Last time I was in India I paid $3.75 for an unlimited everything 4G plan for a month. I guess the definition of "low enough" can vary.

The average cost of a cell phone plan in the US is over $100/month, so yes.

Says who? Unlimited plans from all major carriers top off at $70-80/mo. If you have multiple lines the per line cost is cheaper still (like $50/mo). Plans with data caps, discount carriers and MVNOs all go as low as $30/mo.

If you are paying $100+ for a cell phone plan in the US today you are being taken for a ride.

> Unlimited plans from all major carriers top off at $70-80/mo.

Until you add the $20-30 in taxes and fees they don’t show on their pricing page.

“Regulatory Charge”, “Admin & Telco Recovery Charge”, “Gross Receipts Surchg”, and “Fed Universal Service Charge”, and that doesn’t even include the state/local ones; they’re just Verizon’s set.

https://www.verizon.com/support/surcharges/

I pay $99.98/mo for 3 lines with unlimited talk and data, including 5G data and a smartwatch with cellular access - that includes taxes and fees, on the Verizon network. That's $29.99/line + $10 for the smart watch. No way in hell I would pay $100/line.

Ah, we've got a misunderstanding; you're right at the average. You've got a cell phone plan, with multiple lines, that's $100/month. Not $100/line, $100/plan.

Looks like it's up since my number, too.

https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-to-cut-your-cell-phone-bill-...

> In fact, JD Power told CNBC that the average cell phone bill is now $144.

Which MVNO? That's a good value!

Spectrum Mobile, you have to also be a spectrum internet customer. Before them I was on Visible (also Verizon), which was actually cheaper due to party pay but it was so heavily de-prioritized as to be unusable pretty frequently.

We’re paying $80/month for 4 devices, unlimited everything; 5G. Considering dropping two, which will lower it to $50.

(T Mobile Metro)

That's why there's lots of Android phones with double sim slots. I'm just adding a new one on arrival rather than swapping. And no need to give anyone a temporary number.

For lots of people $100 is a significant amount compared to a $5 prepaid sim they can get locally.

Now add up the cost of every one who’s trying to call you in the country you’re traveling to having to make an international call every time they call you.

And heaven forbid if they don’t have an iPhone. In some countries they’ll be charged large sums of money to text you as well.

I am not sure how true this is anymore, but it was in the US until at least a few years ago (and may still be on many carriers/plans) in many countries they would be charged for receiving texts from you as well.