When buying a phone, a lot of people tend to overlook the data plans of their network providers and just go with the flow. This is you need to be updated with what technology has to offer in this day and age. Nowadays, every network comes with different data packages, or as they call it “data plans”, so that people can pick and choose what works for them. The main thing over here is connectivity as you would want to have a good internet speed on your mobile device or smartphone. So, if you are online looking for ‘how to test my internet speed‘, it might be a good option to know what your data plan can give you!
A data plan is the service which network operators provide their customers with anywhere they go, typically in those areas where any broadband or Wi-Fi service is not available. Its different from a regular GSM service as it offers you fast data transmission such as downloading, uploading and streaming. A data plan always gets you connected to an EDGE, 3G, 4G or an LTE network. It all depends on what your network has to offer.
Do you need a data plan?
You may be wondering whether you need a data plan or not. Well, who wouldn’t want to be able to be connected all the time anywhere and everywhere, right? Even though there are some people out there who are allergic to technology or don’t know how to use it, apart from them, everyone else does. Others who don’t want to pay a little extra to be connected would miss out on the fun until they connect to a Wi-Fi. Depending on what your needs are when it comes to internet connectivity, here’s why you need to get a data plan:
- If you are working and need to have access to your e-mail all the time and on the go so that you are able to reply then and there to your boss, co-workers or clients.
- You use VoIP a lot and you want to use free and inexpensive voice and video chatting, especially with international contacts. This saves a lot of money as using direct calling methods would have exorbitantly high charges.
- You are a social media addict and you need to be connected to see the latest tweet, news, status, or pictures uploaded by other people or you yourself.
- If cloud computing is your thing and you need to access your content from wherever and whenever you want.
Pre requisites
Before embarking on the data plan journey, you need to assess your requirements which are mentioned above so that you end up making the choice which is best for you. Money also plays a role in considering that how much you can pay for getting a plan.
There are a number of comparison sites online, such as comparetv.com.au, that will give you both the pricing and data allowance data for providers.
How much data?
Most data plans start from 200 MB and go up to 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and unlimited packages. The more your limit, the more your monthly charges will be. So, in order to know how much data usage you have, here is a place where you can calculate your data usage online.