DATA USAGE: DATA SPEEDS
The quality of your wireless internet connection completely depends on your data speeds. The faster data can travel on your network, the faster you can buffer YouTube videos, download apps, sync with your SAT/NAV direction, refresh your Social Media feeds, book your online reservations, access your Fast Passes, stream your favorite tunes and video chat with your loved ones back home without delays and pauses. Put simply, the better your internet speeds the better your streaming quality and experiences.
Take a look at Netflix, for example—faster data speeds mean you can up your streaming quality to 4K.
UNDERSTANDING DATA SPEEDS
What does “Mbps” and “Gbps” mean? There are 3 main measurements that will help to understand data speeds, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes. It’s the same idea as millimeters, centimeters and meters such that smallest units (kilobytes) add up together to make some bigger units (megabytes), and then when combined, create the biggest units (gigabytes).
The following conversion chart illustrates how data usage is measured:
- 1 megabyte (MB) = 1,000 kilobytes (KB)
- 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1,000 megabytes/MB
Data speed is then measures internet speed in terms of seconds, meaning how many seconds it takes to download a KB, MB, or GB of data. These are further broken down into “bits,” rather than “bytes.” These are the kinds of data measurements you’ll deciding on the best home internet plans or cellular phone plans:
- Kbps—kilobits per second
- Mbps—megabits per second
- Gbps—gigabits per second
According to a recent article by HighSpeedInternet.com:
“T-Mobile’s 5G network is the fastest and most widely available 5G you can get. The “Un-carrier” delivers faster speeds than other 5G providers, with users hitting an average of 150 Mbps on 5G phones.1 T-Mobile’s long-range version of 5G is available to 305 million people in all 50 states.2
In addition to cellular access, T-Mobile also has a new home internet service based on 5G. It costs a flat fee of $60 per month and gives you an average of 100 Mbps speeds and unlimited data.
T-Mobile is truly taking the lead on 5G…..” and you can now access all of these amazing T-Mobile benefits through any of the SmartSIM USA Unlimited Airtime Plans.
AVERAGE STREAMING DATA USAGE
If you want to get the best streaming experience, you’ll need to make at least 25 Mbps to spare for your Netflix connection. Keep in mind that your internet speeds get divided out to every device connected on the same network, which can make things a little congested.
Imagine that you are sharing Wi-Fi and limited amounts of cellular data with your travel companions and your hotel or villa has an internet connection that delivers 70 Mbps. Assume all these activities are happening simultaneously:
- Streaming 4K Netflix: 25 Mbps
- Browsing social media: 5 Mbps
- FaceTime’ing: 20 Mbps
- Playing a game online: 5 Mbps
- Streaming a YouTube video: 20 Mbps
Now imagine that you are dependent upon public Wi-Fi networks and a limited data plan provider to get you through your holiday where most cellular providers are able to achieve a tiny fraction of those speeds needed for basic everyday activities on your smartphone. Then add the others in your group and just imagine how quickly things slow down to a stand still and you are all just staring at those spinning wheels of death trying to do anything on your mobile devices.
However, with ever SmartSIM USA Unlimited Airtime Plan powered by TMobile, the fastest and most reliable cellular network in the USA, you certainly won’t have to worry about data speeds or data usage; even if you have the rest of your family also using your mobile hotspot feature and sharing your data securely from your smartphone.
DATA USAGE
The easiest way to gauge your internet data or mobile data usage is to add up all your daily data activities and it will give you a good estimate of how much data you need per mobile device. In order to estimate your expected data usage based on the data activity that you may need or use most frequently, the following will help give you an idea of how much data is is used per hour with each data activity:
AVERAGE USAGE BY DATA ACTIVITY OR APPLICATION TYPE
THINK OF YOUR DATA USAGE LIKE PETROL OR DIESEL IN YOUR VEHICLE
Most cellular data plans have a data cap that’s similar to the fuel needed to keep your car running. Streaming movies and videos in 4K, downloading big apps, streaming audio, spending hours on FaceTime and other video calling, scrolling endlessly through social media apps, using SAT/NAV apps and many other routine uses from within your mobile device, burns through your data and can leave you on empty before you know if.
This becomes a significant challenge and burden when traveling and when you need to rely on your data availability more than ever. That can lead to a lot of stress and frustration, unless of course, you have a data plan with true unlimited data like with all SmartSIM USA Plans.
BEWARE OF THOSE “CHEAP PLANS” AND DATA THROTTLING FROM MANY TRAVEL DATA PLANS WITH “DATA BUCKETS”
If you’re thinking about a plan without unlimited high-speed data and unlimited data usage, your data feature may have a threshold on how much full speed data you can use during a billing cycle. After you pass their arbitrary thresholds, you may possibly be able to access an additional amount of data, but the speed is often reduced to super slow speed. Many may remember the days of dial-up internet, and if they do, be careful as this is how many companies offering “data buckets” get you and force you into having to top up your plans. Good luck trying to get turn-by-turn directions, make a video call, and definitely forget about uploading all of your photos throughout your holiday, because, chances are, you will end up having to pay lots of extra money to those “bargain” data deal companies just to get many of the basic data activities that you may otherwise take for granted every other day when are not on holiday.
For example, a 2 GB data feature may provide 2 GB of data at full-speed access. However, once you use 2 GB of data, your data speed is typically reduced for the remainder of the bill cycle and making it near impossible to do what you have to do with your mobile device.
If the price sounds too good too be true, or if your primary carrier makes it super easy for you to just use their throttled packages for overseas, stop and take a closer look, because more likely than not, they have many hidden “gotchas” which will cost you way more in the long run and quite possible spoil you magical holiday of a lifetime.
So, if you have read this far and want True Unlimited high-speed data with unlimited data usage, take advantage of SmartSIM USA Unlimited Airtime Plans powered by TMobile®, the faster and most reliable network in the USA and neither speed nor data usage will ever be a concern you need to worry about on while back by the comfort and reliability of SmartSIM USA Unlimited Airtime Rate Plans.
OTHER CURRENT NEWS
T‑MOBILE ADVANCES 5G STANDALONE TO DELIVER FASTER SPEEDS AND ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
The Un‑carrier achieved the world’s first four‑carrier aggregation data call on a commercial device, combining four channels of mid‑band spectrum to hit peak speeds topping 3.3 Gbps
T‑Mobile expanded voice over 5G (VoNR) to four additional cities and plans to cover 100 million people with VoNR in the coming months (Read full article here)
T-MOBILE 5G COVERAGE MAP
T-Mobile’s 5G network reaches 305 million people across 1.7 million square miles. It’s available in thousands of cities in all 50 states. By most accounts, T-Mobile has the most widely available 5G network currently operating in the United States.
To see whether T-Mobile 5G is available in your area, type your location into T-Mobile’s online 5G coverage map. You can also look at T-Mobile’s coverage map below.
With SmartSIM USA powered by T-Mobile’s 5G network that reaches 305 million people across 1.7 million square miles. It’s available in thousands of cities in all 50 states. By most accounts, T-Mobile has the most widely available 5G network currently operating in the United States.
To see whether T-Mobile 5G is available in your area, type your location into T-Mobile’s online 5G coverage map. You can also look at T-Mobile’s coverage map below.
Sources
- HighSpeedInternet.com, “T-Mobile 5G” Accessed April 27, 2023
- T-Mobile, “T‑Mobile 5g Sweeps All Top Honors in Nationwide Independent Network Studies,” October 18, 2021. Accessed April 27, 2023.
- Francesco Rizzato, Opensignal, “5G User Experience Report,” January 2022. Accessed April 27, 2203.