4G - is this the door opener to larger caps?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › 4G - is this the door opener to larger caps?

ghettomaster

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#139100 28-Jan-2014 09:35

This is more of a generic mobile data question but I chucked it in Telecom because it's as good a place as any. My question is regarding data caps and what is the reason why they are so much smaller on mobile accounts as opposed to fixed broadband.

My thinking is that if we can get the size data caps we do on residential broadband, the cost of back-haul is not the issue which makes me conclude it must be due to contention within the 3G spectrum. Am I right in thinking this and if so, will uptake of 4G allow for larger mobile data caps?

I for one feel hamstrung by the 2-3 GB we get on your typical smart package. I consider myself a moderate user, but if I were to watch youtube on the train every day like I want to, I could see myself easily chewing through 10-20GB per month. Can anyone comment on when Telecom and Voda might start offering 10, 20, 50, something decent, on their smart phone plans?

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#975594 28-Jan-2014 09:40

This all comes back to capacity over the air interface, It's not unlimited start putting those data caps in place everyone moves to 4G and it will be slower than dial-up

Google ' Noise floor '

networkn

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#975595 28-Jan-2014 09:41

Mobile Bandwidth is limited, compared to those of Landline based Broadband, and if everyone had 100GB then it would become unusably slow. Think of it sort of like lanes on a highway.

ghettomaster

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#975597 28-Jan-2014 09:43

I haven't read about noise floor but will.

How do they get on overseas with unlimited mobile data such as in the US? Or is it just horribly slow?

coffeebaron

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#975598 28-Jan-2014 09:44

Wireless is a finite resource. You will never see data caps come close to fixed line.

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ghettomaster

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#975600 28-Jan-2014 09:45

networkn: Mobile Bandwidth is limited, compared to those of Landline based Broadband, and if everyone had 100GB then it would become unusably slow. Think of it sort of like lanes on a highway.

I get that but with the increase in bandwidth available through 4G technology, does this not pave the way for at least some form of increase in caps?

nathan

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#975601 28-Jan-2014 09:47

Unlimited overseas is not unlimited when you read the fine print

2Degrees with 12GB for $99 is still a good deal IMHO, even in the worldwide scheme of things

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johnr

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#975604 28-Jan-2014 09:51

ghettomaster:
networkn: Mobile Bandwidth is limited, compared to those of Landline based Broadband, and if everyone had 100GB then it would become unusably slow. Think of it sort of like lanes on a highway.

I get that but with the increase in bandwidth available through 4G technology, does this not pave the way for at least some form of increase in caps?

It's not in use yet no handsets are even in the market place that support NZ LTE band plan for 700Mhz

ghettomaster

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#975606 28-Jan-2014 09:52

Interesting... Thanks for the replies guys!

freitasm

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#975649 28-Jan-2014 10:45

ghettomaster: How do they get on overseas with unlimited mobile data such as in the US? Or is it just horribly slow?

First there aren't many "unlimited" plans overseas anymore. The ones that are have soft "limits".

And they can get large data caps over mobile because their mobile data speeds and coverage are crap most of the times (specially in the USA, which a lot of people take as reference).

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YadaMe

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#975656 28-Jan-2014 10:58

And don't forget the "unlimited" data plans in the US do not allow tethering, only data on the phone (even then they limit programs if they can).

old3eyes

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#975663 28-Jan-2014 11:02

YadaMe: And don't forget the "unlimited" data plans in the US do not allow tethering, only data on the phone (even then they limit programs if they can).

You can have tethering for a price . About $20 from memory..

We're pretty lucking in NZ compared to the US with pricing etc..

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tdgeek

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#975673 28-Jan-2014 11:09

ghettomaster:
networkn: Mobile Bandwidth is limited, compared to those of Landline based Broadband, and if everyone had 100GB then it would become unusably slow. Think of it sort of like lanes on a highway.

I get that but with the increase in bandwidth available through 4G technology, does this not pave the way for at least some form of increase in caps?

The speed is faster which is great. Does that mean a user will then download more to their phone? More apps, buy more music? Not really. What you use will be faster, although if browsing on a bus or train you may read a few more webpages. IMO

sbiddle

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#975674 28-Jan-2014 11:09

Wireless is a finite resource. It will never be a replacement for cabled connections and should always maintain a price premium.

In terms of caps Nokia Siemens Networks goal is to engineer mobile networks capable of supporting 1GB per use per day by 2020. We're still a LONG way from being able to support that sort of capacity with current technology and networks.

TwoSeven

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#975676 28-Jan-2014 11:11

Telco's here I think have a limited if not fixed user-base (revenue) which may restrict the rate at which they can implement infrastructure and recover costs. Its probably a little more difficult to plan for over-capacity now than it was a few years back.

In short, and as already pointed out, I suspect that it comes down to the fact that the air-interface probably cant support a large group of 'always active' (different from 'always connected') users on parts of the network.

Also, from a strategy point of view, mobile [phone] data capacity doesn't need to be very high - if I had the qualifier - if the end-user can tap into their fixed line data plans. This is where wifi hotspots come into play as they don't have a high-cost air interface (but unfortunately, are at the moment of low density and not shared access points).

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chevrolux

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#975785 28-Jan-2014 12:41

How do they get on overseas with unlimited mobile data such as in the US? Or is it just horribly slow?

Go and find some decent 4G coverage in the States. It is far far more scarce than everybody is lead to believe. Even HSDPA was hard to come by and we were by no means in what I would call 'rural' areas. Most of the time driving around we were sitting on EDGE networks.

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