Almost all major Australian telecom operators have an ‘unlimited’ 1.5 Mbps plan available for their subscribers. In some versions, the plan includes an amount of data at full speed. Once the data limit is reached, customers will be able to stream unlimited content on the internet at maximum speed of 1.5 Mbps. For instance, Telstra offers a $62 a month plan that offers 50GB of data at maximum available speeds and unlimited data exceeding that at 1.5 Mbps. In contrast, Optus offers an unlimited data plan for $59 a month that offers 100GB.
But is 1.5 Mbps useful?
Considering that the average 4G speed in Australia is more than 30 Mbps, 1.5 Mbps is a significant fall in performance. This speed pretty much rules out any kind of high definition content on the internet. Although telecom operators claim that users can stream standard definition videos on services like Netflix, real-life performance is not as impressive. Stan and Foxtel subscribers require 2 Mbps and 3 Mbps respectively for good quality playback, which is below standard definition and around half of the speed you’d have unlimited access to on these plans.
Streaming music, however, shouldn’t be an issue at these speeds. All the modern streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora and others can drop the bit rate of the music file in case of a slow connection or a congested network. There isn’t a noticeable difference when it comes to music playback as there is with video streaming. However, high definition album art could take some time to load.
But what about social media? The use of social media streaming on apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest should be fine at these speeds. However, you might need to practice a little patience. A Facebook page that loads up in 2.13 seconds on an average 4G network will take somewhere around 5.02 seconds on a 1.5 Mbps network.
So should you get an unlimited plan for your smartphone?
Although the data speeds are capped at 1.5 Mbps, these unlimited data plans are a good investment, depending on how you use your data. These data packs will ensure that you do not have to worry about your data usage and being overcharged by the telecom operators.
This is especially useful for people who are away from WiFi and still want to use their phone. People who commute for long hours, or who like to use their phone on their lunch hour away from the office might get the best use from an unlimited plan.
That said, these plans might not be the best choice for people who are fans of high definition resolution. Standard definition video streaming is the most you can hope for, and you will have to wait to connect to a WiFi network for anything beyond that.
These data plans make a strong case for themselves. Of course, you don’t get maximum speeds like regular plans, but you do get unlimited access to data. These plans do cost more on a monthly basis than plans with a limited data inclusion, so if you’re not going to use the whole amount it might be better to avoid the extra cost of an unlimited plan. If fast data speeds matter to you, you just might find that 1.5 Mbps is not enough.
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How Fast is 1.5 Mbps?
But here’s the issue – many people don’t have a clear idea of how fast 1.5 Mbps actually is. Many smartphone users are old enough to remember the days of dial-up internet and the frustrations with 3G mobile networks, so it’s a bit unnerving to sign up to have your internet slowed down.
Most people have no practical idea of how fast 1.5 Mbps will be.
Australia has some of the world’s best 4G, reaching average speeds of around 30 Mbps – so 1.5 Mbps is a significant drop. On paper, 1.5 Mbps is fast enough for some high definition video, such as watching YouTube videos. However, in reality, it may not be quite fast enough to avoid frustration.
Streaming services like Stan and Foxtel need 2-3 Mbps to play correctly, so users might notice a drop in functionality. Streaming music is a different story, with the drop in speed unlikely to cause any issues with sound quality. Social media might be slightly slower to load, but is accessible at those speeds.
Real Life Experience
To test how Telstra’s unlimited plan would perform in the real world, WhatPhone signed up for a plan to be used mostly in Sydney. Here are some observations on what happened when the full-speed data allowance was all used up.
- 1. You might not be limited to 1.5 Mbps after all.
In our real world test, even after the data allocation was used up the smartphone was still able to achieve download speeds of up to 9.76Mbps – much higher than the specified 1.5 Mbps. This speed should be enough to support HD streaming and most internet usage. Of course, there is no guarantee that it won’t be shaped back to the minimum speeds at times, but reaching your allowance doesn’t necessarily have to mean changing how you use your phone.
While Telstra promises to slow data down to 1.5 Mbps, you could still be able to achieve higher speeds.
- 2. You can buy more data to get the speed back – but it’s expensive.
If you signed up to one of these plans and used your data but for some reason needed to access top-speed internet, Telstra has an option to cover you. However, it won’t come cheap. On top of the slightly more expensive plan allowing you unlimited data, you would have to add on an extra $10 per 1GB of additional data. At these prices, it wouldn’t be worth doing often. - 3. Customer service can be improved.
Once the limit was reached, there was no warning from Telstra. This communication breakdown could be an issue for people who could be relying on faster speeds, only to have them slowed down without any notice. It’s a basic thing for Telstra to offer, and frustrating for customers if their speed is cut without warning. Customers are also unable to change their plans from the app, but have to contact Telstra Support directly. - 4. 5G is not ready.
5G has been long promised, and early adopters have gotten their hands on 5G-capable phones to take advantage of the exciting new network. So far, the real world experience has been very underwhelming. The anticipated quality of coverage and low latency of the 5G network will pair well with these unlimited plans, but those who are currently trying to take advantage of the new network are so far not impressed. 5G signal is limited to very small pockets, and speeds are the same or sometimes even lower than 4G networks. Of course, the future looks very different for 5G, and the rollout is still in the infancy stages. However, those considering a change of plan to take advantage of the new network would do well to hold off for a while.
The Future of Data
Once again, industry leader Telstra has made a move to the next big thing in mobile data allowances. Those who will now avoid overage charges and who find the shaped speeds still functional will be happy to have the peace of mind and security of a fixed plan cost. Those who rely on full-speed internet or who don’t exceed their data allowance are likely to be less impressed.
Until Australians get a fair idea of how 1.5 Mbps looks in real life, it will be difficult to make a decision on whether this type of plan is suitable, and could inhibit the plans’ popularity. Telstra will need to work on informing the public, and communicating with them about their data usage. For most people, this type of plan will likely have moments of frustration with the slower speeds, but be basically workable. In time, we’re likely to see most telcos shift to this style of allocating data – until data-hungry 5G applications begin to become popular and major telcos like Telstra will have to re-evaluate once again.