General Discussion

RichVRichV

(885 posts)

49. 2GBs is a 1.5 hour movie download. Nice to get but hardly a deal breaker. n/t

Wed May 4, 2016, 02:18 PM

May 2016

I work at a WISP that offers no data caps and regularly watch people burn through 10 to 15 GBs in 6 hours binge watching on Netflix. The data caps are going to have to go way up to make those very high speeds useful day to day.

The other way to look at it is spectrum isn't unlimited. They don't have data caps just because they feel like it. The have them so they can stack hundreds of people on a tower and not bring it to a crawl.

Without data caps our over-subscription model is like 3 to 1. Cell companies are like 50 to 1 because of the data caps. It's a technical limitation as much as an economic one. No data caps means massive increase in usage which means more spectrum needed (the last spectrum auction ran over $10 billion I believe).

Right now things are going the other way. Even cable providers are starting to impliment data caps.

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Are Smartphones Doomed to the Same Fate as Personal Computers? [View all] marmar May 2016 OP

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like n/t okieinpain May 2016 #63

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Well duh, FoxNewsSucks May 2016 #2

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Yes GummyBearz May 2016 #36

wifi changes the equation Mosby May 2016 #56

Not unless they get rid of data caps. RichVRichV May 2016 #39

Data caps have been slowly improving GummyBearz May 2016 #41

2GBs is a 1.5 hour movie download. Nice to get but hardly a deal breaker. n/t RichVRichV May 2016 #49

The next big thing will be a combined device... apnu May 2016 #17

This is the right answer tkmorris May 2016 #45

Given how lucrative the "phablet" market is for phones apnu May 2016 #48

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Bingo! brush May 2016 #54

And so it goes . . . JustAnotherGen May 2016 #3

The idea of upgrading a perfectly funtional edhopper May 2016 #4

Planned obsolescence, it's been working for the automobile industry for decades tularetom May 2016 #6

Technology does not work that way randr May 2016 #10

Which are unnecesarry for most people edhopper May 2016 #24

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And all of those work as well edhopper May 2016 #32

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Uh, Tom???? ProfessorGAC May 2016 #18

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that is a lot of miles for a young car hfojvt May 2016 #40

Dont bjuy a Toshiba PC then... Jackie Wilson Said May 2016 #27

I have had very good results from Dell edhopper May 2016 #29

I was gonna go Apple but I use connectify, and they dont have one for Apple Jackie Wilson Said May 2016 #33

I won't diss Apple edhopper May 2016 #55

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Until 5G is rolled out GummyBearz May 2016 #11

That will be worth upgrading for! FLPanhandle May 2016 #15

that was my old joke hfojvt May 2016 #42

No doubt there will be a 6G GummyBearz May 2016 #47

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It was my first smartphone. I did (do) still have my old flipphone LisaM May 2016 #43

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+1000 n/t JustAnotherGen May 2016 #21

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I'm from the D! GreenEyedLefty May 2016 #50

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