Google has a new group plan for its Project Fi wireless service, allowing customers to add more lines to their account.
The new Project Fi offer will likely appeal to families, as it allows up to six people to join the same account and take advantage of neat discounts and benefits.
Starting on Tuesday, Oct. 11, Project Fi customers can invite other members to their plan for $15 per month per line, which will get them Fi Basics with unlimited talk and text. That's $5 cheaper than the prices for individual plans, which start at $20.
Similarly to how individual plans work, customers only have to pay for the data they actually use, at the same $10 per GB rate. Those who don't use all their data will get the remaining data refunded to their bill.
"There are no commitments or contracts, just as with individual plans. Members can easily join and leave a plan as they please without having to worry about fees. And when it's time to pay, there's just one bill with straightforward pricing," Google notes.
Another neat perk of this group option is that it allows a "manager" such as a parent to manage and track all data usage from a single account. This makes it easier for the manager to see exactly how much data each person on the plan is using and, if necessary, set limits to pause data service if a person on the plan uses up too much data.
Google announced Project Fi back in April 2015 as an experimental wireless network that combines cellular connectivity with local Wi-Fi networks. Project Fi taps more than a million Wi-Fi hotspots to deliver cheap wireless internet connectivity, but when Wi-Fi is unavailable it taps cellular networks from T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular.
Considering that competition is heating up and heavyweight players on the wireless market are increasingly focusing on family plans, it's no big surprise that Google is now offering a Project Fi group plan.
The new option should help Google better compete with rivals, especially with Comcast's own wireless service expected to hit the scene next year.
Of course, hardware is also an important part of group plans and Google has a number of phones on offer. To sweeten the group plan offer, Google is also shaving the price of its 2015 Nexus devices. Customers can get the Nexus 6P at $100 off and the Nexus 5X at $150 off when buying and activating the device through Project Fi. The new Google Pixel devices are also available with Project Fi.
