By Jon Parton
The rise of the smartphone has also given rise to monthly cell phone bills. In addition to charging for voice minutes and text messaging, cell phone companies also charge for data usage. The cell phone companies are some of the greatest supporters of smartphones because they require a connection to the internet in order to function correctly.
Consumers used to be able to purchase unlimited data packages for a nominal monthly fee. These days, companies can charge up to $80 for data packages. In addition, some cell phone companies that offer unlimited internet access slow down access speeds once customers use a certain amount of data.
This can all be confusing for people who just want to be able to use the features of their smartphones without worrying how much it will cost them at the end of the month. The following breaks down the four major carriers and their costs.
AT&T
$2 per megabyte (MB) pay-per-use
$20 a month for 300 MB ($20 per 300 MB after)
$30 a month for 3 gigabytes (GB) ($10 per GB after)
$50 a month for 5 GB ($10 per GB after)
For users with previous unlimited plans, speeds are slowed down after 3 GB of usage.
Sprint
$30 per MB pay-per-use
$30 a month for unlimited data
Sprint does not throttle down speeds but reserves the right to cancel service for customers who use an excessive amount.
T-Mobile
$1.99 per MB pay-per-use
$10 a month for 200 MB
$20 a month for 2 GB
$30 a month for 5 GB
For users with previous unlimited plans, speeds are slowed down after 2 GB of usage.
Verizon
$1.99 per MB pay-per-use
$30 a month for 2 GB ($10 per GB after)
$50 a month for 5 GB ($10 per GB after)
$80 a month for 10 GB ($10 per GB after)
Verizon throttles speed for the top 5 percent heaviest data users, but only when a particular cell tower is congested.
Contact Jon Parton, news editor, at jparton@jccc.edu.