Insty Connect Cuts Price On Three-Carrier Unlimited Data Plan to $98/Month, Adds BYOD Support

Insty Connect, a small family-run company we've followed and reported on for years that makes cellular internet systems for RVers and other mobile users, announced a major change to its data plan lineup.

Insty's All-In plan, which gives unlimited data access to all three major US cellular carriers, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, is now available for $98/month. That's down from $219/month.

Insty is also making the new plan available as a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) option for people who don't own an Insty Connect system - previously, Insty's plans were tied to its own equipment.

For travelers who want the flexibility to use whichever carrier has coverage at their current location, this could be a very appealing option, especially at the $98/month price.

But there are some important details and limitations to understand.

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Insty Connect All-In Plan Details

The new All-In plan replaces Insty's previous three-carrier offering at a substantially lower price. Insty says growing customer volume and renegotiated purchasing arrangements made the price reduction possible.

Here are the main plan details:

• Price: $98/month, or $980 prepaid for a year (the equivalent of about $81.67/month).
• Networks: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, with access to one carrier at a time.
• Data: Advertised as unlimited on each network, subject to fair-use provisions.
• Equipment: Compatible Insty Connect systems or third-party cellular routers and hotspots using a new physical SIM card.
• Minimum service: Two months on the monthly plan.
• Annual option: $980 paid in advance. The order page says annual plans are nonrefundable.
• Availability: Domestic US service only.

The plan is data-only, intended for cellular internet devices rather than a traditional smartphone voice-and-text plan.

Insty is also keeping its Hot-Standby service that costs $10/month plus $4 per day of unlimited data use, along with smaller data packages for light users.

After two months of paid service, All-In customers can pause their subscription for $5/month, maintaining their account for later reactivation.

Fair Use Policy And Unlimited Data Terms

Insty advertises All-In as unlimited, subject to fair-use provisions, but doesn't publish a specific usage threshold.

Its website mentions 1.2 TB as an example of fair-use language carriers commonly impose, rather than an allowance or limit specific to All-In. Insty says customers have exceeded such amounts during normal use without problems.

Insty cites activities such as running servers, torrenting, and file sharing as examples of potential network abuse. However, it doesn't clearly define what constitutes excessive usage or what restrictions might apply.

We also haven't yet confirmed whether there are limits on video streaming, maximum connection speeds, or other network management policies. We'll update this article if we get more details.

Getting the Plan

The plan is now available on Insty's website, either as part of a new system purchase or standalone.

All subscribers, including existing Insty customers, will need the new physical SIM for the plan. The SIM is offered as a free add-on during the launch, with free shipping, but buyers must select the "Send a Physical SIM" option when ordering.

Existing customers on the older All-In plan won't automatically move to the new plan - Insty says they can contact support to change plans.

The plan also works with older Insty Connect equipment, although some newer carrier-selection features may not be available. Owners of LITE systems will need to arrange an equipment exchange through Insty support to get the plan.

BYOD Support

The biggest change besides the price reduction is that the new All-In is available as a BYOD option and no longer requires use in an Insty Connect system. 

Customers can order the plan, request the new physical SIM, and install it in a compatible router or hotspot. Insty hasn't published any minimum requirements for compatible gear at press time.

Carrier Switching

Insty says the All-In SIM contains a separate profile for each of the three carriers. The company emphasizes that these are carrier-native profiles rather than a conventional roaming connection, although it has not disclosed how the underlying provisioning works.

With this single SIM, only one carrier is active at a time, so it doesn't maintain a live connection with each carrier for instant failover. 

How you change carriers depends on the equipment being used.

Insty Connect Gear

With compatible Insty Connect equipment, customers can select a carrier through Insty's router dashboard.

Insty has also added a feature called "Best Network Here" that tests the available carriers using measurements such as ping and speed, then connects to the network it determines is best at that location.

This is useful when you arrive at a new campsite or other location and don't know which carrier will perform best.

Testing and switching networks will temporarily interrupt the internet connection.

Third Party Gear

For those not using an Insty system, Insty says the SIM can automatically switch to another carrier if it loses the current network, but it's unclear what the exact trigger conditions are. The plan then tries another network and stays there if it connects successfully.

It does not continually compare the three networks for the best speeds or signal.

For users who want to manually select a particular carrier on third-party equipment, Insty currently handles those requests through its support desk. Insty plans to add self-service carrier selection through the Insty customer portal in the future.

Manual carrier switching requires rebooting the router or modem to complete the change.

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Concluding Thoughts

Insty Connect's new All-In plan is an incredible new option for mobile internet users, assuming there are no hidden gotchas. Getting unlimited data on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile from a single SIM for $98/month, without buying Insty equipment, is a substantial improvement over its previous offering.

The ability to move among carriers is especially valuable for our audience of nomads who live, work, and travel in vans, boats, and RVs, since no single cellular network provides the best coverage everywhere, although the method to change carriers is limited for non-Insty gear.

Those with compatible Insty hardware get significant added convenience in switching networks and can automatically test each network's performance. And combined with another internet option, like Starlink, the Insty system can provide bonding and instant failover with Speedify, a separate paid bonding service that can be used in the Insty system.

The biggest unanswered question is how the advertised unlimited service will perform and be managed over time, particularly for users who consume large amounts of data. The automatic switching behavior on third-party routers also needs real-world testing.

We plan to attempt to obtain a plan for testing and provide detailed analysis and advice to our members.

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