Earlier today I read another article about the rise of smartphones.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/20/nielsen-66-of-americans-ages-24-35-own-a-smartphone/
It’s not a surprise if you have been following Apple’s iPhone or Android’s success. And of course we see the result of all these smartphones in our portfolio. The number of mobile downloads is accelerating.
We all knew the processing in your pockets thanks to moores law and beautiful software would change the world.
The thing I’ve been thinking about lately is mobile data plans.
Before the iPhone the only successful monthly data plan was blackberry. If you wanted a blackberry you needed to sign up for a monthly data plan. And most employers picked up that tab.
Now consumers are increasingly buying smartphones and if you get a smartphone then you have to get the monthly data plan.
And while CE manufacturers will continue to come up with lower cost Amdroid phones the upfront cost of that phone isn’t the biggie. It’s the data plan purchased every month by the consumer, not the enterprise.
At some point as we get faster cellular data (4g) and increased wifi coverage, I’m thinking its gonna impact cable companies.
Wireless operators have made it clear they will continue to raise rates as they throttle data.
So as consumers we are being offered three bundles at the moment
1. Tv bundle by your cable co
2. Broadband to your home by your cable co
3. Mobile data by your wireless co
4. Landline telephone service by your telco
We already can see the writing is on the wall for the landline.
In our family we subscribe to all of these but the mobile phone is the single most important device. I suspect that is true for many if not most of others.
But today we pay more to our cable co than our wireless co.
It’s interesting to think about how they impact each other and at what point consumers only pick one.
Because one day cutting the cord may really mean cutting the actual cord.
(please excuse lack of links and typos. wrote this on my phone )