Unlimited Cell data for working on the road.

Date:
Wed, 02 Mar 2022 18:17:10 GMT

Description:
I've tried a lot of cellular data services... Visible is the best one so far.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

I dont normally endorse services. I am extremely picky, and nearly every service (of any kind) makes me grumpy.

Especially Cell Phone data services.

I mean yuck. All cell phone services stink. Gag me with a spoon. Grody to the max .

And it seems like nearly every service out there has hard limits on how much data you can transfer with your cell phone (which is dumb). Half of them
dont allow any tethering (or turning your phone into a hotspot) and the ones that do typically limit you to some sort of ridiculously low bandwidth cap (also dumb). They give you just enough data to stream one TV show (or download one .ISO) before the darn thing cuts off until the next month.

For a guy that spends so much time on the road often in places without a
WiFi hotspot to use I need good cell data! A data plan that cuts off after
1 gig (or even 10 gig) just aint gonna cut it!

Then I found Visible . And oooooh, baby! am I a happy camper.

Note: I have no relationship with Visible in any way. Simply am a happy customer and wanted to share my experience.

Heres the skinny:

$40 / month. No contract. Unlimited data.

I wont talk much about the voice services. Those work. But I dont honestly use them all that much. Im here for the data.

The data service is based on the Verizon network. So if you have good
Verizon coverage where you are, youll be all set. If you dont, youre out of luck.

Heres the kicker, the data appears to be truly unlimited. No monthly usage cap.

Technically, Visible states that they may throttle speeds during peak usage times but Ive never actually experienced this despite using a fairly massive amount of data on a daily basis.

Heres a screenshot from the download SpeedTest on my iPhone just now:

60 Mbps down. Not too shabby. Ive seen speeds as high as 120 Mbps though it tends to average between 50 and 70 Mbps when used directly on the phone. At least in my current location.

If theres strong 5G in an area, the speed is crazy good. If theres only a weak 4G signal the speed is sluggish. Luckily most areas I go tend to have
at least a strong 4G signal. Ive only experienced slow speeds and high ping times twice. And each time was in very rural areas (one was in a national park).

Upload speeds certainly arent quite as high, but still very usable for most things.

That 14 Mbps is about average for me. Ive seen a bit higher, and a bit lower but usually right around the 15 Mbps range. Enough to live stream some
video, do a video call, or get decent uploads.

And, again, all of that is unlimited. No caps. I can move bits up and down all day long.

But heres the thing that really makes the Visible service a big deal for me I can turn my phone into a wifi hotspot with absolutely no data cap. Which means I can use Visible (via my phone) as my laptop internet connection all day long.

The only downside is the speed is limited to just a hair over 5 Mbps. Not a deal-breaker for me, but worth noting.

Heres a screenshot from SpeedTest run on my laptop, connected to the hotspot on that same iPhone.

The ping times, for me, tend to be between 60 ms and 80 ms. Actual download and upload speeds can get as high as 6 Mpbs but consistently just a hair
above 5.

Ive found this to be sufficient to stream HD video. Ive used this with my laptop, my Roku Stick, my 3DS, and multiple other devices. Works like a charm.

While I would love to be able to use the hotspot functionality without the 5 Mbps speed limit Ill take it. Its certainly preferable to the total data usage caps that most cell phone services impose.

For $40 buckazoids per month, its a pretty good deal. Many of the providers out there charge more than that for services with lower speeds and hard data caps. This is, without question, the best speed / reliability / value Ive found so far.

Plus, theres no contracts. Its all month to month. Which meant I was able
to try it out without fear of getting locked in. If you sign up with
referral from a friend you can get the first month for $5 (that link also saves me a few bucks on service). Which you know I like cheap. So that
works for me.

All in all, pretty great for cell data service. Actual unlimited at a cheap price is a pretty big deal.

If you have fiber internet at home, this certainly isnt going to replace it (though the download speeds can actually come kinda close). But, if youre a highly mobile person like me this really is a life saver.

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Link to news story: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/unlimited-cell-data-for-working-on


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