Choosing a Data Plan Collect information from your family, friends, or consumer agencies such as Consumer Reports. Then decide on a service 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 providers website. Many cellular providers offer family plans that include unlimited talk, text, and data. However, once a data cap has been reached, service may be slowed, which prevents media from being streamed. So, many customers still purchase dataonly plans for devices such as tablets or laptops. The monthly cost is primarily determined by the amount of data used and the number of data-only devices.