Why Share Plans Are Perfect for the Connected Family

As we discussed in previous posts, managing a connected family can prove challenging to parents with teens and tweens of varying ages, needs and browsing habits. Factor that your daughter lives and breathes via Snapchat, your spouse often gets lost in the depths of YouTube, and your preteen just needs a phone that provides enough to let him text till his heart’s content and you can be faced with the reality of managing four separate mobile phone plans. Enter: Family Share Plans. Whether you need a personal plan with data, or want to share data across devices with members of your family, you’ll be able to find a shareable plan that’s right for you and your connected clan. They’re super flexible and deliver features and functionality that’ll suit everyone in your family. Here’s how they work:

1. Choose from a great selection of phones: The beauty of a Family Share plan is that not only can you activate a new Samsung Galaxy S5 or Sony Xperia Z2, but you can also connect an older device, or a LITE device like the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini that you may have tucked away somewhere. This is a great option for parents looking to introduce mobile technology to a tween or young teen who aren’t quite ready for the responsibility of a new smartphone.
2. One gig, two gig, I surf, you surf. Next, you’ll need to employ a little arithmetic to establish just how much data your family consumes in any given month; don’t worry – just a rough estimate will do. Music and video streaming require more data than social media updates, which require slightly more than sending or receiving emails. We’ve actually created a handy calculator to help you tally the bits and bytes. The great thing about a Family Share plan is that the entire family draws on the same pool of data so usage can be shared. Set yourself up on the Bell Self Serve App, and you’ll easily be able to manage your account, make payments and even get notifications when your family is nearing their usage limit for the month.
3. Who gets what? Once you’ve figured out the family’s data needs, and answered the “who-gets-what device” question, you’re ready to go. It’s worth noting that we’re not only talking about smartphones here, either. You can just as easily add tablets to your Family Share plan as well. In fact, you can add up to 10 separate devices onto a single plan. Even better, each family share plan includes unlimited talk and text nationwide , so you can all stay in touch without worrying about limits or overages.

Be it a tool for education, entertainment, information or communication, mobile technology is playing a much more significant role in the family unit. As such, it makes sense to unify the family’s connectivity under one Family Share plan. It prevents mom and dad from having to monitor several mobile accounts, and makes monthly household spend management a lot simpler. For more information on Family Share plans, please visit our website, or your nearest Bell store.