Problem

Choosing a Wireless Data Plan Collect information from your family, friends, or consumer a...

Choosing a Wireless Data Plan Collect information from your family, friends, or consumer agencies such as Consumer Reports. Then decide on a cellular provider, choosing the company that you feel offers the best service. Once you have selected a service provider, research the various types of individual plans offered by the company by visiting the provider’s website. Many providers offer family plans that include unlimited talk and text. The monthly cost is primarily determined by the amount of data used and the number of devices.

1. Suppose you expect to use 10 gigabytes of data for a single smartphone. What would be the monthly cost of each plan you are considering?
2. Suppose you expect to use 30 gigabytes of data and want a personal hotspot, but you still have only a single smartphone. What would be the monthly cost of each plan you are considering?
3. Suppose you expect to use 20 gigabytes of data with three smartphones sharing the data. What would be the monthly cost of each plan you are considering?
4. Suppose you expect to use 20 gigabytes of data with a single smartphone and a personal hotspot. What would be the monthly cost of each plan you are considering?
5. Build a model that describes the monthly cost C, in dollars, as a function of the number of data gigabytes used, g, assuming a single smartphone and a personal hotspot for each plan you are considering.
6. Graph each function from Problem 5.
7. Based on your particular usage, which plan is best for you?
8. Now, develop an Excel spreadsheet to analyze the various plans you are considering. Suppose you want a family plan with unlimited talk and text that offers 10 gigabytes of shared data and costs $100 per month. Additional gigabytes of data cost $15 per gigabyte, extra phones can be added to the plan for $15 each per month, and each hotspot costs $20 per month. Because wireless data plans have a cost structure based on piecewise-defined functions, we need an “if/then” statement within Excel to analyze the cost of the plan. Use the accompanying Excel spreadsheet as a guide in developing your spreadsheet. Enter into your spreadsheet a variety of possible amounts of data and various numbers of additional phones and hotspots.
9. Write a paragraph supporting the choice in plans that best meets your needs.
10. How are “if/then” loops similar to a piecewise-defined function?