 prepaid plan. 100min, unlimited texts, and 5gb data.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/other-prepaid-plans

 

[RossMAN]

There is also the $30 prepaid plan. 100min, unlimited texts, and 5gb data.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/other-prepaid-plans

Assuming T-Mobile has adequate coverage in the OP's area, this is the best deal.

 

[paperwastage]

Whats the cheapest plan out there for data ONLY. Ive seen ringplus pop up on slickdeals, but it seems kinda sketchy (top up plan - pay everytime you use up your credit).

um,that's the definition of PAYG plans. pay-as-you-go...



anyways, ringplus is good to use if you know the limits

*not business critical, can go out of busines any time, don't be too attached to the phone number, need sprint-compatible phone, no simultaneous voice+data at same time, ads/proxy on most of their plans etc, must make one outgoing call per 60 days or you lose the account



but it's free* (initial (eg$30) topup, get 3GB/3k minutes/3k texts every month for free)

I have it on a backup line. can't beat free

the $30 5GB t-mobile prepaid is the other option, as others pointed out above

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

um,that's the definition of PAYG plans. pay-as-you-go...



anyways, ringplus is good to use if you know the limits

*not business critical, can go out of busines any time, don't be too attached to the phone number, need sprint-compatible phone, no simultaneous voice+data at same time, ads/proxy on most of their plans etc, must make one outgoing call per 60 days or you lose the account



but it's free* (initial (eg$30) topup, get 3GB/3k minutes/3k texts every month for free)

I have it on a backup line. can't beat free

the $30 5GB t-mobile prepaid is the other option, as others pointed out above

Went to t-mobile today - signed up for the 6gb tablet plan post paid - with rollover and whatever they call violating net neutrality with music.

Gonna roll with using just data - I use maybe 40-50 minutes of actual talk time a month, so calling over wifi with google voice/hangouts will be fine, calling over 4g LTE works perfect - might have very rare issues with bad data coverage (calls would probably suck anyway). Obviously messages will be fine as well by using hangouts.

Might jump on a ringplus plan as a backup phone next time they have a good special.

Also - like I mentioned before, mixed feelings about being able to stream music without it counting against my cap. Obviously it benefits be since 90% of my data usage is streaming music while running and driving, but it obviously violates net neutrality, and I hope its killed. Id rather it count against my cap just like any other online service - this kind of shit only benefits established companies and if it were present 5-10 years ago we wouldnt have companies which have developed into netflix and pandora. Sorry for the rant!

Thanks guys!

 

[XavierMace]

Id rather it count against my cap just like any other online service - this kind of shit only benefits established companies and if it were present 5-10 years ago we wouldnt have companies which have developed into netflix and pandora. Sorry for the rant!

No it doesn't. If Netflix and Pandora, counted against my cap, I'd be broke. That's why I switched to TMo. I can stream Netflix and/or Pandora all day long at work, 5 days a week.

Feel free to switch to any of the other carriers that would happily charge you and arm and a leg for that.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

No it doesn't. If Netflix and Pandora, counted against my cap, I'd be broke. That's why I switched to TMo. I can stream Netflix and/or Pandora all day long at work, 5 days a week.

Feel free to switch to any of the other carriers that would happily charge you and arm and a leg for that.

Idk this is just paving the way for isp's to start offering bullshit like this:

Id feel better supporting net neutrality. Ive heard tmobile leaves it open to any service - not sure how they do it behind the scenes, but to me its just asking for abuse. Looks and is pretty great now, but fast-forward 10-15 years and we might be in trouble with this kind of stuff.

EDIT: one more of these that made me vomit

 

[XavierMace]

Apples and oranges.

Net Neutrality: the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.

TMo is not blocking you from anything and you're stretching to say they are favoring particular products. They are giving you the OPTION to allow them to QoS and compress some of your traffic. In return they give you the data for free rather than counting towards your limit. You are welcome to not make use of that option or use sites/services that aren't currently part of that service. You are paying the same price for your service regardless and buying a higher plan doesn't change that.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Apples and oranges.

Net Neutrality: the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.

TMo is not blocking you from anything and you're stretching to say they are favoring particular products. They are giving you the OPTION to allow them to QoS and compress some of your traffic. In return they give you the data for free rather than counting towards your limit. You are welcome to not make use of that option or use sites/services that aren't currently part of that service. You are paying the same price for your service regardless and buying a higher plan doesn't change that.

So for example, Im a new startup streaming youtube competitor. Not anywhere near the size of google or any company even close. T-mobile decides my company cant pay the extortion fee to be part of its "preferred" services (im assuming here - might not be the case right now, but it probably is). So if people want to use my service which competes with youtube for instance, they are gonna have to count that towards their cap - giving a pretty clear advantage to youtube.

How is that not favoring a product over another?

I personally think we shouldn't have companies who control both the pipes and the content that streams through them (anti-competitive partnerships included). Its like roads being owned by ups that lets UPS trucks travel for free, while charging others a fee - pretty obvious which company is gonna win.