Meeting the data quota

Data caps on mobile broadband plans are starting to become the norm. To AT&T’s credit, it made those caps explicit when it launched its new netbook pilot program, rather than include such restrictions in the fine print. But it raises the question of whether data quotas are the new order of business going forward. Will we have the freedom of the Internet on our mobile devices only up to a pre-defined point?

You can’t blame the operators for trying to prevent overuse on their networks. Delivering bits over the network — even a 3G or 4G one — ain’t cheap. But data caps seem to be a rather inflexible approach to the problem — one that runs counter to the way people are accustomed to accessing Internet services. There are alternatives to data caps in managing network traffic — a few of which are explored in today’s online feature about dynamic and tiered billing. The gist of it, though, is that instead of rigid quotas, operators could impose more fluid policies that adjust other variables besides monthly data consumption when crafting a data plan. Carriers could dial down available bandwidth for certain data-intensive applications such as video, or conversely they could open up bandwidth for video for customers that pay a premium. Instead of enforcing a rigid threshold on overall data consumption, they could enforce it only during peak hours.

Many of these policies require the use of deep packet inspection, a controversial topic in wireline broadband, with its implications on Net neutrality. Those same concerns extend to mobile, but unlike in the wireline space, there isn’t a long precedence for unlimited, unrestricted mobile broadband services. For years, mobile operators have been telling us where we can go and what we can view and download with our mobile data connections. Only recently has the mobile broadband truly begun to open up, but along with our freedom to explore the outer regions of the Internet have come restrictions on how long we can do it. These new policy controls, if implemented fairly and properly, could do just as much to open up mobile broadband as they could to restrict them. The alternative is per-byte billing, which would ultimately be the fairest solution — but not one carriers or consumers really want to mess with.

E-mail me at kfitchard@telephonyonline.com.