You caught your husband rolling his eyes at you while you were taking an Instagram-worthy photo of the dinner you painstakingly cooked for the family.
He grumpily said, “I have a few important emails coming in. Go easy on the video streaming and Instagramming.”
Sounds like an all-too-common conversation at home?
So, how much data do you need?
How much data is 5GB of internet really? Do you really need that much? Do you need more?
Choosing a mobile plan for your family should not be just based on the monthly plan price. First, you need to know how much data you and your family need.
If you subscribe to a low mobile plan that is inadequate for you and your family, then it will be a very frustrating mobile experience for everyone, and can also cost more when your kids make a big enough fuss and you decide to buy additional data on the fly.
Here’s a guide on how much data you need according to your usage:
Image from Whistle Out
When searching for mobile plan for the family, it can be hard to know how much download allowance to go for, or how much you are likely to use. It can be tempting to go for the plan with the most amount of data. However, this may not be the best value for money if you and your family are unlikely to use it all.
In the example above, the usage for you and your partner is as follows:
| • Receiving and sending emails • Surfing the web • Social communication like WhatsApp and WeChat | • Streaming videos on YouTube • Uploading photos on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram • Communicating like WhatsApp and WeChat |
Based on the table from Whistle Out, it looks like this family needs more than 5GB to ensure a smooth mobile Internet experience.
How much would that cost?
With high data usage, usually comes a high mobile bill every month.
Finding the sweet spot between enough data and affordable mobile phone charges can be tricky. It is crucial to understand what you are being charged for, especially when you sign up for a family plan.
It’s more difficult to monitor the usage of other people, though you are the one footing the bill every month.
If you and your family members are data guzzlers, signing up for a high data plan would probably be your best option, but that will usually put a big dent in your pocket. To manage your mobile spending well, find out the components that are charged in your family mobile plan.
Figure out how much is the plan that is adequate for your family, and how much does each supplementary line cost. Compare mobile plans here to find out what are available.
Generally you want to look at the amount of data your family will end up using then work out whether how much voice or SMS is worth to you.
Here’s the formula of how to compare the best value plan for your family:
| Cost of Principal Line | |||
| Data | |||
| Cost of Supplementary Line | |||
| Total Supplementary Line | |||
| Total Monthly Bill | |||
| Monthly Cost of Each Line | = (RM188 + RM48 ) ÷ 2 lines = RM118.00 | = (RM135 + RM30) ÷ 2 lines = RM82.50 | = (RM70 + RM50) ÷ 2 lines = RM60.00 |
| Average Total Data Per Line | = 8GB ÷ 2 users = 4GB | = 10GB ÷ 2 users = 5GB | = 10GB ÷ 2 users = 5GB |
U Mobile offers better value for your money! |
|||
* Celcom comes with additional 500MB for each supplementary line.
Maxis: All lines enjoy unlimited talks and texts to all networks.
Celcom: 700 minutes + 700 SMS to all networks.
U Mobile: Unlimited calls to all networks
When comparing a family mobile plan, you need to consider more than just the cost of each supplementary line. In the case of U Mobile, though the supplementary line cost more than both Maxis and Celcom at RM50, the total cost for each line is still cheaper due to the lower cost for the principal line.
Other factors to consider are the amount of data you will get. In the three products above, it’s clear that both Celcom and U Mobile offer the highest amount of data, while Maxis only offers 8GB, for the first four months. After the initial four months, the free 1GB data will not be continued, and your data will resume to 7GB a month to be shared with all your supplementary lines.
By signing up for more data also gives you more room to add on more supplementary lines, if you need to. With the lower cost of RM60 and 5GB of data per line, U Mobile is the clear winner compared to other telcos.
What about the quality?
Of course, if the Internet is slow and the call quality is low, all the data in the world would have meant nothing.
Value is not just gauged by the price and the amount of data you get, but also the quality of the service you get. Use speed testing services like Ookla to test the speed of the Internet before you decide which mobile operator to go for.
Simply Googling internet service provider reviews would have shown speed tests done by other users. In fact, late last year, Ookla announced that U Mobile has the fastest mobile network in Malaysia.
Whether you are an avid YouTube streamer, or permanently hooked on GPS, you can be rest assured that with good quality Internet, you won’t be left in a lurch.
If you do not have a deep pocket to fund your family’s insatiable data usage, it pays to do a little homework and find out which telco offers the best value for your money. Don’t sacrifice a good mobile experience by choosing the lowest mobile plan to save a few bucks. Look further than your current telco and you may be surprised by what are out there. A few extra GB may just change your life!
