Google's Project Fi gains 'unlimited' data plan with Bill Protection
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Google's Project Fi service is designed for those who would rather not pay a flat monthly fee for wireless service. Instead, users are only charged for the data they use. Starting at $20 per month for unlimited talk and text, plus $10 per gigabyte, those who rarely use data can save a lot of money.
Where Project Fi lost some of its appeal was with users who use a lot of data. At $10 for every gigabyte of use, a bill can quickly skyrocket.
With Bill Protection, Project Fi is capping every user's bill at $80 per month regardless of how much data is used. Users will still pay $20 per month for unlimited talk and text and $10 per gigabyte of data. But instead of letting that number climb, Google caps it at $60, or the normal charge for 6GB of data.
Users can continue to use data up to 15GB in a month at full speed, free of any restrictions. Google notes only 1 percent of its users currently use 15GB in a month, but that's likely to change.
Once the user goes above 15GB of data use, Project Fi will reduce the users speed to 256kbps. The user can either ditch the reduced speeds, paying for each gigabyte as they go, or they can wait until the next billing cycle for full speeds to return.
Project Fi isn't getting rid of its pay for what you use approach for those who use under 6GB, but merely capping the maximum amount you will be charged each month. So, if one month you max out, and the next you only use 3.5GB, you're bill will reflect the different amounts used and save you some money.
Project Fi subscribers don't have to do anything to enable Bill Protection. The new feature starts rolling out today and should appear during your next billing cycle.
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