There had been talk of US Cellular moving to shared data plans, and as of today those became official. The US Cellular take on shared data looks strikingly similar to what we have seen with other carriers. Basically, that is to say you start with unlimited minutes and messages and pick a data package that best fits your needs.
These plans allow for up to 10 devices (or 25 for business accounts) and the device pricing breaks down as follows; $40 for smartphones, $30 for basic phones, $20 for hotspot/wireless modems and $10 for a tablet. The data ranges from 300MB for $40 per month and climbs up to $560 for 75GB.
Perhaps more realistic for average users though, US Cellular has options including 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, 8GB and 10GB. Those data packages range from $50 per month and climb to $100 per month. Otherwise, US Cellular is touting these new shared data plans as a way to make it easy for customers to manage their needs. The good point here, those customers still on an older (unlimited) plan “are not required to change to a Shared Data plan.”
While customers will be going to these shared data plans moving forward, there is still an alternative for those with a data-only device. In this case US Cellular has said plans are available for tablets, hotspots and modems. These plans begin at $10 per month for 1GB of data. Of course, that is in addition to the previously mentioned device prices. Along with data-only device options, US Cellular still has a “Talk and Text Only Plan” available for those with a basic phone.
Aside from not requiring users to make the switch, US Cellular is offering a launch incentive. Customers using a shared data plan and adding a tablet, hotspot or modem will get that monthly device connection charge ($10 for tablet, $20 for hotspot/modem) waived through the rest of the year.
SOURCE: US Cellular
and another carrier decides that consumers need to “share” their data, so they can rake in more cash.
Sharing plans theoretically should be cheaper than individual data allotments. If you can buy a single data allotment for every device on your plan, that should cost less than buying a data plan for multiple devices. However, in some cases, it doesn’t.