Question about Wireless Internet Plans???

Hi all, I plan on getting a wireless internet plan once i get my laptop.I figure ill look into Verizon or At&t. My question is about the "monthly allowance" they offer. One plan from verizon is for 5gb a month it says the plan includes. (Data access for Internet browsing, email, or Intranet access)
Now my question is does normal surfing of the internet like reading the forums here,watching youtube videos or playing online games like wow count towards the 5gb?? Or does the 5gb count only towards downloads such getting some mp3's off itunes and sending emails with attachments??
Thanks for you time.

 

same diff. how does 'the man' know whether you are saving or simply viewing a web page? The data is still being transferred.

 

Data downloads are part of the 5GB. Surfing is free.

 

OK so viewing websites such as this one and playing online games = free and in the limits of the 5gb a month. And downloading/uploading anything like movies, mp3's and files count towards the 5gb a month??

 

Data transfer is data transfer; downloads and "surfing" are all the same and are part of the 5GB cap.

 

Ok so now im confused. So just surfing the internet costs you your 5gb limit a month?? That goes directly against Wirelessman's comment "Data downloads are part of the 5GB. Surfing is free."

 

Yes, it does. Data transfer is data transfer. How you get to 5GB is irrelevant. A ping of yahoo.com, getting your email, browsing this forum, downloading a new game, ..., they are all just data to the network and count towards your 5GB.

 

What about playing online games like wow? does that count towards it to ??

 

Every single thing online counts towards that limit. The service has absolutely no way of telling if you're playing WOW or watching ****.

I've been without internet (screw AT&T) for the last few days, and I average about 150 Mb/day according to my Sprint usage habits. This is without gaming, and with only 2-3 short videos a day. Mobile broadband is NOT a viable option if you play games, download music, or watch videos online.

 

Yea i just contacted verizon anything done online counts towards usage. Which in america or any country with internet is total bs. Are there any other options out there??

 

ohh and thanks for all the quick replies!!

 

Clearwire ..... ?

 

Im in Massachusetts dont think they offer service here

 

I would like to correct myself, the previous plan for $75/m was scaled the way I explained in my last post, but it looks like some smart people found the way to abuse it (hackers) and now any interaction with the network accounts for the 5GB. Now with 5GB you can ping CNN for about 2000 times, so in other words, this plan is mainly for people surfing, not for people downloading music, video, etc., you can do that at home.

 

Yea im gonna have to find another option i just have no idea what im outside the city so not many wifi spots here.

 

I know what you mean, when I'm at my dad's I'm forced to dial-up 28.8k max. Where at home I have 5/2mbps service. The cel phone works sometime depending on weather condition, as to whether I stay connected. I turn off all updates and anything that consume bandwidth.

 

T-mobile is unlimited internet usage for only $50 a month has anyone from massachusetts area used them before??

 

"Unlimited" isn't really unlimited. They still use a 5 GB soft-cap, meaning that if you go over 5 GB for 2 months, they'll terminate the contract.

 

Bahh figures wish i could do that for phone contracts !!!

 

T-Mobile has a 2.5 gen network, not a 3rd gen network so your real limitation is time; you simply cannot download as much in the same time period. Not a equal comparison.

 

The only things id really be doing away from home would be surfing and playing wow or warhammer not much of any downloading. Any ideas what playing a game ='s out to in usage terms?

 

If you play 27' per day, and that your data speed is 100Bps, then you would use about 5GB in a month (30 days).

 

Ohh i see well Verizon is "average download speeds of 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps and at average upload speeds of 500 Kbps – 800 Kbps." So that seems if i played a session of wow for 30 min id use my 5 gig in 1 session .

 

I used 800kbps for the calculations, which means 100kBps or 6MBpm. So, if you play for 30' per day, then you consume 6x30 = 180MB per day, now you have 5GB, so you can play for 5000/180 ~ 28 days, 30' a day.

Aren't you going back to school? No more games

 

Nope i'm done with school. So with your calculations 5gb a month would be enough to play 30 min a day for 28 days?? that should actually be enough usage for my needs then.It would not be every day maybe twice a week that i would be away from my house.

 

Good for you if you are done with school but don't play games while driving then

Yeah, I think you will be fine, just don't take a two years plan, take one year to try it, you can actually analyze the plan and its limitations while playing and post it here at NBR.

 

I will do that if possible thanks for everyones help to

 

You welcome.