Educate me on hotspot data usage...

50 gig is pretty darn good, provided you have the connection speed to make it useable. It's unusual to see that kind of allotment on a plan that's 20 years old. You sure it's not Meg instead of gig?

You can google it, but I think a 2 hour movie consumes about 2-4 gig.

TurnThePage wrote:
I've been on the same phone plan for about 20 years. It includes unlimited data, which I've never really used. Spurred by some reading around here, I looked up some of my account details. It looks like 50 Gigs/month of hotspot use is included in my plan. Generally speaking, what does that get me as far as watching TV/movies/video?

Who is your plan with? Did they even have hotspot usage 20 yrs ago?

Make sure you call your provider before going any further to get clarification.

I have AT&T. It's an unlimited plan I've also had for years. My iPhone 7 has the ability to use it as a hotspot... but the feature is greyed out on my phone.

So I called my provider. I was informed my unlimited plan doesn't "offer" that feature. In other words, if I changed my plan to one where I had a limited amount of data, they would enable that feature, hoping I go over my allotment. Unlimited data, yes, unlimited ability to use it, no.

I really hate AT&T, but they have the best coverage in my area.

jcpainter wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
I've been on the same phone plan for about 20 years. It includes unlimited data, which I've never really used. Spurred by some reading around here, I looked up some of my account details. It looks like 50 Gigs/month of hotspot use is included in my plan. Generally speaking, what does that get me as far as watching TV/movies/video?

Who is your plan with? Did they even have hotspot usage 20 yrs ago?

Unfortunately my plan is with Sprint. And I'm not sure how long ago hotspot usage was available, but I used to use PDANet to get around being charged for it. That doesn't work anymore.

I wondered about it, logged into my sprint account and found a checkbox option for 50 Gig for $0. Even though I haven't used a lot of data, that was one of the main reasons I held onto this plan.

Sprint coverage sucks in certain places, but it's generally pretty fast where ever there is good coverage in my experience. In the inland northwest, it's fast and solid.

Yes, I confirmed that I get 50 Gigs of hotspot, and that's per line.

TurnThePage wrote:
Yes, I confirmed that I get 50 Gigs of hotspot, and that's per line.

When I stream television I use about 1.0G per hour. Of course this will depend on resolution. That said 50G would get you about 50 hours of television.

TurnThePage wrote:
Yes, I confirmed that I get 50 Gigs of hotspot, and that's per line.

LTE? or just 3G?

jcpainter wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
Yes, I confirmed that I get 50 Gigs of hotspot, and that's per line.

LTE? or just 3G?

LTE. Does anybody actually advertise 3g hotspot?

Based on the feedback here, I think I'll dive in face first and start experimenting.

Hi,

Yes hotspots have been around a long time. You did have to connect a router to the phone to have it as a wifi connection. My first cell phone use was analog to a dial up internet service provider with a toll free number. Speeds were 1/4 regular dial up data transmission--but I could listen to the BBC radio plays. The cell phone had unlimited minutes after 6 p.m.

jcpainter wrote:


Who is your plan with? Did they even have hotspot usage 20 yrs ago?