Project Fi by Google • Hacker News Board

Re: Project Fi by Google

#221

Post by azinman2 » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

jamroom wrote: post #185

wiremine wrote: post #92

For those who don't want to read the FAQ or find the video incredibly unhelpful [1]: a. It only supports the Nexus 6 out of the gate. b. It automatically switches you to the "fastest" network available. Partners out of the gate are Sprint and T-mobile. Sounds like it prefers Wifi, then 4G LTE, and then degrades down to 3G or 2G. c. Pricing is $20 for unlimited talk (domestic) and text (domestic and international) and…

Just as a point of reference, this is about on par with AT&T family share plans - I pay $145 a month for 3 iphones, unlimited text and talk with 10 gigs shared data. With taxes and fees it comes out to right around $160 (which would be the same here if I used all 10 gigs). The down side is that I'm not refunded for any unused data, so I pay that every month. But we use a good chunk of it every month, so this wouldn't…

Wow are those smartphones? Somehow I'm paying $100/mo for just my iPhone, 3 gigs of data and unlimited text.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#222

Post by MrBoomixer » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:52 PM UTC

JTon wrote: post #10

I found the link to the coverage map in the FAQ: > https://fi.google.com/coverage Looks like it blankets most of Canada with 2G service. I guess through roaming agreements from Sprint/T-Mo. I wonder if they are selling to Canadian residents?

If we didn't have so many rules for things like this, it would be great, but I honestly don't see this moving into Canada quickly at all.

On the East Cost, we have two companies who own towers and sell access to them to other companies like fido,virgin etc. I can't see them selling access to the towers any cheaper...

Re: Project Fi by Google

#223

Post by ngoldbaum » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:52 PM UTC

bg0 wrote: post #166

Unfortunately I think I'll need to stick with buying my phones for half the cost and sticking with a 2 year contract with a company like Verizon. I can't justify switching and needing to buy a $650 phone.

But you spend way more than that over the course of the contract.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#224

Post by azinman2 » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

"Project Fi has partnered with Sprint and T-Mobile, two of the leading carriers in the US, to launch our service."

Lolz. That's some definition of leading I haven't heard before.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#225

Post by brianbreslin » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

So this only works with a Nexus6, but does anyone know of a comparable plan that is month to month that supports international roaming? I've got an unlocked Blu Android phone I was hoping to use overseas for traveling through Asia. Is t-mobile the only one?

Re: Project Fi by Google

#226

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

The only unique feature I see is WiFimobile handoff, aka fixed/mobile integration.

Apart from that, I get the same service from Google Voice and T-Mobile, except I get supposedly un-capped, un-throttled data (I haven't tried to test this) from T-Mo.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#227

Post by markshead » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

anilshanbhag wrote: post #149

This does look promising but it is in no way cheaper than existing options. I am currently using a family plan from AT&T to get 1GB (10GB shared among 10 to be precise) + unlimited calls+text for $27.17 per month.

If each of your users use more than 717MB of data and less than 1 GB, then AT&T is probably cheaper. How much would it cost you if one month you used a total of 20GB of data? If the data usage varies from month to month, Google would probably be less expensive. (I'm not sure if you are including taxes which would probably change things a bit, but you get the idea.)

Re: Project Fi by Google

#228

Post by bluthru » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

darkstar999 wrote: post #174

zyxley wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, I'd rather have "bad support" over "support that literally doesn't exist".

I'd defer to those who currently have Google Fiber. Is support any good?

Google owns that network, though.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#229

Post by rakoo » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

amalag wrote: post #23

This is doing the same things as Republic Wireless. Calls and texts over wifi to keep their carrier costs down. RW is cheaper at $10 a month without data and $25 for unlimited 3G. With RW you need their customized android phone but they are cheap. $650 for the phone is steep (or a credit pull).

RW is USA only, though.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#230

Post by Someone1234 » Wed, Apr 22, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

jamroom wrote: post #185

wiremine wrote: post #92

For those who don't want to read the FAQ or find the video incredibly unhelpful [1]: a. It only supports the Nexus 6 out of the gate. b. It automatically switches you to the "fastest" network available. Partners out of the gate are Sprint and T-mobile. Sounds like it prefers Wifi, then 4G LTE, and then degrades down to 3G or 2G. c. Pricing is $20 for unlimited talk (domestic) and text (domestic and international) and…

Just as a point of reference, this is about on par with AT&T family share plans - I pay $145 a month for 3 iphones, unlimited text and talk with 10 gigs shared data. With taxes and fees it comes out to right around $160 (which would be the same here if I used all 10 gigs). The down side is that I'm not refunded for any unused data, so I pay that every month. But we use a good chunk of it every month, so this wouldn't…

Do you have the AT&T family share plan or the family VALUE share plan? Because those figures sound a lot more like the value share plan.

PS - The difference is that with the value plan, phones are no longer "free." You have to have a separate credit line (called: "AT&T Next"). So a phone might be $30/month for 30 months.