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Internet usage (GB per month)

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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The internet speed thread got me thinking about this.

How many GB do you go through each month?

Our plan allows 500G per month. Some months we're under, some months we're over and have to buy extra.
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm guessing you're talking cell phone data? If so I stumbled on a dammed good plan a few years ago that gave me 6bg of data each month for a good price. They no longer offer it but those who were on it were able to lock in to the same terms. So that's what I did. Up here there are a couple other carriers now that offer a similar plan but their coverage area is limited to just the city. Which means no cell coverage at camp. Our carrier does have excellent coverage at camp so we stay with them.

As for how much data I actually use each month it averages around 2.5bg.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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You'll know if you go over it... Your ISP will tack on a usage charge.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
we have a 100 gig per month for 200 bucks a month after too many overage charges totaling as high as 900 bucks per month I dropped them for hughs net.still using the same carrier for phones they are about to get droped for att for the same bs overage problems
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
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we have a 100 gig per month for 200 bucks a month after too many overage charges totaling as high as 900 bucks per month I dropped them for hughs net.still using the same carrier for phones they are about to get droped for att for the same bs overage problems

Wow! That's expensive.

We have 2 adults and 2 teens in my house, all with smart phones, tablets and laptops. And Netflix with 2 user access. Here's a bar graph of our data usage since October:
 

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AndyM

Charter Member
Brian,
Until last December, we received internet from our telephone company. The speed varied greatly throughout each day (12 mbps was advertised but we were at 10 percent of that at times), but there was no limit on usage. With all of the taxes and fees, we were paying $93 a month for a "bundled" package with internet, landline, unlimited long distance, etc.

We have no use for a landline, and cable is now available here through the same company that is in your area. We had a 200GB per month package when we first made the switch, but changed to a 300GB limit. We hover right around that limit, occasionally going over slightly. However, we have no cable television or dish, and all of our television viewing is through streaming services.
 

Av8r3400

Gone Flyin'
Wow. You guys use a lot of data. We have a 50 gig Hughsnet plan.

I only went over once when my iPad started doing a full backup every day due to an incorrect setting. It's just me and my wife and we don't do Netflix or any of that type of high usage stuff...
 

pixie

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
I get internet on a wi-fi tablet from Verizon. No cable here. Landline is too expensive.

I started with 4GB/month for $40 but upped it to cover a streaming accident and now pay for 6GB/$50/month.
I never use more than 3.5Gb/month but I don't watch Hulu or many Utubes ; zero music.

JPR, What happened with your usage in January ?
 
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jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
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I get internet on a wi-fi tablet from Verizon. No cable here. Landline is too expensive.

I started with 4GB/month for $40 but upped it to cover a streaming accident and now pay for 6GB/$50/month.
I never use more than 3.5Gb/month but I don't watch Hulu or many Utubes ; zero music.

JPR, What happened with your usage in January ?

Lots of post-Christmas-blues-winter-hibernation binge watching and an Apple device that decided to do backups way too frequently.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Here's a graph of our usage for the last year.

Since the first of the year, it looks like we're averaging about 450G/month.

2 teenage kids + Xbox + Netflix use up a lot of data. I did find that you should not watch Netflix in HD unless you have a lot of data available. With Netflix on HD setting, you burn through a few gig just watching one movie.
 

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jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
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Looks like you have the same January-hibernation-binge-watching-data-consumption spike we do.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Here's a graph of our usage for the last year.

Since the first of the year, it looks like we're averaging about 450G/month.

2 teenage kids + Xbox + Netflix use up a lot of data. I did find that you should not watch Netflix in HD unless you have a lot of data available. With Netflix on HD setting, you burn through a few gig just watching one movie.

What do you use to get Netflix? I wonder if that makes a difference. I say that because I was given a Roku2 for Christmas and use it a lot. In February we binged watched maybe 40 hours of Son's of Anarchy episodes to finish up the series and even though there is an uptick of data usage, it really did not add that much.

Who knows.

Screenshot 2016-04-03 12.18.51.png
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
I get internet on a wi-fi tablet from Verizon. No cable here. Landline is too expensive.

I started with 4GB/month for $40 but upped it to cover a streaming accident and now pay for 6GB/$50/month.
I never use more than 3.5Gb/month but I don't watch Hulu or many Utubes ; zero music.

JPR, What happened with your usage in January ?

Is AT&T available in your area of New Hampshire? AT&T sent me a text message a few days ago doubling my data on my phone from 2 to 4 gig per month out of the goodness of their hearts I suppose. It will stay in effect until I ever change contract terms. They also do roll over of unused data to the next month, plus the bonus data is used first so as not to affect the rollover data. Much better deal then Verizon. I was with them for 14 years and they never ever gave me a deal like this and I did not even ask for it or know about it in advance.

I am NOT a fanboy of any big business or corporation. I will criticize when needed and praise when deserved.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like you have the same January-hibernation-binge-watching-data-consumption spike we do.
Our billing cycle runs from the 15th of the month so I attribute that January spike as being related to Christmas. Kids get new games or computers or whatever which are data hungry when new.

What do you use to get Netflix? I wonder if that makes a difference. I say that because I was given a Roku2 for Christmas and use it a lot.
It's a split between 1 smart TV and one TV with Roku.

I'm thinking most of our data usage is from the Xbox. Looking at a daily chart, we see 10-20G per day on most days. On weekends, my son hits the Xbox and I see the gigs jump to 60G per day. Those damn game updates suck up an incredible amount of data.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Our billing cycle runs from the 15th of the month so I attribute that January spike as being related to Christmas. Kids get new games or computers or whatever which are data hungry when new.


It's a split between 1 smart TV and one TV with Roku.

I'm thinking most of our data usage is from the Xbox. Looking at a daily chart, we see 10-20G per day on most days. On weekends, my son hits the Xbox and I see the gigs jump to 60G per day. Those damn game updates suck up an incredible amount of data.

Netflx uses H-264 for video coding. It is very efficient.

Xbox Live is another story. Sure looks like that is where the bulk of your data usage is going.
 

AndyM

Charter Member
Here's a graph of our usage for the last year.

Since the first of the year, it looks like we're averaging about 450G/month.

2 teenage kids + Xbox + Netflix use up a lot of data. I did find that you should not watch Netflix in HD unless you have a lot of data available. With Netflix on HD setting, you burn through a few gig just watching one movie.

Netflix just raised their pricing for two screens with HD from $7.99 to $9.99. One screen with SD is still $7.99, so I changed to that plan last month. It helps cap the amount of data the kids use now that they each can't watch on their tablets at the same time... It helps teach them to make a decision together too, since they can only watch one thing from Netflix at a time now. :mellow:
 

pixie

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
Is AT&T available in your area of New Hampshire? AT&T sent me a text message a few days ago doubling my data on my phone from 2 to 4 gig per month out of the goodness of their hearts I suppose. It will stay in effect until I ever change contract terms. They also do roll over of unused data to the next month, plus the bonus data is used first so as not to affect the rollover data. Much better deal then Verizon. I was with them for 14 years and they never ever gave me a deal like this and I did not even ask for it or know about it in advance.

I am NOT a fanboy of any big business or corporation. I will criticize when needed and praise when deserved.

Thanks for the tip. They have no offices around here and friends say thier ATT reception is very spotty.
Previous to Verizon I had a USCellular hotspot device but they must have lost a contract on a tower because it stopped working and it wasn't the device.
 
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