Visible’s New Premium Plan: A Good Deal or a Trap?
A New Premium Plan with a Twist
Visible, the budget wireless brand owned by Verizon, has introduced a new premium plan that looks like a heck of a deal compared to its parent company’s offerings. The new Plus Pro plan comes without throttling, a feature many lower-cost carrier plans and MVNOs tend to offer. Visible’s fine print states that both its Plus and Plus Pro plan are "not subject to any data prioritization limitations," which means no slowdowns even when the network is busy.
What’s Included in the Plus Pro Plan?
The Plus Pro plan includes unlimited hotspot usage at up to 15 Mbps, a feature Verizon’s basic plan doesn’t offer. Additionally, it includes 4K video streaming and service for one cellular smartwatch. This is in contrast to Verizon’s basic unlimited plan, which doesn’t include any of these features.
The Fine Print: QCI and Network Prioritization
However, this would all be less of a good deal if Verizon puts Visible traffic on a lower network tier than its own postpaid customers. Network operators commonly put different kinds of customers on certain service tiers called Quality of Service Class Indicators, or QCIs. This helps with overall traffic prioritization when there’s congestion, usually putting first responders on the fastest tier.
Verizon didn’t immediately respond to our question about Visible Plus Pro’s QCI, but Android Authority’s comprehensive comparison between Visible and Verizon suggests that Visible’s premium plan is actually assigned a higher-priority QCI than Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome — at least, that’s been the case in the past. We’ll update this article if Verizon responds to our request.
Conclusion
It’s all too rare to read about an ISP’s new plan and think "Huh, that sounds like a good deal, actually." But that’s the case here, even after going through the fine print. Visible’s new premium plan, the Plus Pro, offers a range of features that are not typically found in lower-cost carrier plans and MVNOs, including unlimited hotspot usage and 4K video streaming. However, the question remains whether Verizon will prioritize Visible traffic over its own postpaid customers.
FAQs
Q: What is Visible’s new premium plan?
A: Visible’s new premium plan is called the Plus Pro plan, which includes unlimited hotspot usage, 4K video streaming, and service for one cellular smartwatch.
Q: Does the Plus Pro plan have throttling?
A: No, the Plus Pro plan does not have throttling, unlike many lower-cost carrier plans and MVNOs.
Q: Is the Plus Pro plan assigned a higher-priority QCI than Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome?
A: According to Android Authority’s comprehensive comparison between Visible and Verizon, the Plus Pro plan is actually assigned a higher-priority QCI than Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome — at least, that’s been the case in the past.
