Both charging styles appear on the same TPG plan, which is what makes them confusing: a per-MB rate applies within the included tier and a per-block rate applies beyond it. Mixing them up in either direction is expensive.
Per-MB charging, worked
At $0.0016 per MB, 100MB of included data costs about 16 cents. At $0.0007 per MB, the same 100MB costs about seven cents. Both figures are small, which is the point: per-MB charging is priced to be nearly free at the margin and only becomes visible at volume.
Per-block charging, worked
Excess is $10 for extra 2GB, charged per 2GB block or part thereof. That means 1MB of excess and 2GB of excess cost the same $10. A customer who goes 3GB over pays $20, not $15, because the blocks round up.
Why the combination exists
- Per-MB inside the allowance keeps the charge proportionate to normal use.
- Per-block beyond the allowance puts a hard ceiling on how bad an overrun can get.
- For a heavy user the block rate is the number that matters: 20GB of excess is $100, whatever the per-MB rate says.
The practical consequence is that the block rate, not the per-MB rate, should drive how much included data you buy. The per-MB rate only tells you the cost of the data you are entitled to; the block rate tells you what an overrun costs, and overruns are what actually hurt.
What we could not verify. Where a provider has not published a figure we mark it unknown rather than estimate it. Re-read the provider page linked below on the day you decide.