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Hotspot

Using your phone as a Wi-Fi router for nearby devices (laptop, tablet). Most plans include some hotspot data; cheaper plans cap or speed-limit it.

A mobile hotspot uses your phone's cellular data connection to provide Wi-Fi to other devices. Also called tethering. Useful when there's no Wi-Fi available — coffee shops, travel, working in transit.

Plan limits to watch

  • Hotspot data cap (in GB). Most plans include some hotspot data — typically 5–30 GB at full speed before throttling. Some cheap plans include zero hotspot.
  • Hotspot speed cap. Some plans (Visible, e.g.) include unlimited hotspot but cap the speed at 5 Mbps — fine for browsing, slow for video calls.
  • Tethering allowed at all. A few cheap prepaid plans block hotspot entirely.

Hotspot vs mobile data

From the carrier's side, hotspot data and your own phone's data are usually separate buckets. You might have unlimited phone data but only 15 GB hotspot. After exceeding the hotspot cap, hotspot speed gets throttled to ~600 Kbps — basically email-only.

If you depend on tethering (remote work, RV, no home internet), look at premium MNO plans (T-Mobile Go5G Plus, Verizon Plus, AT&T Premium) which include 30–60 GB of full-speed hotspot, or specialty plans like Visible+.

Related terms in Plans, billing & data

Family plan
Family plans bundle multiple lines on one account at a per-line discount. Usually the more lines, the lower the per-line cost — typically 30–50% cheaper than single-line equivalents at four or five lines.
International roaming
Using your domestic phone plan in another country. Usually expensive ($5–10/day or per-MB rates) unless your plan explicitly includes the destination country.
Deprioritization
When a cell tower is congested, the network slows down some customers' data first. MVNO and lower-tier postpaid customers are usually deprioritized before MNO premium customers.

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