Mobile broadband has been around for a very long time, but has only recently come under attack by those who take the phrasing of unlimited mobile broadband literally. While there are few compelling arguments to not take such claims literally, the fact is that the caps broadband providers have in place for mobile broadband subscriptions is due to simple and understandable economic forces., These caps are likely to continue at or around current price points while truly unlimited mobile broadband will likely be available at higher price points. Here's what happened:
Portable devices lacked compelling reasons to use ample amounts of broadband bandwidth until the mid-2000s. Around this time the processing power available in energy-efficient and small form factors reached a point where it was possible for hardware developers to make devices that could sip power, retain their lightweight status, run for extended durations without being plugged in, and yet still offer a compelling user experience that made people actually want to use their smartphones. Around the same time a new breed of lightweight notebooks and sub-notebooks called netbooks emerged, both of which were compelling reasons for many to adopt the last piece of the puzzle: 3G broadband technology.
3G offered the promise of fast unlimited mobile broadband services for users of smartphones as well as notebook/netbook users. The result of 3G plus devices that people found affordable and powerful enough to use while mobile was also fueled by an explosion in web technologies such as social media, YouTube, IPTV, and much more. The result was a culmination of technologies that resulted in an unprecedented demand for speed and bandwidth, but it takes time and money to deploy networks.
As a result, the previously available so-called unlimited mobile broadband plans were simply not enough to handle the stress placed on them by consumers that were soon labeled 'data-hogs.' A hard cap may or may not have been in place prior to these events, depending on the carrier and where one gets their information from. The message, however, is loud and clear: consumers want unlimited mobile broadband and are willing to pay for it. At first those fees are likely to be a little high, but they are almost certain to come down in time, just as wired broadband fees did.
Wireless broadband is the future of so many portable devices that it simply makes sense for unlimited mobile broadband to be truly unlimited. This might mean higher fees for the near future, but one day it might just come to pass that wireless broadband will be a right and not something that people pay for.
Charles is an avid technology enthusiast who cannot decide whether he likes broadband or digital cable more. Either way, feel free to follow Charles at http://www.fiberforall.org.
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