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Google's Project Fi Adds Unlimited 'Bill Protection'

With Bill Protection, you won't pay more than $80 a month for call, text, and data charges on a single line, regardless of how much data you use.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Google's Project Fi is going unlimited.

In a Wednesday blog post, Project Fi Product Manager Marcia Jung announced a new feature called Bill Protection, which "combines the simplicity of our existing pricing with the flexibility of an unlimited plan." The feature is rolling out today to individual subscribers and group plans.

Here's the deal: Project Fi normally costs $20 for the first line, $15 for each additional phone line, $10 for each additional tablet, and $10 per 1GB of data. With Bill Protection, you won't pay more than $80 a month for call, text, and data charges on a single line, regardless of how much data you use.

"In months when you use more than 6GB of data, we'll cap your charges for calls and texts plus data at $80, and allow you to continue using high speed data for free—similar to an unlimited plan," Jung explained. So, if you wind up using 9GB of data in a month, for instance, you'll only have to pay for 6GB.

If you have two lines on your plan, Bill Protection kicks in after you collectively use 10GB, capping your bill at $120 a month (excluding taxes and fees). With three lines, it kicks in after 12GB ($135), with four lines at 14GB ($150), with five lines at 16GB ($165), and with six lines at 18GB ($180).

The biggest data hogs will be throttled.

"If you're a super heavy data user, you'll experience slower data speeds in months when you've consumed more than 15GB of data," Jung wrote, adding that this should affect less than 1 percent of users). If you can deal with that caveat, you can "opt out of slower speeds by paying $10/GB for your individual data usage above 15 GB."

Rest assured that you will only pay for unlimited data when you reach the Bill Protection threshold. So, "if you only use 1.4GB of data, at the end of the month you'll pay just $34 instead of $80."

As we wrote in our review, Project Fi "combines Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular into a virtual network with better coverage than any one of the three offers individually." The main downside is the selection of phones you can use with this service is very limited. Still, "its spectacular results in our annual Readers' Choice poll mean it's worth considering if you're interested in Google's Pixel phones," we wrote.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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