Why Unlimited Cellular Data Has Many Limitations

The most common cell phone plans in the US - and certain parts of the world - are the unlimited data plans. It's like a nonstop, all-you-can-eat buffet albeit with certain caps after which 4G/5G speeds are throttled down to 2G/3G. Such unlimited cellular data plans may not only be unhealthy but also unfair as we'll illustrate here. Unhealthy because it can encourage excess screen time, when most smartphones started sharing screen time stats with their users to create awareness about such excessive screen time that has been linked to depression. And unfair because all subscribers have to pay the same price, regardless of how much they utilize the network.

(For further info about 5G, you may check our blog post 5G - hype vs. reality)

Looking at the US monthly cellular data usage across different age brackets as illustrated above, we noticed two groups with strikingly different consumption patterns:

1. Age 45 and younger (58% of Americans): consumes 4.1-4.8 GB/month
2. Age 46 and older (42% of Americans): consumes 2.6 GB/month

Both groups pay the same price for unlimited data though the first group (mostly millennials & generation Z) consumes 1.6-1.8x more than the second group (mostly baby boomers & generation X). This is exactly where unlimited proves to be unfair, and limited cellular data might be more economical for many. After all if you consume all your limited plan in a given month you can always top up!

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