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So CTIA, a wireless industry trade group, conducted a study to show how wireless broadband services help the U.S. economy. Of course, they found immensely positive numbers, showing that wireless broadband can bolster our economic standing. Apparently, the service is projected to be valued at $427 billion by 2016. That assumes no large-impact, rare events, however, so it’s certainly optimistic at this point. But large scale broadband access certainly does have enormous economic implications.

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Since broadband really started to take hold through cable companies, we’ve seen a stark increase in the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) lines. Of course, when people first hear the term VoIP, they’re apt to think is testing a Java-based phone application, they likely won’t be the leaders in mobile VoIP usage. Unsurprisingly, the carriers themselves are recognizing this opportunity, and are trying to get ahead of the game.

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Last Friday, I talked about a story regarding Verizon Wireless and their mobile broadband plans. Since we were talking about that topic yesterday, I figured now was as good a time as any for a confirmation. As you might recall, I wasn’t able to find a provision for overage charges in their press release announcing the cap. Well, now the overages rates are very clear. Thanks to the guys from EVDOinfo.com for bringing this to light. Yes, an overage for your mobile broadband plan will cost you at least 49 cents per MB.
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An overarching theme in the telecommunications industry of late has been the declining value of voice. For a while, we were seeing some real stagnation. As the market for cell phones hit saturation, the only place voice prices could go was down. And so we saw an emphasis on text messaging, with carriers offering various packages in order to guarantee some additional monthly income. Then came the unlimited voice packages, which is an attempt to raise the average amount each customers spends per month. Soon, this will all shift to data, which is nice for the carriers, since that sector isn’t even close to saturation. But it’s growing. In fact, the number of mobile broadband users — that is, using mobile broadband cards from their laptops — grew 154 percent from the fourth quarter 06 to the same period in 07.
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It’s been a strange trip for Verizon. First they say they have unlimited data. But then when some people mistakenly think that “unlimited” means “unlimited,” they’re booted off the Verizon network. Verizon gets sued, of course, for falsely advertising the plan, and pays out roughly a million in the process. So they become up front about their 5 GB soft cap on data. Well, now they’re putting that same 5 GB cap on their BroadBand Access plan, which covers people with wireless data cards. While before they’d just reduce your connection speed when you exceeded the cap, now it appears there will be a monetary penalty.
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