[ATTN DIGITAL NOMADS] Don’t Forget To Read The Fine Print Behind 4G Unlimited Data Plans
My all-time life goal is to live and work on the road. Turns out that’s going to be a lot harder than I anticipated.
Before going any farther and without getting too technical, let me lay out the differences between the terms: data, 4G LTE, and 3G.
Cell phone companies take advantage of the fact that these terms are still misunderstood. Prior to my work-on-the-road situation, I didn’t have a reason to understand what they meant, but the differences couldn’t be more important.
This Is How I Define Data, 4G LTE, and 3G:
One month ago I became the creative director at a digital marketing agency called The Why Builder. Just two weeks later I packed up my house, threw everything in a storage unit, and hit the road. All of our team members work remotely, both in the United States and around the world. We transfer large files between each other all day long through Dropbox and I discovered (by using an app called Bandwidth+) that I use anywhere from 5–15GB of data per day. That’s a lot! I absolutely must have access to either a fast WiFi connection or unlimited 4G LTE speed with unlimited data. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.
The screen shot below is the info that has been recorded since I started keeping track two weeks ago. To track your own usage, I recommend changing the settings to automatically start up when you log into your computer.
I Was Tricked!
A few weeks ago, I contacted Verizon wanting to switch to their unlimited plan. I spend almost an hour on the phone with the customer service (sales) representative, and felt like they fully understood my situation. I could get “unlimited data with 4g speeds.” SOLD! That’s what I need! Because I’m traveling, I also needed to buy a jet pack so I decided on the one below.
My dreams of being a digital nomad are becoming reality. I can travel the country and work from wherever I want with my Verizon jet pack. WRONG! Two days after receiving and working on the jet pack I got a text saying “Your 4G Internet has reached its 10GB 4G LTE allowance. You’ll have 3G speed for the rest of your bill cycle.”
Excuse me, come again!? I WAS TRICKED!
Advertising is misleading…we all know that by now. I can tell you this for a fact because I’m a photographer. If you look up ‘misleading’ in the dictionary you will most likely find a group photo of all the good professional photographers in the world. When I photograph a product, I’ll spend hours fiddling with lighting and composition to make a golf ball look desirable. I get it, we get paid to sell product.
I was told I would get “unlimited data with 4g speeds.” Note that they did not say “unlimited data with unlimited 4g speeds”. Their lawyers and script writers must be paid a good salary! I take the fault here, I heard what I wanted to hear and I didn’t read the fine print, but come on!
After this discovery, I immediately returned the jet pack — by refusing to accept the package delivery from FedEx — since working on 3G speeds just won’t work for me. Since then I have been posted up at a mix of family and friends’ houses in order to work on WiFi.
I’ve found other companies claiming to solve my problem, but when you dig into their fine print, they also can’t offer what I need to continue living and working on the road.
Here’s a quick video I made explaining my dilemma, thinking I could get some advice from friends.
Utilize With Regular Discretion, Please
A friend told me about a company called Unlimitedville. At first glance it seemed that my problem had been solved. They advertise “Wireless High-Speed Internet. Unlimited. Unthrottled.” And continue on by saying “No Data limits. No Throttling. No Contracts. No Credit Checks.” HOLD THE PHONE! This is exactly what I need! They offer 4 different plans through different carriers; Sprint, T-mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.
After my frustrations with Verizon a few days prior, I’m a skeptic. This seemed too good to be true. I proceeded to read the fine print and FAQs. And there it is, the lawyers get paid again for their tricky wording! When you hit the data limit and speeds used for the specific carrier you have chosen, they throw up their hands saying “Well, WE don’t throttle you, but that carrier does, so, … tough luck.”
What is the point of your company then? I must be missing something, right? If I sign up with you, you offer me nothing that Sprint or T-mobile or AT&T or Verizon doesn’t.
So This Is Where You Get To Read The Solution, Right?
Sorry, no such luck.
Price is not the issue, I’m willing to pay what I need to pay. I’m not trying to find a cheap option, I’m just trying to find an option.
Someone out there has an answer for me! Even if you tell me I’m greedy and I’m asking too much, that unlimited 4G LTE speed with unlimited data is not possible in the world today, I need to hear it from someone that really knows the truth.
I WILL find an answer on this subject and when I do I will share the answer with you.
Until we meet again,
Stephanie Wolf
P.S. This was my first blog…how did I do? I will read any and all comments, good or bad, but I kind of prefer the good and will probably ignore the bad ;)
