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Cell phone companies are really starting to tighten
their
grip,
and they want you to tighten
your belt if you use a lot of data.
I'm not condoning those who cancel their cable Internet service and flip on
WiFi tethering when they get home without paying for a tethering plan. But when
you consider how hard these companies push streaming content such as Pandora,
Slacker, iHeartRadio, and even more data intensive apps such as Netflix and
Hulu, burning through a data cap of 2GB per month seems very possible. Many
people, including myself, are grandfathered in to unlimited data plans and
don't have to worry about keeping track of data usage. And unless you're coming
from a low minute shared plan switching to an unlimited voice/text plan (Share
Everything Plan), any new service plan is going to be more expensive and offer
you less value.
Cell phones are costing more to use while giving you less
service. Patent wars are arguably stunting growth, development, and innovation;
at the very least they slow
things down. Android has a reputation for inconsistent and sometimes
nonresponsive user interfacing. Apple has planned obsolescence down
to a science. All of this is discouraging and makes me wonder:
Can I Live Without It All?
Before making any hasty decisions, let's consider reasons
why and why not this may be a good idea. Probably the most important thing is
money, the monthly cost. Two smartphones on a family shared plan, let's say 700
shared minutes (lowest voice plan) and two data plans after taxes and fees is
about $140 a month. That's $1,680 a year. And for what? We get all
communication pushed to us immediately at all times, as long as we are
somewhere with signal. Many people have taken advantage of that ability,
including myself since the first BlackBerry and now using a Galaxy Nexus. But
with the rapid growth and availability of WiFi hotspots and VOIP, the trend may
be less usage of 3G or 4GLTE networks, and more WiFi hotspots. I'm at a
computer all day at work, and the computer is available at home any time.
Outside of that, a tablet can be used in most public places as free WiFi is
becoming more and more prevalent.
Why pay for Internet twice? Companies like Republic Wireless
are based on the fact that we are around WiFi a lot (and it's only growing). They
let you have your unlimited wireless data, too, knowing that you'll likely use
WiFi more often (albeit a phone you buy from them is designed to work off WiFi
primarily). It just seems like we don't need to put up with being nickel and
dimed for such small amounts of data. We are around WiFi almost all the time.
Then again, who are we?
(WiFi hotspots, AT&T alone) --->
There are certainly many people out there who can just not
perform their jobs without a cell phone, or at least not very well. Realtors,
contractors, and anyone performing their job outside of an office and needs to
communicate. But then again, how much data could they really be using? So the
question may not necessarily be "Can I live without it all?", but, "Can I at
least ditch data?". It would save money, and with other means of connecting to
the Internet becoming more widely available, you're not cutting yourself off
completely from mobile data. Perhaps even for emergencies you could keep a
cheap pay-as-you-go phone in your glove box.
WiFi is clunky to make connections to, and it's
not always seamless. Security is also an issue. It is very convenient to be
able to make calls to anyone, anywhere, and at all times. And for many that
just can't be given up. I'm
not giving up my current voice/data plan any time soon, but the thought keeps
coming up.
Could
you make it work? Could you live without mobile data, or even a mobile phone?
What reasons do you have for keeping or ditching your current voice and data
plan?
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Re: Can You Quit Your Cell Phone?
