How Much GB is Unlimited Data? The Truth for Gamers & Streamers
When shopping for phone plans, "unlimited data" options seem to promise endless high-speed access to support even the most data-hungry gaming, streaming and surfing needs. But how much data do these plans really provide before your speeds get throttled? As a gamer and streaming content creator, getting the right data plan is essential for my work and passion. In this ultimate guide, I‘ll reveal how much GB unlimited data plans actually give you, help you avoid throttling pitfalls, and recommend the best options for gamers and streamers based on my industry expertise…
What is Unlimited Data Throttling?
The crucial thing to understand about "unlimited" data plans across Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and other major carriers is that unlimited refers to data access, NOT unlimited high-speed data.
These plans do provide completely unlimited access to cellular data all month long. However, after you exceed a predefined high-speed data cap or "threshold", carriers reserve the right to slow (throttle) your connection speeds for the rest of the billing cycle.
For example, Verizon‘s "unlimited" data plan provides unlimited data access every month, but high-speed 4G LTE data is only available up to 50GB. Once you pass 50GB of usage, Verizon may throttle your connection down to extremely slow 2G data speeds of around 128kbps for the remainder of the month.
This practice prevents congestion from excessive usage of network resources by a small subset of customers. Next, let‘s break down the major carriers‘ stated throttling policies and data caps…
Unlimited Data Plan Throttling Policies
| Carrier | 4G LTE Data Threshold | Throttled Speed After Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon | 50GB | 128kbps |
| AT&T | 22GB | 128kbps |
| T-Mobile | 50GB | 128kbps |
| Sprint | 50GB | 128kbps |
As you can see, Verizon and T-Mobile currently offer the highest premium data thresholds at 50GB for their unlimited customers. AT&T provides significantly less high-speed data before throttling at only 22GB. Testing confirms that streaming video quality, gaming responsiveness and overall user experience degrade enormously once throttled speeds kick in.
Verdict: If staying under throttling limits is your top priority in 2024, Verizon and T-Mobile‘s 50GB unlimited data plans are superior choices for avoiding slowdowns.
Average Monthly Cellular Data Consumption
Next let‘s examine some research on how much cellular data the average user actually consumes each month on activities like web surfing, gaming, navigation, video and music streaming:
Statistics courtesy of CableTV.com
We can see that the average iPhone user consumes around 5GB monthly, while Android users gobble closer to 9GB. But these figures pale in comparison to major Gamers and video Streamers.
Gamers: Competitive and professional esports gamers demand low-latency, high bandwidth connections to excel. Mobile legends can easily exceed 100GB per month or more while training for tournaments, downloading new titles, live streaming matches to fans, and staying sharp during travel.
Streamers: Viewers expect an uninterrupted high-quality experience while watching their favorite streamers and creators online. It takes roughly 1GB to stream 1 hour of HD 1080p video. A full-time Twitch or Youtube streamer broadcasting 6-8 hours daily would burn over 200GB per month!
Clearly average data usage pales in comparison to the demands of gamers and streamers. Unlimited data can seem essential… but are these plans truly the best fit next?
Are Unlimited Data Plans Right for Gamers & Streamers?
Unlimited data allows peace of mind that you‘ll never face overage fees or get cut off entirely mid-battle or stream. But as discussed above, unlimited plans do throttle speeds after a relatively low usage threshold. I‘ll compare pros and cons versus tiered data alternatives:
Unlimited Data Plan Pros
- Don‘t worry about surprise overages if usage spikes in a given month
- Unlimited hotspot/tethering data (usually)
- Often the same monthly price regardless of usage
Unlimited Data Plan Cons
- Speeds throttled after 22-50GB depending on carrier
- Typically more expensive monthly fees than tiered options
- Network congestion can further slow speeds for all users
Tiered Data Plan Pros
- No throttling lets you fully utilize network‘s available speeds
- Usually cheaper monthly fees for 6GB+ plans
- Mix and match shared data across devices as needed
Tiered Data Plan Cons
- Surprise overage charges if you exceed monthly allowance
- Managing shared bucket across devices takes more effort
Final Recommendations: Gamers & Streamers
Given their extreme data demands, most streamers and professional gamers will blow past their carrier‘s "unlimited" data cap fairly quickly into the month – immediately throttling their upload speeds and quality for viewers. This is unacceptable.
Instead, I generally recommend gamers and streamers jump to higher tiered "shared" data buckets between 30-100GB per month. With no throttling you‘ll enjoy full LTE speeds providing the reliable, low latency connectivity esports and audiences demand. Overage charges are unlikely given sufficient data allocation and connected WiFi supplementation wherever possible. Monitoring usage does becomes more essential however.
Casual gamers with moderate 5-15GB monthly usage may find unlimited plans provide peace of mind for their needs. But remember to check your carrier‘s throttling policies first.
I hope this guide has helped unlock the truth around how much usable high speed data "unlimited" plans really offer for your unique needs as gamers, streamers and power users. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!
