Megabyte (MB) and Gigabyte (GB): what do those terms mean and how much data do they offer? The process of figuring out the details can cause quite the headache. That’s why we offer a variety of wireless data plans that best fit individual usage needs. Standard phone data plans have a variety of options ranging from megabytes to gigabytes – how do you pick the right data plan for your needs? Check out the infographic below for a breakdown what you can do with 1GB of data.
According to TechTarget.com, “A gigabyte (GB) is a measure of computer data storage capacity that is roughly equivalent to 1 billion bytes.” That leads to our next question: what is a byte? A byte is a unit of measurement used to measure data. For light smartphone Internet users, 1GB can be the perfect amount of data to view up to 5,000 web pages, send 20,000 emails, post 10,000 social media updates or listen to up to 30 hours of music. Watching an hour worth of videos per day could take up to 8GB of data in a month, so let’s think about an upgrade on data plans before watching the next season of Game of Thrones!
For Pay As You Go wireless users, the Internet will stop working when the customer’s data runs out. They will need to top-up or buy more data, simple as that. We recommend that you to look at your monthly data usage and pick a plan based on that amount. This information can be found on the monthly bill or by logging into an online account. Casually surfing the web should use about 100MB of data per month, but using a smartphone for heavy Internet browsing will most likely use over 1GB of data per month.
Our Advice
If you spend a lot of time using the Internet on your phone, hours of web surfing can go by in a blink of an eye and all your data could run out (if you are not monitoring carefully.) That’s why we recommend that you connect to Wi-Fi when possible. Using Wi-Fi, when it is available, will save your smartphone data usage for when you need it most! If you enjoy media entertainment such as playing videos, games or streaming music, staying connected to a strong Wi-Fi source is a strategic move to avoid using your data. This trick will help you stay within your monthly data limits, which will leave enough data on your phone to check emails, browse the web and use apps on the go.
As we stream into the wireless world, we’ll leave you with a few points to consider when buying data for your phone:
- Am I a light or heavy internet user?
- How much am I willing to spend on data per month?
- How many hours am I online?
Those are the some of the questions we should keep in mind when it comes to purchasing data. At TruConnect, we’ll always try to guide you in the right direction when choosing Pay As You Go plans.