The Family Dynamics of Sharing More and More Data

diesteldorf

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I signed up today. We don't use that much data, but we are going to triple our shared data for about $2.60/line (9 lines, going from 10->30 gigs), and we will be paying about $28/line total.

Thanks to Eli for inspiring this post.

As some one who is single, I've always been curious about how families share data on a family plan.

Do most parents just allow everyone to use their phone as desired, provided the entire family stays under their monthly allowance, without concern for who may be using more or less? Or, are certain members given a pre-determined allowance with consequences for going over?

Does anyone analyze their usage to a point and actually charge certain family members (provided they are paying at all) more or less money, depending on their data usage?

Has anyone had discussions as a family over data usage, using wifi, and not using certain apps while not on wifi.

In the olden days, prior to More Everything plans and Double Data, the cost differential between a basic line and a smartphone was substantial, often $20-30 or more per month. Now, it is around $10.

If my kid was responsible and trust worthy, I'd be more likely to consider paying the extra $10, or having them pay the extra $10 so they could have a smartphone. However, more smartphones normally mean more data used....

Now, with these double data promos, I am curious if many family's, like Eli's, are bumping up their data to prepare for the future. Has anyone decided to allow certain members to get smartphones because their plans now have higher data limits?

I am sure part of Verizon's and AT&Ts thought process was that some people would not change their current habits and would pay for extra data without using it.. However, as a consumer, part of me feels bad when people are paying for things they don't need.

Is anyone adjusting their habits to take advantage of higher limits...i.e, letting their kids stream Pandora or Netflix in the car, while mom and dad watch the Broncos game on NFL Mobile?

I'd be curious to see what would happen if every customer routinely used 90+% of their allowance every month and then had their allowance double or tripled....would it affect the network and make AT&T and Verizon a little nervous?
 

dpham00

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Prior to more everything plan was the share everything plan, which had a similar $10 price difference between basic and smartphone. Prior that though, smartphones required a data plan.

Verizon is already planning on wireless tv over LTE. They will use multi cast technology. So Verizon isn't worried.

Pandora won't use much but Netflix will use a lot.
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3
 

Eli_C

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As long as we stay under our monthly data it doesn't matter how the use is distributed. If we go over, the the ones that used more then their share (data / # of lines) pay to up the data.
 

OWybPPgO

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As long as we stay under our monthly data it doesn't matter how the use is distributed. If we go over, the the ones that used more then their share (data / # of lines) pay to up the data.

Same here. Also, I'll pay to up it for the family on a month where we have something strange causing us to go over. (like vacation)
 

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