Comparing Verizon's unlimited plan -- and the catch

Verizon, the largest mobile carrier in the US, is once again selling unlimited data plans to better compete against T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. Here's the breakdown of the current unlimited plans for the major US carriers. On Verizon, $80 gets you one unlimited for one line and you can get this on 4 lines for $180. [MUSIC] T-Mobile's unlimited plan starts at 70 bucks. Four lines, it goes up to $160. Sprint's unlimited starts at just $50. And five lines, not four, costs $90 in total. That's the cheapest, but Sprint's pricing will only last a year. Because after March of 2018, it's gonna go up and close in price to T-Mobile. AT&T is the oddball right now. It only offers an unlimited mobile plan for people who also subscribe to DIRECTV or U-verse TV services. And if you do, it's gonna start at around $100 for one line and four unlimited lines will be $180. That's close to Verizon's pricing. When you're comparing prices, remember there'll be additional fees and taxes. Taxes added into the bill, except for T-Mobile. They fold that into their advertised prices. Of course, you have to take network quality into consideration. Verizon and AT&T are the largest, but it doesn't always mean they are the best. T-Mobile is ranking high in many reports these days. And also there are those limitations to unlimited. The fact is if you gobble up data, all of these networks are gonna slow you down. For example, on Verizon if you use 22 gigabytes of data in a month Your speed's gonna take a hit and other customers are gonna be given preference over you if the network is congested. Throttling is about the same for every carrier, give or take a few gigs. There's also another limit to unlimited, HD video. For T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T they're gonna limit your video streams by default to standard resolution. But sometimes you can pay more to get around it. Verizon is trying to get an edge by offering HD video included with its unlimited plan. So that puts Verizon ahead in that realm. As competition heats up, let's hope the deals get even better. Networks are growing to handle more capacity, and consumers are hungry for better unlimited deals, as our apps and streaming habits demand more data. For CNET, I'm Bridget Carey.