It’s 2023 and thanks to 5G, mobile data speeds are at an all-time high. To properly understand how much faster mobile internet is right now as compared to last gen tech, we need a comparison. Consider the fact that the average download speed for 4G in the UK is roughly 35Mbps – 40Mbps, while the average download speed for 5G here is 90Mbps – 230Mbps.
Down the line, these speeds are going to become much faster, given that the theoretical download speed limit for 5G wireless internet is set around the 50Gbps mark. While all that is good news for all smartphone users in general, that also brings forth a very pertinent question: how much data do I need on my phone?
The less time it takes for a mobile phone to load and display content-heavy websites, the smoother your experience will be. That smoothness will inevitably lead to an increase in surfing, downloading, uploading, and streaming volumes because you can now do more within a shorter time frame. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that faster internet connections tend to consume data at a much faster rate as well. As to exactly what that means for your data plan, that is precisely what we are going to discuss next.
How Much Data Do I Need on My Phone to Meet All My Requirements?
One of the most frequently asked questions that people have about their smartphone’s data usage is, ‘How much data do I need on my phone to cover all my requirements?’ The answer is highly variable because different people have different requirements and how much data a person needs must be decided based on their requirements. Let’s check out a few common types of user requirements next to understand how it works.
How Much Data Do I Use?
Since all carriers mark their mobile data plans with a maximum usage limit, we tend to think in gigabytes (GB) while trying to calculate our internet usage on smartphones. It’s a reliable way to calculate mobile data usage too, provided that we keep track of the same in real-time.
If you are not tracking your data usage in real-time, then there is no way to be sure about how much mobile data is getting used up by which app and when. As a result, you may end up reaching the allotted data limit, well before realising that fact. To track how much data you use per day, per month, and per year, simply use your smartphone’s built-in data usage setting.
Both iPhones and Android smartphones have built-in support for tracking, controlling, and capping your data usage per month. Go to settings and then search for mobile data. Now, select a timeframe from the interface menu to find exactly how much mobile data you have used within that period.
You will also see which application is using the most to the least amount of data in a hierarchical list. If you wish to bring your background data usage down, you can disable background data usage on the apps that are topping the list. If you find that an app you have not used for a long time is still draining your mobile data, it might be time to either uninstall or disable it altogether.
If the data is available, use your average mobile data usage from the last three months as a rough yardstick to determine your specific mobile data requirements. Note that all modern smartphones have a separate section for mobile data usage and Wi-Fi data usage, so finding out exactly how much data you should pay for is relatively easy. It’s a reliable method to simultaneously find answers to questions like:
- How much data do I use?
- How many GB do I need to pay for to meet those needs?
If you find that your data usage is significantly above 30GB per month, then you should shift to an unlimited 5G plan instead. This is highly recommended even if your current high-speed data plan currently covers the usage.
Capped mobile data plans either slow down to a crawl after a user reaches their allotted monthly data limits, or the carrier starts charging them for any usage beyond the limit. On top of that, if you are already using a high-cap mobile data plan, chances are that an unlimited plan will not cost much more than what you are already paying.
How Many GB of Data Do I Need If there are Multiple Users?
All smartphones come with portable Wi-Fi routing capabilities now, so we can use that to turn any 5G smartphone into a Wi-Fi router. It’s a common use-case scenario for families and among roommates. Due to the growing high speeds seen in 5G connections, it is not just possible but also quite convenient for a few people in the same household to simultaneously share mobile data without experiencing any significant lags.
In such settings, an unlimited 5G mobile data plan is highly recommended. It is difficult to determine how much data will be used by just one user, so there is no way to be sure exactly how much data a multiuser data connection might need. If you have roommates, the plan’s monthly cost can be shared between all of you to access unlimited, high-speed internet at an incredibly low cost per user.
If you want to keep a tight hold on your children’s net time as a parent, you can instead opt for a 15GB or 30GB plan. It depends on several factors such as how many people share the connection, how many of them are children, the age of your children, etc. Anything below 3GB – 6GB per user for a month can make managing all requirements quite difficult though.
How Much GB Do I Need for Office Use?
If we are discussing home office sessions with frequent video conference calls as part of those sessions, you will need at least a 30GB – 60GB mobile data plan. You might do well to go for an unlimited plan right from the get-go if those video calls last for multiple hours on most workdays. To acquaint ourselves with an idea about the kind of data video calls consume, let us consider the average Zoom call.
- Minimum-quality Zoom calls consume at least 540MB of data per hour if it’s a one-on-one call.
- High-quality, one-on-one Zoom calls consume at least 1.6GB of data per hour.
- Minimum quality conference/group calls on Zoom consume at least 810MB of data per hour.
- High-quality conference/group calls on Zoon consume at least 2.4GB of data per hour.
Therefore, just an average of two hours of low-quality video conferencing during office hours for 20 days a month will cost about 32GB of data per month. It’s never that low of course, at least not in real-life office use. Also, we are only discussing the data used for video calls alone, and that too at low quality. An unlimited data plan is highly recommended if you use your mobile data regularly for office sessions.
The same is true if you stream a lot of movies or shows every day or host your gaming sessions online via social media. The only difference is that the data usage will be much higher in those scenarios. For example, every time you watch/stream any content in 4K, it will consume at least 7Gb – 16GB per hour, depending on the content.
How Many GB of Data Do I Need If I Have Fibre/Cable at Home?
If you have a wired connection with a router at home, then you may not need much more than a 3GB per month package. Fibre cable connections can be extremely fast, and they can indeed be routed to take care of an entire household’s internet requirements. The only time you will need to access your mobile data will be when you are on the move. However, there are some conditions to that arrangement as well. For example, the wired internet connection will need to have an unlimited plan and most of your internet requirements will need to be met at home.
When we think about Wi-Fi, we are usually not as concerned about using data because wired connections often have higher caps, even if they are not unlimited. That is a mistake for the most part because high-speed wired internet is not cheap and neither are the unlimited plans that come with them.
You need to consider if you are paying more or less by opting for an unlimited wired connection, over an unlimited wireless mobile data connection. Besides, wireless data plans are not limited to the confines of your home, which can be particularly useful if you don’t spend most of your day at home almost every day.
Wi-Fi is not free or unlimited unless you are paying for it in some way. It is up to you to decide whether you want an unlimited/high-cap wireless connection or a wired network connection with similar benefits, but possibly a lower cost and the freedom to move around as required.