take a look at this AT&T bill for two
phone lines the total comes to over 142
dollars their charges for 4G LTE access
international calling and a bunch of
fees in taxes it's confusing and
expensive but it's not just this bill
compared to similar markets the US has
the fifth most expensive mobile data
these prices aren't set at random there
are a lot of factors that affect what
one gigabyte costs and these high costs
are hurting everyone let's go back to
that graph the US has four major
carriers Verizon AT&T t-mobile and
Sprint but even though the US has
multiple carriers their prices aren't
competitive like other countries with
four carriers research firm rear wheel
found that median mobile gigabyte prices
in the US were 16 times higher than
European markets with four carriers
because of these high prices consumers
have to choose the lesser of multiple
evils when picking a data plan you
either pay for a set amount of data but
get charged when you use extra or you
pay more upfront for unlimited data but
unlimited data doesn't mean unlimited
speeds after a certain point you're
going to get throttled with ATM fees
unlimited plan for example speeds may be
slowed after you use 22 gigs of data and
you may find yourself throttled anyway
no matter what plan you choose a study
from North Eastern found that video
streaming was throttled even when the
network wasn't under a heavy load even
one of Verizon's unlimited plans
explicitly offers DVD quality 480p
streaming that's standard def by the way
of course it sounds strange at first the
advertisement says it will now there are
several mobile virtual network operator
companies hey there it's me mint fox
MVNOs piggyback off the cell towers of
one or more major carriers companies
like mint and Google Phi offer cheaper
plans but these aren't nearly as popular
as traditional cellphone plants and
their speeds may be limited with
priority given to the main network
customers okay so mobile data is
expensive but 4G data isn't a physical
thing if you use an extra gigabyte of
data Verizon doesn't have to make
another gig to replace what you used so
why does someone who use 10 gigs have to
pay more than someone who used to to
understand what you're paying for we
have to look at how data gets to your
phone when you use 4G data your phone is
sending packets of information to a cell
tower that tower then sends information
back and forth over miles and miles of
fiber-optic cables sometimes even
submarine cables it costs a lot to run
and maintain that infrastructure you're
paying for things like repairs updates
administrative costs and the electricity
it takes to run everything but remember
all those taxes and fees you might be
getting charged more depending on where
you live in the u.s. cell phone taxes
vary widely by state and even within a
state just look at New York in 2018 cell
phone taxes were almost six times higher
than Nevada there's also a serious lack
of investment in rural areas cities and
places with a denser population get new
technologies like 5g first while rural
areas have to deal with slower speeds in
2018 average mobile download speeds in
Massachusetts were more than double
speeds in Wyoming and more remote
geographical regions often come with
higher data costs but no matter where
you live the amount you pay per gigabyte
doesn't really equal the cost to
maintain the network it's competition
that controls data prices in 2017 both
18t and Verizon brought back unlimited
plants in response to plans offered by
t-mobile and research has shown that
prices in three carrier markets are
higher than for carrier markets but
these problems are much worse in certain
parts of the world only about 51% of the
world is using the Internet high data
costs are one of the biggest factors
that prevent developing countries from
getting online
research from the Alliance for
affordable Internet found that in low
and middle income countries one gigabyte
of mobile data costs 5.5 percent of the
average monthly income that's five times
higher than what the organization
considers affordable internet to give
you an idea of how high that is five
point five percent of a $50,000 US
salary would be almost two hundred and
thirty dollars per month for just one
gig of data the dwelling without a phone
is cut off from the world regardless of
its closeness to other buildings but
there are solutions to this problem some
countries are putting specific focus on
lowering mobile data prices Malaysia put
in our effort to ensure is competition
in the market to make it easier for
people to comment like new confidence to
comment and sell services that's done
Arash decor he's the research director
at the Alliance for affordable Internet
and the web foundation Dhanraj pointed
out that Malaysia has also invested in
subsidizing access to lower-income
groups some countries are really making
an effort to try and push these forces
that can improve affordability
competition government investment and
infrastructure sharing can all help
lower data costs but consumers in
low-income areas don't always get this
investment in June the FCC took an
initial step towards limiting the
spending of universal service programs a
program that according to the FCC is
designed to make broadband as ubiquitous
its force capping the USF could limit
broadband access in rural areas and
classrooms and competition may be
getting even harder to find in the US as
Sprint and t-mobile or China merge a lot
of people are concerned that if the u.s.
consolidates to a three carrier market
the lack of competition will increase
costs for consumers we don't know for
sure what will happen if t-mobile and
Sprint merge they claimed the merger
will allow them to lower prices and
create new jobs but when AT&T and
singular merged in 2004 the housings of
workers were laid off what we do know is
that higher data costs and lacks
regulations on care
hurt consumers although even in a market
that isn't competitive you may still
have some choice don't just accept your
expensive bill take some time to shop
around or tell your carrier you're
thinking of switching to see if they can
offer you something better you might be
able to find a cheaper plan