← Glossary · Plans, billing & data
Throttling
A hard speed cap applied to your data, usually after exceeding a monthly threshold. Different from deprioritization — throttling applies always, not just during congestion.
Throttling is a deliberate speed cap applied to your data plan, typically after you cross a usage threshold each month. Distinct from deprioritization (which only kicks in during tower congestion).
Common throttle thresholds
- "Unlimited" plans with soft caps. Most cheap unlimited plans include 30–50 GB of full-speed data; after that, speeds drop to 1–5 Mbps for the rest of the billing cycle. Examples: Mint Mobile Unlimited (40 GB cap), Cricket More (100 GB).
- Hotspot throttling. Even on unlimited plans, hotspot data is usually a separate bucket with its own throttle threshold.
- Video resolution caps. Some plans cap video streaming at 480p or 720p — technically a form of throttling specific to video traffic.
Throttled speeds in practice
1–2 Mbps is fine for browsing, social, music, and 480p video. It's frustrating for HD video, video calls, large file uploads, or hotspot for a laptop doing real work. If you regularly hit your throttle threshold, the next plan tier up is usually the right move — paying $10 more/month for headroom often beats fighting throttled speeds for a week.