Working from the comfort of my home is a luxury, but not one that doesn’t have its worries. No matter how good your cellular provider is, unexpected interruptions happen from time to time. An unlimited data plan has been an absolute lifesaver.
Data Demands Are Skyrocketing—And They’re Not Slowing Down
I enjoy watching a good movie or binge-watching a new series on Netflix that I’ve been waiting for a long time (um, who doesn’t?). With the genres and sub-genres available these days, you can spend countless hours immersed in the experience, eagerly awaiting the next episode or sequel. You can even watch movies from your VR headset, and yes, an immersive streaming experience like this on VR takes a significant amount of data. If your data plan is limited, and you enjoy VR, streaming VR videos can quickly eat through this.
This is the magic of the internet in this modern time. Having the ability to instantly connect to entertainment, look up information, or talk to someone online can be done at the click of a button. You can do this from your phone, and centuries ago, this would have all been seen as wizardry. All this takes up a lot of data. It’s a lot worse for gamers, too.
I like my videos at the best resolution I can get them. Did you know that when you’re streaming a 4K YouTube video, you can use up anywhere from 125 to 270 MB per minute (depending on frame rate and compression)? This means that a 20-minute 4K video could potentially use up anywhere between 2.5GB to 5.4GB of data. That’s an insane amount of data!
Today, communication happens faster than the blink of an eye, with outstanding quality too. Work can be done anywhere (even in space; I’m not kidding). You can access information in an instant. With artificial intelligence tools popping up like mushrooms in recent years, we now have genius-level assistants at our disposal, such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and more. These tools can turn mere prompts that you type into astonishing creations such as programming code, photos, videos, and text. Such an amazing advancement we’re having as a human species.
Limited Plans, High Costs, and Constant Worry
Browsing and accessing the Internet is only possible when we have an Internet connection—whether that’s cellular data or Wi-Fi. Unlimited home internet is great at home, especially if you’re working from home or have a lot of hobbies that require an internet connection. But what about when you have to leave the house, and Wi-Fi is out of reach? Well, fortunately, most of us have the option to use mobile data for our smartphones or tablets through our network provider (as long as your area has network coverage).
However, that doesn’t mean that the data is infinitely available. It still runs out depending on the type of plan you’ve purchased. That’s not nice. To me, it adds up to the mental load of always having to monitor the data usage when I’m out and about. If you don’t have unlimited home internet, you’ll have to do the same.
When it comes to data and using the Internet, the demand may be greater than the supply. Internet service and cellular providers take advantage of the market, pricing their plans as high as they can go to make as much profit as possible. Marketing advertisements may promote affordability, but not all plans are cheap.
Unlimited Data: The Costly Upgrade That’s Actually Worth It?
Before upgrading to an unlimited data plan (which can actually help you save money if you use a lot of data), I used prepaid. That burnt quite a hole in my pocket. It’s a necessity, all right? I had to spend money to get connected. I admit the price initially put me off compared to the prepaid one. But then I looked at my data usage on my Android and realized that all my apps, YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok, were consuming a ton of data. I ended up calculating that it’s better to be on a truly unlimited cellular data plan than stick to prepaid. This was particularly helpful when I’m out and about and don’t have Wi-Fi (or don’t prefer to use public Wi-Fi because of all the security risks).
Having an unlimited data plan (both Wi-Fi and cellular data) gave me a sense of happiness and satisfaction when realizing I didn’t have to check my data usage repeatedly. In fact, it’s unlikely I would check—unless it’s every now and then to monitor my usage. However, I don’t really see my data usage going down anytime soon. One another thing that gives me peace of mind is realizing that my unlimited cellular data plan works as a backup internet if my Wi-Fi ever goes down, especially if I’m working remotely or need a reliable internet connection. You can also create a hotspot for your friends and family to connect to, should they need it.
The Data Era Cap is Over
It’s become evident that internet connectivity is now a way of life, not just a luxury. The data cap era is over—and telecommunication companies need to have more affordable options for both mobile data plans and Wi-Fi. I demand change, and it should be enforced (okay, okay, I’ll stay calm for now). In all seriousness, long-term savings when it comes to your internet bill can be possible if you subscribe to a plan that best suits you (whether it’s unlimited or not) and if these service providers offer cheaper prices. Everything online is getting bigger, except your ISP’s data cap.
By having the freedom of unlimited data, a ton of things can be made possible, not just at home but at work as well, especially for remote workers, which is unlikely to go away any time soon. If you have unlimited data, you never have to worry about your internet usage at work.
Unlimited Data Equals Peace of Mind—And It Should Be Affordable
For me, personal security and peace of mind are one of the main things that having unlimited data provides. You may use a lot of smart home devices. There are tons on the market now, from security cameras that have the capability of remote monitoring and fire detection sensors to personal assistants like Alexa. You can access these tools, but it’s only possible with internet access. If you’re away from home and want to view your smart security camera feed, you’ll need enough cellular data on your smartphone (especially if there’s no Wi-Fi available).
So, it’s not a big ask for these corporate telecommunications giants to lower their pricing for this fundamental, encompassing, and all-important commodity. I want to have peace of mind because I deserve it. But not only me, but also you, as well as the people who need and use the Internet for their livelihood, security, and leisure. There shouldn’t be a cap.
I know that these telecommunications companies can do more for the benefit of humanity and not just their pockets, at least in their field. They’re big enough to make tiny price adjustments that mean a lot to so many people. And who knows? Maybe more and more subscribers will purchase their plans, and that will eventually increase their profits. It is a mutually beneficial proposition, in my point of view.
