WHY DO WE BUY MOBILE DATA?
Ever wonder why you have to buy data to use the internet? It’s not like you are shopping! After all, who pays to browse through a store? Well, to explain this with lay man terms, imagine your phone as a super car that can connect through the entire planet. But, this connection uses giant cell phone networks, in this case, a massive highway system.
Here’s the thing, in the case of our super car, building and keeping those highways running isn’t cheap. Cell phone companies have to put up all these towers and equipment to send signals back and forth to your phone, letting it find its way around the internet. Internet Service Providers pass these costs to you through data plans. We would love the internet to be free! If we could just wire up every device directly, that would be the dream. But the truth is, achieving that would be incredibly difficult, almost impossible. Imagine what this means if all your cell phones are connected with wires, infact they will have to be immobile.
Here’s why we pay for mobile data:
- Maintenance: Cell phone companies build and maintain a network of towers, masts and equipment that act like base stations. These stations send and receive signals to and from your phone, allowing it to connect to the internet. ISPs pass on the cost of upkeep and upgrades to users through data plans. This means that ideally, you can use the internet without buying data plans, but then you may have to make your own wired internet, which is hardly sufficient.
- Renting Your Lane: The internet can get crowded, especially during peak times. Mobile data plans essentially give you a designated amount of data usage, like a rented lane on the highway. This ensures you get a decent connection speed for things like browsing, streaming, or using apps.
- Toll Booths: While there aren’t literal toll booths, the data you use is measured. Downloading a large file or streaming a movie uses more data than checking email. Data plans typically come with a set amount of data allowance. Going over this limit can result in extra charges, similar to how some highways have toll roads.
SO WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE?
Basically, when it comes to paying for mobile data, there is no alternative. Even that free Wi-Fi you connect to? Someone, like a cafe or library, is paying for it. The internet itself might be a big, open network, but to actually get on, you gotta use “toll roads” owned by internet service providers (ISPs) – those are the companies that build and maintain the cell phone towers that act like bridges to the internet. Without a wired connection, your phone needs these ISPs to get you where you’re going online. Since they themselves are not running any charity, end users (customers) will definitely have to pay to use their services.
They only good thing is that anybody is allowed to own and run an ISP company, hence introducing competition which will in turn bring down cost of services. I hope this article has familiarised you with the essence of paying for data subscriptions.
Thanks for reading.
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