How they compare - Verizon 3G/4G Data plan VS. RTC Internet DSL/Fiber

When shopping for high speed Internet service most consider two things:  Price & Bandwidth.  Other factors such as bandwidth caps, throttling, quality of service, reliability, portability, customer service, and a shared vs dedicated connection are considered by some but are more secondary in the decision making process.  However, these secondary considerations have direct impact on the primary concern.  For example, who cares how much bandwidth you can potentially receive if you are always having to share it with others?  Or, if you are saving $5/mo is it really worth it if the internet connection is down when you need it most?

But let’s say none of the above matters to you.  All you care about is how much bandwidth you get and how much you pay for that bandwidth.  Let’s pretend that all ISP providers are the same.  The cable company, the telephone company, and wireless Internet providers provide internet at “x” price.  Which is the better overall value?

In this case, I’ve collected data from 10 real users of Verizon 3G/4G Internet data service.  This is what I found over a 3 month period:
Minimum monthly usage – 21meg of data
Maximum monthly usage – 1,138meg of data (1.138gig)
Average monthly usage (10 user AVG) – 265meg of data
Average bill - $50/mo
Average cost per meg - $.189 cents

Data collected for RTC Internet includes a 60/40 mix of copper DSL subscribers and fiber optic Internet subscribers.  Data was available on a little over 5,000 users given the above mix.  Again, a 3 month period:
Average monthly usage – 22,700meg of data (22.7gig)
Average monthly bill - $47/mo
Average cost per meg - $.002 cents

In sum, the relationship between price and bandwidth is actual usage.  In this case, Verizon is 18cents per meg of usage.  RTC Internet is 0.2cents per meg which is almost 100 times less expensive than Verizon service.

Also, RTC Internet has no bandwidth cap.  So, this is how the bill would compare at various usage levels:

In sum, portability of service is costly outside the home which is the only advantage or Verizon 3G/4G service to RTC Internet.  The best bang for the buck is clear.