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Project Fi by Google

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Re: Project Fi by Google

#511

Post by ddlatham »

samstave wrote: post #336
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…

I have Sprint and I live in Alameda Ca - and work in SOMA in SF - It is hands down the worst cellular carrier in the bay area with respect to LTE coverage and speed: 1. They have been claiming they are building new towers for the last THREE years. 2. No coverage AT ALL in any bart tunnel 3. No coverage fully across the bay bridge 4. Spotty coverage in SOMA 5. Google hangouts is utterly useless on mobile 6. three huge…

I also live in Alameda and work in SOMA. I have T-Mobile and get excellent coverage in Alameda (definitely improved over the last 4 years), across much of BART, most of the Bay Bridge (not in the tunnnel), and perfect in SOMA. Hangouts works great. One dead spot on 880 approaching 80, but no other empty spots down to San Jose.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#512

Post by ryanSrich »

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…

I pay $110 per month for 2 iPhones and unlimited talk, text, and data on T-Mobile. I really don't know why anyone wouldn't go with T-Mobile. They don't have contracts, overage fees and have the only unlimited data plan on the market (or at least among the big players).

I could see coverage being an issue if you're in the country but that's not going to be an issue for too much longer.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#513

Post by shkkmo »

natural219 wrote: post #479
kijin wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The $20 base charge with "unlimited talk and text" makes me feel like I'd be throwing away money in exchange for nothing. Unlimited only makes sense if I'm going to use a reasonable amount of it. These days, I talk barely 20 minutes a month, and I haven't sent a single text so far this month. Apps that use data are rapidly replacing both of them, and people who use a Nexus 6 with Google are likely to be at the forefr…

Ummm...how is this different from every other cell provider ever? Like where can you currently get anywhere near this level of access for less than $20?

There are a variety of options:

FreedomPop provides 500mb a month free data and you can pre-pay monthly for more data with lower overage costs. You do get sprint only.

Republic Wireless already does the Wifi calling and switching and unlimited data.

Ptel sells prepaid data at a flat $.10/megabye (atleast $10 / 60 days) and there are others in that range.

There really isn't anything new here.

If they can create a global network of networks where I can bring my own device, I'd be interested. The are other resellers that offer

Re: Project Fi by Google

#515

Post by shkkmo »

grrowl wrote: post #464
rhino369 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just wish it had peak/non-peak pricing. Even something as basic as free nights.

In the context of the wider Net Neutrality conversation (Connectiveness Neutrality?), I'm glad it's so simple. $20 + $10/gb across the board is very sane, fair, and makes no assumptions about who you are, how you're using it, or what you're using it for.

I do think we eventually need to move to more flexible pricing though. Not all data is equally cheap to transit (i.e. runs on infrastructure of the same capital and maintenance costs). Commoditizing wireless access and allowing flexible pricing would allow more competition and innovation in how that wireless access is provided.

It is going to requi

Re: Project Fi by Google

#516

Post by mieses »

jmilloy wrote: post #406
wtallis wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Republic announced earlier this week that they're going to be beta-testing basically everything that Google Fi will offer that isn't currently part of Republic's service: more flexible billing for data plans, adding a second cellular provider (almost certainly T-Mobile), a new handset (the Nexus 6 is the most likely candidate), cell-to-WiFi handover. The only thing Google's promising that Republic isn't is the in…

> The only thing Google's promising that Republic isn't is the international service. Can you comment on tethering? IIRC, my Moto X through Republic doesn't allow tethering.

Fi is a metered data service. Republic Wireless is an unlimited data service.

Fi makes money on tethering. Republic Wireless loses money on tethering.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#517

Post by hughes »

blisterpeanuts wrote: post #260
hughes wrote: post #204

Looks great for international travelers, but this would more than double my $30 monthly unlimited data plan from T-Mobile. I used 5.2GB last month, so that would cost me $73.

You must have a grandfathered plan. I had a grandfathered plan with unlimited data, until I gave it up in exchange for Canada service.

Nope, just signed up last month. It's still available[0].

[0] http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-monthly-plans

Re: Project Fi by Google

#518

Post by kitbrennan »

switch007 wrote: post #323
Tomdarkness wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 offer the ability to use your allowances in 18 countries at no extra charge: http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home It's not as many countries, but with 3 you can get unlimited data at a fraction of the cost (I currently pay £15/month with 3 for unlimited data, 5000 3 to 3 minutes, 5000 texts and 2000 minutes to other networks).

Currently using this in Australia (and Telstra have fantastic coverage). I was amazed it was available here. It feels too good to be true!

Likewise, although I'm finding that Telstra throttles me quite a lot. Turns out you can use any network in Australia (with no roaming fee from 3), so I've manually switched to Optus and my speed has dramatically increased.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#519

Post by stingrae »

ngoldbaum wrote: post #417
kissickas wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely correct about restarting your phone. I even restart mine twice after I change SIM cards (not a T-Mobile guy). What's your experience with Google Maps at the free 2G speeds? That would be my first question when it comes to travel.

Fun thing to keep in mind when traveling in mainland China: maps for use outside China are shifted by a few hundred meters, presumably in a lame attempt to confuse an invading army. https://polastre.com/2013/02/what-the-map/

I have not run into this issue in China, perhaps this has changed since.

Re: Project Fi by Google

#520

Post by Gustomaximus »

tomhschmidt wrote: post #93
MBlume wrote: post #40

"We refund the data you don't use" is basically a way of saying "you pay by the megabyte for the data you do use" -- which is actually really great, I've been frustrated that everyone's settled on "all-you-can-eat" data as the standard, it doesn't align incentives well at all. And they really are refunding it: if you use 1.2GB per month, it doesn't matter whether you sign up for 2, 5, or 10GB, your bill comes out exa…

This plan actually makes no sense. Overage charges are the same rate ($10 / GB), so why am I buying a "plan" at all? Why don't they just charge $10 * x gigs / month instead of all this buying / refunding business?

This carries benefit for both the business and consumer;

For the business: Google carries zero risk of post-pay billing as you are paid upfront + they are earning interest on the aggregated cash they will either refund or pay to the telco(s) at the end of a month.

For the consumer: You are effective pay as you go, so you don't pay for unused data plus you have an upper limit on spend. The interest loss for money in holding is minimal at the individual level. And given this is likely recurring billing (so I doubt for most people they will ever get actually paid back) you simply keep a float in your google account and top up the difference each month.

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