AppleInsider:
At the tail end of 2018, Google changed the name of their MVNO carrier service from Project Fi, to Google Fi and opened up support to the iPhone. AppleInsider has been using it for a while even before the announcement, so let’s take a look at the service now that you don’t have to jump through hoops to use it on an Apple device.
Google Fi is affordable. Service for unlimited text and calls starts at $20, and data is $10 per GB, up to 6GB, after which data is free. Google doesn’t charge in $10 increments, but instead charges for the data used.
How messed up is our cellular service here in Canada and the US when someone can describe a plan that offers pricing like $10 per GB as “affordable”?
Anyone here still cheering on the T-Mobile/Sprint merger?
“How messed up is our cellular service here in Canada and the US when someone can describe a plan that offers pricing like $10 per GB as “affordable”?”
Don’t forget that Google Fi is a world-wide MVNO. The $20 base plus $10 per GB works in much of the world, without needing to change SIM. For those who truly want to “roam like home” and travel the world, it is a pretty simple setup. Just need a US presence to get started.
Lack of real competition. Where I live I get 400 GB for €43. Have found 500 GB for as little as €30. I have more than 6 carriers to choose between…
And, I can change provider with 30 day notice.
Also been constantly surprised when people post how much cellular (and TV) service costs them in the US. It seems to be a rapacious price plus fees, fees, taxes, fees, one-time fees and taxes.
Just checked our plans and we’re paying equivalent CAD20 for 150 minutes talk, 500 SMS (hard to use that up!) and 20Gb data a month. That I consider pretty reasonable.
Roaming data, which I guess is what Google Fi gives you, is absolutely terrible and you only make that mistake once. However renting a roaming router costs $5-10 per day for those times you’re travelling.
Average U.S. household income is just over $59,000, or about $4,900/month or $160/day. For half a days work, you can pay for a month of service ($80 for voice plus 6GB+). Work six days, and you’ve paid for an entire year of service.
It’s considered affordable because it is.