Do You Really Need Unlimited Data?

Smartphone users are angry as carriers do away with unlimited data plans, but a new study shows many customers don't need to spend as much as they do on data. According to Consumer Reports, nearly half the customers holding on to unlimited data plans at AT&T would see no ill effects if they switch to the carrier's $20 a month plan, which allows just 300-megabytes of data usage a month. In addition, just one percent of the other half of customers actually take full advantage of their unlimited capabilities -- the rest use under 5-gigabytes of data, which is what AT&T allots for $30 under its new data plans.  While there are very real cases of network congestion caused by individuals who consume 50+ GB of "unlimited" data over a short period of time, studies show that the vast majority of unlimited users consume much smaller amounts of data than the equivalently priced tiered plans allow.