Virgin Secretly Caps “Unlimited” MiFi Data Plans

Posted 01/16/2011 at 5:19pm | by Justin Kerr

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A few months ago Virgin Mobile attempted to shake up the wireless industry with an all new truly “Unlimited” MiFi data plan. Today however we regret to inform you that the cake is a lie. Subscribers to the $40 per month Unlimited Broadband2Go plan who exceed the industry standard 5GB cap will receive notice that their bandwidth will be significantly diminished for the remainder of the billing period.

We find the move somewhat disingenuous since they made such a big deal about being the only truly “unlimited” game in town, and then discontinued the program without even grandfathering it out for existing subscribers. If we had to take a guess as to why it played out this way, one could only assume they attracted one too many bandwidth hogs, and the network simply couldn’t take the load.

It would appear all you can eat only applies until Homer Simpson shows up. Read on to hear Virgin's side of the story.

Virgin Mobile Customer Correspondence

Here at Virgin Mobile, our mission is to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Sometimes that means making difficult choices in order to provide the best possible service to the greatest number of customers.

To make sure we can keep offering our $40 Unlimited Broadband2Go Plan at such a great price, we’re putting a speed limit in place for anyone on that plan who uses over 5GB in a month.

How will it work?

Starting February 15, 2011, if you go over 5GB in a month on the $40 Unlimited Plan:

Your data speeds will be limited for the remainder of the monthly plan cycle. During this time, you may experience slower page loads and file downloads and lags in streaming media.

Your data speeds will return to normal as soon as you buy a new Broadband2Go Plan.

This change will only affect plans bought on or after 2/15/2011.

How will it affect me?

Keep in mind, 5GB is A LOT of data. To give you an idea, it’s about 250 hours of web browsing or over 500,000(!) emails*. So this change shouldn’t affect you unless you’re a heavy downloader/streamer/etc.

How will I know if I’m getting close to 5GB?

We’ve updated the progress bar in your Connection Manager to show the amount of data you’ve used. If you go above 5GB in a month, the bar will turn yellow, letting you know your data speeds will be reduced until you buy a new plan.

By putting this speed limit in place, we’re making sure we can deliver the same quality service you’ve come to expect from Broadband2Go. We hope you understand.

Thanks for being a Broadband2Go customer.

Virgin Mobile

* Data usage per activity is based on an average. Actual usage varies depending on the types of websites, video, email and other internet applications accessed.