Google Adds a Group Plan to Project Fi
- Paul Thurrott
- Oct 11, 2016
-
11
Google today announced that it now provides a group plan for its excellent Project Fi service: Now, up to six people can share a single Project Fi plan, along with all the management capabilities you’d expect.
“Today we’re excited to introduce Project Fi’s group plan: an easy way to share Project Fi with the people who matter most to you,” Google product manager Marcia Jung writes in a new post to the Project Fi Blog. “With Project Fi, wireless service is simple and easy — you get seamless access to three 4G LTE networks, use data abroad at no extra cost, and you send and receive texts and calls across multiple devices.”
Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
I’m running out of words to explain how wonderful this service is. But the short version goes like this: I’ve been using Project Fi with my Google Nexus 6P since last December, and the service is transparent, affordable, and a no-brainer for people using compatible phones. And it’s even more impressive for international travelers, as you can simply use your phone normally and not incur any additional fees. It’s amazing.
And now it’s even better.
With its new group plan, Project Fi supports up to six users, as noted. There’s just one bill, you can track each user’s data usage and manage other settings, all from a single interface, the excellent Project Fi mobile app.
Each new group member gets Fi Basics, with unlimited talk and text for $15 per month, and you only pay for the data each user users, at the standard low rate of $10 per gigabyte. As with individual plans, you only pay for the data you use, and if you use less than you planned for, will be credited for the unused data on the next bill. I know. It sounds too good to be true.
As with the individual Project Fi plan, there are no contracts or commitments: Any member can join or leave at any time, or suspend the service for as long as they want. There are no additional fees.
And as for data usage, the plan manager can view that per user, while each member can view their own data usage, both from the Project Fi app. Managers and members can each configure data usage notifications, and managers can configure monthly data allotments on a per-member basis. If a member uses too much data, data access can be paused on their devices.
As before, Project Fi is supported on the Nexus 6, 6P and 5X, and now on the Pixel and Pixel XL as well. But here’s an interesting twist: Project Fi will continue to offer the Nexus 6P and 5X for sale—they’re not longer available from the online Google Store—and you can save big if you purchase one of these devices when you start Project Fi service.
You can learn more about Project Fi and the new group plan from the Project Fi web site. And existing customers who would like to change to a group plan can do so via their Project Fi account page.
Awesome.