Mobile video will kill flat-rate data plans

GigaOm
Stacey Higginbotham argues that the explosion of online mobile video use will force cellular network carriers to charge heavy data users more in an effort to reduce congestion. The average mobile device currently consumes 1.3 GB of data per month, and most cell plans allow 5 GB under their flat-rate plans. However, Cisco Systems predicts that average will increase to 7 GB per month by 2014, and 82 percent of that traffic will be streaming video. Higginbotham highlights a comment by AT&T Mobility President Ralph de la Vega in December, “What’s driving usage on the network and driving these high-usage situations are things like video or audio that keeps playing around the clock. We’ve got to get to those customers and have them recognize and change their patterns.”
>Is 2010 the year of wireless congestion? (MSNBC)
>Verizon looks for more revenue in wireless data (CNet)