In April 2015, Google surprised the world by launching a cell phone carrier, something which is very different from its search engine core business. Google Fi, which was originally launched as Project Fi, brought another semi-competitor to established carriers such as T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.
Since Google is mainly a search engine/web company and does not have any cell phone tower, how are they able to provide service to cell phone customers? The answer is not that complicated once you know.
Google Fi: How does it work?
The first obvious observation is that Google does own any telecommunication tower. Because of this, Google Fi is not a traditional carrier like Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T. Google Fi is what it’s called a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in telecommunication.
What this means is that Google buys network capacity from T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Three (UK) and resells it to their Google Fi customers.
Google Fi plan cost
Google Fi currently offers three different plans based on your data consumption. These plans are Simply Unlimited, Unlimited Plus, and Flexible.
Simply Unlimited
The Simply Unlimited plan is the cheapest unlimited plan from Google Fi. This plan starts at $50 per line and it’s greatly reduced as you add more lines. For $50, you’ll get 35GB of fast data and 5GB of personal hotspot. You’ll need to pay an additional $10 per GB if you’d like to have more fast data.
Unlimited Plus
The Unlimited Plus is a little bit better. For $65 per month, you’ll get 50GB of fast data. Where this plan greatly differentiates from the Simply Unlimited plans is that it offers unlimited personal hotspot usage, not just 5GB.
Flexible
As for the Flexible plan, this plan is very different from Google’s Fi other two plans. In this plan, as its name suggests, you’ll pay as you consume. The plan charges $20 per line and $10 for each GB you use.
Is Google Fi worth it?
Google Fi does not have any significant advantages compared to traditional carriers. Additionally, MVNOs are known for having worse download speeds than the real carrier. As a test conducted by Tutela, the average download speeds of MVNOs are 23 percent slower than the regular carriers.
To make it even worse, Google does not have a steady reputation when it comes to customer service. It will be very difficult to get a live representative if you have an issue with your Google Fi account.
Nowadays, all major carriers run cheap unlimited everything plans that would better fit most of the population.