Google-fi phone plan

[Lobstah]

I briefly mentioned this in another thread, but thought maybe it might be of interest to a wider audience.

First, I am not affiliated with Google in any way, shape, or form. I don't even like google, but in some cases, one votes with one's wallet.

I used to maintain a "Family Plan" with Verizon for the Admiral's phone, and her brother's phone, who lives with us. The cost of the plan averaged about $180/mo. This was due mostly to the cost of the plan, meaning they are not heavy data users, and spend most of their time connected to the home wifi anyway.

About 6mos ago, I switched both of them over to Google Fi, which is Google's mobile phone service. It's actually a contractual "partnership" that Google has executed between Sprint, T-Mobile, and various WiFi providers. This means that a phone can be connected/serviced by any of those mechanisms. In spite of my skepticism, this truely does live up to their claim of working "seamlessly". My wife can start a call in our home, which is automatically placed over wifi, walk out to the car, drive downtown, and the phone will switch (if it needs to) between wifi, Sprint, and T-mobile, all during the call, with zero interruption. Pretty slick.

Pros of the plan are:
No contract...$20 for the "line", and you pay for actual data usage at the rate of $10/Gb. So if you use 2.1Gb of data, your bill would be $20 + $21, or $41 for the month. If during the next month you use .7Gb of data, your bill would be $27.

Cons:
You MUST purchase a Google phone, so no BYOD, unless you already own a Nexus or other qualifying phone. You can purchase a certified refurbished Nexus 6 from amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Unl...e=UTF8&qid=1476967957&sr=1-2&keywords=nexus+6

The two phones now run between $45-$50/mo, TOTAL...so saving about $140/mo over previous Verizon plan.

They recently introduced "family plan", which allows you to have more than one line/account. Extra lines are $15/mo, instead of the $20/mo to have a separate account.

The Admiral has been exceptionally pleases with the service and performance of both the phone and the plan, which is no mean feat









My phone (Galaxy Note 4) is on my company's plan, so doesn't participate

 

[CaptTom]

Thanks! I'd heard about that and was hoping for some first-hand experience.

We use AT&T (via Straight Talk) now. Do you know if they're in on this? I know they share the same technology as T-Mobile, so would I get the same LTE coverage I get now?

 

[stubones99]

No, AT&T is not a partner to Google's Project Fi phones, nor is Verizon. A friend has been using it since I told him about it (beta user) and is happy with both the service and price paid for the service.

The nice thing is that any data you don't use, you don't pay for. So you don't have roll-over plans and such. Just use what you need and pay for what you use.

I wish AT&T or Verizon was a partner, but that has not happened.

The other benefit I heard about Project Fi is that it is portable across 120 countries without roaming fees. Name one other cell plan that does that, inexpensively...

 

[Lobstah]

"The other benefit I heard about Project Fi is that it is portable across 120 countries without roaming fees. Name one other cell plan that does that, inexpensively..."

A friend of ours frequently crews on the Picton Castle:
The Real Tall-Ship Learning Adventure
and has sailed on her around the world. He loves Google-fi for exactly the above reasons, and vouches for their international support.