When what we call the internet first began it wasn’t anything like what we have today. There are plenty of people out who will read this and know exactly what I am talking about and there are some who haven’t known anything but the current state of the internet. Things have changed over the years, including the way that we pay for our internet service. From what I’ve seen there have been three major points in the internet billing cycle and you can see the same exact points when you look at mobile web data.

1. Pay as you go
Anyone who remembers the internet before Cable and DSL remembers well the squeal of a modem and the rigors of the call not going through or the other end being busy. We didn’t have an always on connection and if you didn’t know how to turn the volume down on the modem everyone in the house with you knew you were connecting to the internet. Back then your internet usage was printed on your phone bill and you were billed accordingly.

Of course when someone figured out that we could use our cell phones to connect to internet sites (although very media light) the cell phone companies were quick to start charging for the data usage, on a pay as you go plan.

2. You’ve got INTERNET!
Our next step on the trip down memory lane stops where Cable and DSL internet began, dial-up internet was still pretty big and a lot of companies still billed you per kb but there was a change somewhere and people began to pay upfront for their data.

This is where we are now in the mobile data wars, every month you pay $30 and you get the internet, the fastest available and it’s always there; that is, as long as you have a signal. The only choice you have to make is whether you need enterprise support.

3. Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, SUPER Duper Mega Large
Now we buy our internet by how fast we want to download the finale of LOST and how high of quality we want to see the animals on our farms on Facebook. It’s like a veritable Baskin Robins of speeds, ranging from 2Mb to 100+Mb download speeds and it is always getting faster. No more can you just buy the internet, no, now you have to choose which is right for your needs.

As far as mobile data is concerned, this is the next step. Consumers are already mad that they have to pay $30 per month and they don’t get the speed they need or they don’t even use what they consider to be $30 worth of data. Then there are people who use more than their fair share of data (it is unlimited, after all) and still only pay the $30. The only indication we have of “speed” is how many “G” it is, the current is 3G and 4G is on the way.

Edit: You can read about I-nigma Reader, a free QR Code reader for Windows Mobile, here.

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