Google is charging a significant markup over T-Mobile's existing rates ($30/month for 5Gb vs $70/month through Gooogle.) So Fi is really only interesting for people doing significant international roaming.
If you install the T-mobile app which lets you know your monthly usage, it claims I have 100 megabytes of tethering data. I rather quickly uninstalled it since it's a pain, but some limited tethering does seem to work for me -- I've only used it occasionally to SSH/mosh, but after a while it does an http redirect to a "No tethering for you!" screen; I assume after that 100mb cap is reached (though I haven't checked)
I've had TMO in the past, and the Google plan is attractive to me for a couple of reasons
* T-Mobile customer service is inconsistent in messaging on the phone, via Facebook, stores
* As a H1B visa holder I am, according to TMO, not able to get a postpaid plan
* Prepaid plan does not work outside of the US
* Prepaid plan has issues receiving short codes from Uber/Bank of America and possibly others - I've spent 8+ hours trying to get it resolved and just ended up giving up.
* I currently use Cricket, due to the 20GB max, but the network is so incredibly slow that it's almost pointless. In NYC I often get at most 100kb/s downstream, when on LTE; that's just no good.
* Spam calls to my Cricket number, and they are unable to do anything about the multiple calls I receive a day
* I use Google Voice already, and it's incredible - except for international texting which they have crappy support for.
* Google Voice has issues with short codes, kinda like TMO prepaid.
Assuming the latter two has been solved with Project Fi + I can get proper network speeds + they filter out spam + automatic transcripts of voicemails (latter two being Google Voice features), then I'm a fan. Can't wait to get it for my Nexus 6.
Visa status does not affect your eligibility for payment plans.
However, H1B holders are people having recently arrived to the US, and therefore with 0 credit history. This is what impacts the capability to get a postpaid plan, but after a few months to build it up there should be no problem.
Personally, I find it ridiculous. Having money in the bank as well as a good salary, and not being able to sign up for a 30$ monthly plan; or applying for a credit card and getting either rejected or one with a 200$ credit limit.
I can confirm that Visa status is immaterial for payment plans.
AT&T will let you sign up for a post-paid without a credit history. I didn't want to provide a SSN (even though I have one), so they let me pay an $800 deposit fee - was worth it to avoid the personal information exposure.
The credit card thing is strange - I got a $20,000 one with wells fargo the month after I moved down to the united states in 1996 - on a $50,000 salary working desktop support. I was quite honestly a little shocked - but just went with it.
Yeah, exactly, visa status has nothing to do with it. It's all credit history, and it shouldn't be very hard to start credit history. My first card was from my CU, preapproved up to $5k since I was a new resident. If that's not an option, there's secured cards all over the marketplace that can jumpstart credit histories.
I think the text issues are due to Google Voice and not T-Mo (I have the GVoice+T-Mo unlimited data combo, and I think I only have short code issues with the GVoice number).
T-mobile does not have unlimited calls for that plan. It is $30 per month — Unlimited web and text with 100 minutes talk
100 minutes talk | Unlimited text | First 5GB at up to 4G speeds
Except T-Mobile already has unlimited international roaming (text/data) on their postpaid plans. (Admittedly, the special $30/month plan costs less than the postpaid plans.)
That's after a $50 charge for unlimited calls and texts, and unlimited edge data. Not that it's a trivial service, but I would save about ~$30-40 a month with no service loss. Probably a service gain, especially if they get AT&T or even a certain CDMA service provider (I can dream).
Yeah but as a T-Mobile customer myself, that plan which is only available if you purchase the SIM card online or through Walmart, isn't sufficient for my needs. As much as I like being able to call via the Hangouts Dialer WiFi calling is still not of very good quality.
Or interesting for people who need more than 100 minutes for voice calls (that $30 plan is only 100 minutes voice), who want whatever benefit there is for additional Sprint coverage, or Wi-fi Calling usage with a Nexus 6.
