Google Fi Responds To COVID-19 Crisis With Increased Data Limits, Here's The Scoop
The spread of COVID-19 has created a unique and challenging situation around the globe. Outside of the obvious health concerns, the Coronavirus pandemic is putting a financial strain on people, as businesses close down or suspend operations. In an effort to help, Google has made a couple of temporary changes to its Google Fi MVNO phone service, including relaxed data limits.
There are two Google Fi service tiers, those being Flexible and Unlimited. Under normal circumstances, the Flexible tier allots 15 gigabytes (GB) of full-speed data for subscribers, after which the service is throttled down to 256 kilobits per second (Kbps). The Unlimited tier bumps things up to 22GB of full-speed access.
For now, however, Google is offering both Flexible and Unlimited subscribers up to 30GB of full-speed data access per month. After hitting the 30GB threshold, users have the option of maintaining full-speed data for $10 per gigabyte for the remainder of their billing cycle, if you they so choose. Otherwise, the speed is reduced.
In addition to offering a bigger data cap before throttling occurs, Google Fi is giving subscribers longer to pay their bills.
"Google Fi is temporarily extending the payment grace period so Fi customers who are having trouble with their bills can stay connected. We're extending our grace period, during which customers will maintain full service, to 60 days from a customer’s missed billing date," Google said.
It's not clear how long these temporary policies will be in place. Google said it is continually monitoring things and has not yet decided when Google Fi's standard polices will return.
While not a game changing gesture by any stretch, it is one that is much appreciated for those affected by the current situation. More people than ever are either working from home, or being sent home without work, which is increasing Internet use across the board. It's nice to see some companies relaxing or lifting data caps altogether.
