Each of the biggest U.S. carriers has its own overage policies, and it’s pretty much a case of pick your poison.

The sole exception: Sprint, the last of the big four U.S. carriers to offer unlimited (well, more or less—more on that in a moment) 3G and 4G smartphone data.

AT&T
If you’re signed up for one of AT&T’s cheaper plans, such as the $15-a-month, 200MB Data Pro plan (which is on the way out, at least as far as new subscribers are concerned) or the upcoming, $20/month 300MB Data Plus option, AT&T will charge you for another month’s worth of data if you exceed your standard monthly allowance.

In other words, if you’re on the $15-a-month 200MB Data Pro plan and you use 201MB of data in a single billing cycle, you’ll see a $30 data charge—the standard $15 fee, plus $15 in overage—on your bill.

For AT&T’s pricier plans, including the $25 2GB Data Pro plan (which, like the old 200MB Data Pro plan, won’t be available to new customers as of January 22), or the new 3GB or 5G options (for $30 and $50 a month, respectively), expect to pay $10 for each additional GB of data you use above and beyond your monthly data cap.

Related: Smartphone data plans compared: Bargain plans becoming more and more scarce

Sprint
It may be the last bastion of unlimited 3G and 4G smartphone data among the big four U.S. carriers, but that doesn’t mean Sprint will let you go nuts with downloads on your iPhone or Android handset.

Like most carriers (such as AT&T, for example), Sprint has a clause in its wireless service agreements that gives it the option of throttling or even cutting off bandwidth hogs who “generate excessive amounts of Internet traffic.” It’s worth noting, though, that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse claims that “98-99 percent” of users will never run afoul of the carrier’s “terms and conditions.”

T-Mobile
The old “Get More” labels several of its smartphone 3G and 4G plans as “unlimited,” and they are … sort of.

Subscribers to T-Mobile’s Unlimited Plus (2GB of “high speed” data for $20 a month), Premium (5GB for $30 a month), and Ultra (10GB for $60/month) smartphone data plans can, indeed, surf as much as they like without fear of paying any overage charges.

But the devil’s in the details—and in this case, the key detail is “high speed” data.

If you’re a T-Mobile unlimited data user and you exceed your monthly allowance, you can kiss your speedy 3G or 4G data goodbye, as the carrier will “throttle” your data speed to 2G levels (think dial up-modem speed) for the rest of your billing cycle.

On the other hand, T-Mobile’s dirt-cheap, “Simple” plan, which offers 200MB of data a month for a mere $10 a month, isn’t an unlimited plan at all; instead, expect to pay 10 cents for every extra megabyte you use—or roughly double the rate of your initial 200MB data allowance.

Verizon Wireless
The biggest wireless carrier in the U.S. has one rule when it comes to data overages: $10 for every extra GB of data over your monthly limit, period.

Have more questions about your smartphone bill? Let me know!

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And while pricier 3G and 4G data plans do—on paper, anyway—offer more bang for your wireless buck, chances are you’re not using enough mobile data to reap any real benefit.

First, some news. As of Sunday, January 22, AT&T is scratching its $15-a-month, 200MB “Data Plus” plan from its list of options for new customers. (If you’re currently signed up for AT&T’s 200MB Data Plus plan, don’t worry—you can keep it, at least for the time being.)

That leaves T-Mobile as the sole, nationwide U.S. carrier with a sub-$20 monthly data plan for smartphones.

For $10 a month, you can sign up for T-Mobile’s “Simple” data plan, which offers 200MB of data per month.

(Note: T-Mobile’s big U.S. competitors also offer cheaper data plans for as little as $10, but only for so-called “feature” phones, not smartphones.)

The next cheapest smartphone data option for new customers is AT&T’s new Data Plus 300MB plan, which serves up 300MB for $20 a month.

After that, the smartphone plans from the biggest U.S. carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless go up and up.

Verizon’s cheapest smartphone data plan, for example, goes for $30 a month for 2GB, while Sprint—the last big U.S. carrier with a truly unlimited data plan for smartphones—offers nothing but unlimited data bundles, starting at $80 a month (including a $10-a-month “premium data” fee) for all-you-can-eat data, 450 voice minutes, and unlimited text messages.

Click chart to expand

Of course, the pricier the data plan, the more bang you get for your wireless buck—well, theoretically, anyway.

Related: How big is a GB, anyway?

Indeed, one of the worst values among the smartphone data plans in my little survey is among the cheapest: AT&T’s soon-to-expire, $15-a-month Data Plus 200MB, which comes out to a relatively hefty 7.5 cents per megabyte.

AT&T’s new Data Plus 300MB plan offers a slightly better value at 6.6 cents a MB, but that’s more than a cent and a half per megabyte higher than T-Mobile’s competing $10-a-month, 200MB “Simple” data plan.

And the more you spend, the better the value. AT&T’s Data Pro 5GB plan offers 5GB of monthly data, plus the ability to use your smartphone as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot (more on that in a moment), for $50—or a cent per megabyte.

Up the ante even more, and the value gets better. Take Verizon’s $80-a-month 10GB data bundle, which comes out to 0.8 cents a megabyte, or T-Mobile’s “Unlimited Ultra” plan, which delivers 10GB of “high speed” data for $60 a month, or just 0.6 cents per MB.

But here’s the thing: getting great value per MB on a 10GB, 5GB, or even 2GB monthly data plan doesn’t mean much if you’re not using all your monthly data.

And according to a Consumer Reports survey from last summer, most of us don’t even come close.

Related: Which data plan should I get for my iPhone?

In fact, the survey found that the average smartphone user on AT&T consumed only about 360 MB of data a month. And when considering only “median” smartphone data use (or the largest group of users in the middle of the range), the figure for monthly AT&T data usage fell to a mere 120 MB, well shy of the 3GB data cap on AT&T’s new $30-a-month, 3GB Data Pro plan.

That’s why it’s worth checking your monthly bill or calling your carrier to see just how much data you’re using on your smartphone each month.

Are you using less than 300MB or 200MB of wireless data a month? If so, you might be better off with a cheaper data plan, even if it doesn’t offer the same value per MB as a pricier option. And if you’re using 2GB or more data a month, then hey—time to cash in on the values offered by pricier data plans.

The good news is that most carriers will let you change your monthly data plan even if you’re still under contract; the bad news, though, is that you might not have many bargain options, particularly if you’ve signed up with Sprint or Verizon.

There’s yet another key variable to consider when it comes to picking a smartphone plan: overage charges, which you can read about right here.

Got smartphone questions? Post ’em below!

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Hello Georgia! When it comes to cell phones, “4G” stands for fourth-generation cellular networks. What’s so special about 4G networks, you ask? One word: speed.

We’re talking fast enough to stream video in HD, download music in a flash, and surf the web at cable-modem speed—well, as long as you have a 4G-capable phone, and assuming you’re in range of a 4G signal.

All of the Big Four carriers now offer 4G networks of one kind or another. Verizon Wireless launched its 4G LTE (short for “Long Term Evolution”) network in late 2010, while AT&T pulled the switch on its first local LTE markets in September 2011.

Need for speed

Sprint, meanwhile, initially based its 4G service based on another technology called WiMax (which is an offshoot of the same Wi-Fi technology used in home wireless routers); however, it has since changed course and gone the LTE way, following in the footsteps of AT&T and Verizon.

Last but not least, T-Mobile is sticking with HSPA+, an enhanced version of existing 3G cellular networks that offers 4G data speeds.

So, that’s 4G in a nutshell. But what about 3G, 2G, and even 1G cellular networks? Well, cast your mind back about 25 years or so, to the days when mobile phones were the size of barbells and cellular networks had yet to make the leap to digital.

Indeed, first-generation cellular networks did one thing, and one thing only: voice calls. You couldn’t surf the web—heck, the web hadn’t even been invented yet—much less stream video or download music. You couldn’t even send a text message. And conference calls? Forget it.

Voice calls, with a (small) side of data

But by the early 1990’s, digital cellular networks had finally arrived on the scene. These 2G networks—including both CDMA (short for “Code Division Multiple Access”) and GSM (“Global System for Mobile Communications”)—could handle both voice calls and a few modest data features, such as conference calls, caller ID, and yes, text messages.

As the 90’s drew to a close, 2G and 2.5G networks gradually added more powerful data features, including the ability to download games, ringtones and even surf the (still blossoming) blossoming World Wide Web, albeit at speeds no faster than yesterday’s dial-up modems.

Starting in the early 2000’s, third-generation cellular networks began to emerge, with most of the big U.S. carriers jumping on the 3G bandwagon by the middle of the decade.

Getting up to speed, at last

Offering data speeds four or five time as fast as their 2G counterparts, 3G networks finally made possible the features that most of us expect from a modern cell phone: speedy web browsing, downloadable music, and streaming (if sometimes choppy) video.

Which brings us back to 4G, which delivers data speeds so fast that you just might forget you’re using a cellular network.

Your mileage will vary depending on the network and your location, of course; in my recent tests with the 4G-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab on Verizon Wireless, though, I was astounded to see data speeds that rivaled those of my home cable modem.

Needless to say, you should expect to pay up for all that 4G goodness, particularly if you exceed your carrier’s monthly data allowance; you can read up about that right here.

Still confused? I don’t blame you. Don’t be afraid to ask more questions in the comments below, or e-mail me directly.

Note: This post was updated and revised in August 2012 to reflect new developments in the 4G arena.

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Unless you’re on Sprint, there’s a good chance your cell phone carrier has you on a short leash when it comes to speedy wireless data.

Indeed, most carriers now limit, or “cap,” their 3G and 4G data plans at levels ranging from 200 MB to 10 GB a month, and they’ll charge you extra if your creep over your monthly limit. (Not sure how big a megabyte or a gigabyte is? Click here for help.)

But here’s the thing: according to a recent Consumer Reports survey, you might actually be using a lot less smartphone data than you think—and that means you may be paying more on your data plan than you need to be.

Indeed, the survey found that the average smartphone user on, say, AT&T, used only about 360 MB of data a month—a figure that’s skewed by a “small percentage” of data hogs downloading huge amounts of data onto their phones.

When considering only “median” smartphone data use (that is, the largest group of users smack in the middle of the range), the figure for monthly AT&T data usage falls to a mere 120 MB.

That means the typical AT&T subscriber could safely downgrade to the carrier’s $15, 200 MB-a-month “DataPlus” plan with room to spare.

The median Verizon Wireless smartphone user consumed slightly more data than those on AT&T—think 158 MB a month rather than 120 MB, according to Consumer Reports. Meanwhile, median data use on T-Mobile was a mere 48 MB a month.

Surprised? I certainly was, although I figured that my own smartphone data use was probably somewhat above the mean.

Well … turned out I was only half-right. Logging into my account over the AT&T web site, I found that I’d used less than 100 MB of data a month for February and March, and just a little more than 200 MB each in April and May. In June, my iPhone 3G data use slipped to about 150 MB, although it skyrocketed to a whopping 923 MB in July—but only because I’d been performing a little 3G battery-drain test.

So, what does all this mean to you? Well, consider checking with your carrier to see how much wireless data you’re really using each month. You can log into your account online, or just call and check with customer service.

Once you’ve figured out how much data you’re using each month, check out your carrier’s data-plan options.

Using less than 200 MB of data a month? Maybe you should switch to a cheaper 200 MB smartphone plan, provided your carrier offers one. (AT&T and T-Mobile do, for $15 and $10 a month, respectively; Sprint and Verizon don’t; check out this post for more details.)

Source: Consumer Reports

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Hi Diane! Great question. Let’s tackle the last question first: why you need a 3G data plan for your iPhone.

Wireless data is essential for mobile activities like sending and receiving email, browsing the web on the iPhone’s Safari web browser, streaming YouTube videos, and shopping online.

Now, your iPhone has a Wi-Fi receiver that will connect to a home, office, or public Wi-Fi router—and when it’s connected via Wi-Fi, your iPhone can send email, surf, and stream videos without cellular data from AT&T.

But when there’s no Wi-Fi around, your iPhone depends on cellular data networks to do anything online. No wireless data, no Internet.

OK, so what’s a 3G network, then? “3G” refers to so-called third-generation cellular data networks, which the big carriers (like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile) began rolling out about six or seven years ago.

What’s so special about 3G networks? They’re fast—or at least they are compared to older 2G networks, which are only about as speedy (or pokey, take your pick) as an old-style dial-up network. 3G networks, on the other hand, can download data to your phone several times faster than 2G networks can, while budding 4G networks promise to leave even 3G networks in the dust. (For now, the iPhone 4 only supports 3G data networks.)

So, there’s a little background for you. Now, on to the next question: which 3G data plan should you pick?

On your carrier, AT&T, you have two main choices: 2 GB (short for “gigabyte”) of 3G data for $25 a month, or 200 MB (megabytes) for $15 a month. (Incidentally, Verizon Wireless offers a $30/month unlimited 3G plan for the iPhone, but all indications are that Verizon will soon toss its unlimited plan in favor of metered options similar to those on AT&T.)

AT&T's online data calculator can help you decide which of the carrier's 3G data plans to pick.

Alright, so how much is 2 GB of data versus 200 MB?

Well, for starters, one gigabyte equals roughly 1,000 megabytes (or 1,024 MB, to be precise), while a MB contains 1,024 kilobytes—details to keep in mind as we consider how much data various online activities consume.

For example: A single, text-only email, for example, averages about 20 kilobytes—meaning you could send and receive more than 5,000 attachment-free email messages each month using the AT&T’s cheaper, 200 MB DataPlus plan.

Not bad, but don’t forget that large email attachments, like photos and PDFs, will add to your monthly total. You’ll also probably want to browse some web pages, too—and at about 200 KB each (depending on the page, of course), you could exceed the monthly limit for the DataPlus package after 600 pages, or 20 webpages a day.

Are you planning on streaming music or video on your iPhone—using, say, mobile apps like Pandora, YouTube, or Netflix? If so, expect to burn through about 500 KB a minute for streaming music, or about 5 MB for every song you download from iTunes. Streaming a two-hour movie on your iPhone over Netflix, meanwhile, could consume close to a gigabyte of data—or about half the monthly allotment for the 2 GB, $25-a-month DataPro plan.

So, how much 3G data might you consume in a month? One handy way to predict your monthly usage is AT&T’s data usage calculator, which lets you adjust a series of sliders depending on how much email, web pages, music, and video you plan on downloading.

As a rule of thumb, though, I tend to tell people who only want to send email and browse the web on their iPhones to go with the 200 MB, $15-a-month DataPlus plan. (Keep in mind that any data you use while connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot won’t count against your monthly 3G allowance.)

If you want to stream music or movies, you’re better off opting for the 2 GB DataPro plan for $25 a month.

OK, but what happens if you sign up for the DataPlus plan and exceed your monthly allowance? Nothing too horrible: you’ll have to pay $15 for another 200 MB bucket of mobile data. Subscribers of the pricier 5GB DataPro plan, meanwhile, will pay an extra $10 for each additional gigabyte over their 2 GB monthly allowance.

Also, remember that you can always change your plan at will, so you could conceivably start with the $15/month DataPlus plan and then move up to the DataPro option if you end up needing more monthly data.

So, Diane … that’s a lot of information, I know, but I hope it helped. Have more questions? Let me know!

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The big winner? Verizon Wireless and its speedy new 4G LTE network, which more or less smoked the competition with average download speeds more than twice as fast as T-Mobile, its nearest competitor.

Verizon’s 4G network also took the gold in all four of the biggest regions of the country, although AT&T sneaked ahead of Verizon in rural areas, according to the survey.

Impressive, but Verizon Wireless’ slower 3G data network slipped into the middle of the pack in PC Magazine’s nationwide results, bested by both AT&T and T-Mobile (which, by the way, have both been calling their networks “4G,” although there’s still much debate over what exactly constitutes a next-generation 4G network).

Make sure to check out PC Magazine for more detailed results and a city-by-city breakdown.

Source: PC Magazine

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Update [7/5/11]: Verizon just confirmed the leaked details of its new data plans to FierceWireless. Also: See how Verizon’s tiered smartphone plans compare to the data offerings of the other big three U.S. carriers.

When is Verizon’s 3G unlimited data plan going away?
For now, all we know for sure is that Verizon Wireless will “move to a more usage based model”—meaning plans that are capped at a certain level—in July. But a series of leaked, official-looking documents (discovered by phone blog Android Central) peg July 7 as the day when Verizon’s unlimited, $30-a-month data plan is going away.

I have the Verizon iPhone with an unlimited 3G data plan; do I have to change plans now?
If you’re in the middle of a service contract with Verizon and you signed up for unlimited smartphone data, relax; your unlimited plan will most likely be grandfathered in. There’s also word that you might be able to keep your unlimited data even when upgrading to a new phone, although again … we’re still waiting for official confirmation on that.

What about if you’re buying a phone from Verizon for the first time?
If you’re a new Verizon customer, you’ll most likely have to choose a metered plan—in other words, no unlimited for you … unless you act fast, of course.

How much will the new plans cost?
According to the leaked documents, we could be talking:

• 2 GB for $30/month
• 5 GB for $50/month
• 10 GB for $80/month

Each of those plans reportedly includes an overage fee of $10 for every extra gigabyte—although again, none of this is official yet.

Um, isn’t that more than what AT&T charges for data?
Yes, indeed. AT&T currently charges just $25 a month for 2 GB of data under its “DataPro” plan, while a cheaper 200MB plan goes for $15 a month.

Are these new “capped” data plans only for the iPhone?
In all likelihood, they’ll apply to any and all of Verizon’s smartphones, including Android phones and BlackBerrys.

OK, so which of these new data plans should I pick?
That depends how much data you use in general, naturally. Those who regularly surf, exchange email, and watch the occasional Netflix instant video should be fine with the 2 GB/month plan, and you’ll surely be able to bump up a level if you need to. Also, Verizon has a data calculator to help you guesstimate your typical monthly data usage.

I have a one of those “feature” phones from Verizon—you, know, a phone that isn’t quite a smartphone. Same deal with the capped data plans?
Yes, although the leaked documents also include a pair of additional, cheaper options for feature-phone users: 75 MB for $10 a month, or a straight $1.99 per megabyte.

Do the new plans also apply to the new phones on Verizon’s ultra-fast 4G LTE network?
It appears so, yes.

I like using my Android phone on Verizon as a mobile Wi-Fi “hotspot,” and for now, that costs me an extra $20 a month for 2 GB of hotspot data. Will that plan stay the same?
Unfortunately, it looks like the fee for mobile hotspot data will be rising to $30 a month for 2 GB of data. Let’s hope Verizon changes its mind before revealing its official pricing plans.

Any idea on when Verizon will go public with its new data plans?
Given that a Verizon spokesperson confirmed that data changes are coming next month, I’d imagine we’ll hear some news any day now. Stay tuned.

Wait, I still have more questions?
No problem; post ’em below, or send me an email.

Source: Android Central

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Verizon Wireless has yet to confirm the details in the Droid Life story, although a spokesperson told All Things Digital that the carrier will “move to a more usage based model”—i.e., tiered data plans—”in July.”

Verizon’s new tiered plans will launch on July 7, according to Droid Life’s sources, and subscribers will get to choose from the following options: 2 GB for $30 a month (the same price as Verizon’s current unlimited 3G data plan), 5 GB for $50 a month, or 10 GB for $80 a month.

Those tiered data plans—if they turn out to be real—would be about $5 a month more than AT&T’s menu of data options (which includes a budget 200 MB plan for $15/month, along with 2GB for $25 a month and 4GB for $45/month).

The rumored Verizon data plans would be for both 3G and 4G smartphones, according to Droid Life, which adds that anyone subscribed to Verizon’s current (and apparently endangered) unlimited 3G data plan would likely get to keep it under their existing service agreement.

here’s the thing: If you want unlimited 3G data on a new Verizon smartphone, it looks like you’d better get cracking.

Sources: Droid Life, All Things Digital

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Asked that very question during the All Things D tech conference Thursday, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega readily—and surprisingly—agreed, then went a step further and revealed (according to All Things D’s transcript of the talk) that “we’re working on one.”

And, as people carry more and more devices “you may want a shared plan,” [de la Vega] said. “We’re working on one.”
How soon?
“It will be soon. I can’t comment on a quarter (when it will launch) but it will be soon.”

The idea of a shared data plan is similar to one floated by Verizon Wireless execs last month—except Verizon seems to be mulling a plan that would allow subscribers to share data with other family members, rather than among their various devices. (Then again, it’s always possible that Verizon would allow users to share data with both their family and all their 3G- and 4G-enabled gizmos.)

here’s the thing: Allowing us subscribers to use a single bucket of data for our smartphones, tablets, and laptops rather than ponying up separate $25 plans for each data-enabled mobile gadget should be a no-brainer—and besides, the more data their subscribers use, the more wireless carriers stand to profit. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Source: All Things D

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Meet the HTC Sensation 4G, a new Android superphone that’s slated to arrive on T-Mobile later this month.

I haven’t had a chance to check out the Sensation ($199 with a new two-year contract, and after a $50 mail-in rebate) in person just yet, but the specifications sound impressive.

First, the screen: we’re talking a whopping 4.3 inches diagonally with an ultra-dense, 960-by-540 resolution. That makes the Sensation’s screen a tad smaller than the huge 4.5-inch display on the recent Samsung Infuse 4G (check out my review); on the other hand, the Sensation’s ultra-dense pixel count bests the OK-but-not-amazing 800-by-480 screen resolution on the Samsung phone.

The Sensation also comes with an impressive arsenal of optics, including an 8-megapixel camera, a dual LED flash (nice), auto focus, and 1080p-quality video recording, not to mention a front-facing camera for video chat.

Under the hood, we’ve got the latest version of Android (2.3 “Gingerbread,” which boasts support for Flash videos, a revamped virtual keypad and a spruced-up user interface) as well as the hottest thing in high-end smartphones this year: a dual-core processor, which makes the Sensation more adept at handling multiple tasks simultaneously. (“Two heads are better than one” is a good way of thinking about it.)

Last but not least, the Sensation connects to T-Mobile’s 4G “HSPA+” network, which the carrier is touting as its answer to Verizon’s high-speed, 4G LTE network.

here’s the thing: On paper, at least, the HTC Sensation 4G makes for a worthy competitor to such high-end Android handsets as the dual-core Motorola Atrix 4G, although its top-of-the-line components may be overkill for casual users. Stay tuned for a proper review once I get my hands on a test unit.

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