Why Unlimited Phone Plans Are Mostly Marketing

What does “unlimited” mean?

According to Merriam-Webster, unlimited is defined as unrestricted, infinite, and not bounded by exceptions.

So, for the unlimited plan that you’re on, and you’re probably on one, is it clear to you that you have no exceptions and feel truly unrestricted?

Probably not. It’s pretty fuzzy, isn’t it?

The word “unlimited” is really just an attention grabber because who doesn’t want an unlimited supply of anything … except for those little ketchup packets that we all collect and never use.

What "unlimited" really means

Carriers can legally call a plan “unlimited” as long as they don’t cut you off from using data completely.

But many so-called unlimited plans still have limits, such as:

• Throttling — your speeds are intentionally slowed after you've used a certain amount of data.
• Deprioritization — you're pushed to the back of the line when the network is busy.

Not having throttling or deprioritization limits is what gets closest to a truly unlimited plan.

So what does that actually look like in the real world? Here are two examples from opposite ends of the market: one from a major carrier and one from an MVNO.

AT&T Elite 2.0

AT&T's Elite 2.0 plan ($70/month) promotes:

"Unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data that won't slow down based on how much you use."

That's true for your regular phone data, but it doesn't apply to things like:

• Hotspot data
• International data

And even with that promise, AT&T still includes general "network management" language in its terms of service. That means users could still experience slowdowns in extremely congested situations—think a World Cup match or a packed stadium.

US Mobile Unlimited Premium

Now let's look at an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) like US Mobile, which leases capacity across AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

US Mobile's Unlimited Premium plan promotes:

"Unlimited priority data" for only $25/month.

Because US Mobile leases bandwidth, the major carriers won't place US Mobile customers above their own premium subscribers. However, US Mobile still offers some level of prioritized data.

If you're okay with not having the absolute fastest speeds 100% of the time, US Mobile's top-tier plan could save you oodles of money.

So where does this leave us?

"Unlimited" has become less of a promise and more of a vibe.

The AT&Ts and US Mobiles of the world aren't exactly lying, but they're definitely letting the marketing do more talking than the math.

Your:

• speeds can dip
• priority can drop
• "infinite" data quietly comes with asterisks.

The real question

The takeaway isn't that you should avoid unlimited plans.

It's whether you actually care if and when your data speeds slow down.

Given that the bulk of your data usage is probably on Wi-Fi, your honest answer is probably: "Not really."

And if that's the case, there are oodles of lower-cost unlimited plans from MVNOs that can save you enough money to skip the sad ketchup packets and buy a proper bottle instead.