Since the incarnation of mobile data, whether unlimited or not, people seem to need the internet wherever they go to function. However, technology has advanced so much that WiFi is almost always with you or somewhat near. Mobile hotspots are a trend for businesses and public offices, which are almost everywhere. So, why should we buy into unlimited data crazes if WiFi is slowly, but surely expanding? From my knowledge and rough estimates, I think that WiFi will be virtually everywhere in the next decade. Also, let's not forget Google Fiber: an internet service with downloads speeds of up to 1GB. When it's available nation-wide, businesses are going to swoop in to take the offer. Thus giving people more opportunities to internet, and faster types at that. It's beautiful to people who love the internet, but some people still rely on their data. Is your city adequate with WiFi, does that make it simpler to switch off data consumption? I'd love to hear some opinions.
My city doesn't have that many Wifi spots. You can get wifi in Dunkin Donuts for example but Wegman's and Barnes & Noble are the only stores that I know of that has it. If my cable service is the hotspot provider at a location forget it. It's a pain in the ass to log in (consider the source) I would hope though that they would expand more places to have Wifi because not only can data be more expensive it's not as reliable.
Vehicles will soon all have wi-fi and although at first you will need to pay for that wifi it's widely assumed that the tracking features of that wi-fi will lead to free service on the roads. Since that's the case, and as you said more and more places give access for free, the days of paying for internet access may be coming to an end, at least as they are now. It's likely that you will need to pay a one time fee when buying a device(or vehicle) to gain access to the network, and that the fee will not be optional. When that time comes you will still be able to use a library or coffee shop tablet to gain access. My point is that there will always be free ways to access the net much like a hardline phone still allows you to call anywhere without roaming charges. Gadgets are not all they are cracked up to be, unfortunately they've become a means of gouging you and tracking you too. Buy wisely.
My city doesn't have many wifi spots yet, but I think in a few years you'll be able to get unlimited data on every phone/device for rather cheap just like you can with unlimited texts nowerdays. A lot of restaurants and places do have wifi here but I live in the countryside and most of the wifi spots are awfully slow and the decent ones are all pay to use.
It's a huge overstatement to say that WiFi is around us all the time. Most of those networks are going to be private, and then you can't access those without the passkey. Plus, public WiFi hotspots come with inherent security shortcomings, and not everyone wants to use those. It's asinine to think that mobile data is no longer necessary, especially considering how much telecomm companies make from such plans.
Not all places have wi-fi and so to have data is very useful. I have found wi-fi can go down or as another poster says, many are locked or you have to register and sometimes free wi-fi is overloaded and is slow or fails. Maybe there will be a time where there is free and reliable wi-fi, but not many places have that, even in large cities. It's more about security as people use these networks to hack and carry out other dubious activities.
Wifi going to pervade the entire world and replace all forms of the internet is wishful thinking. Wifi still has a long way to go before it can offer acceptable speeds and reliability. Fiber optic networks too have their drawbacks and several options safely carry over into the next decades. Internet connectivity would make a definite headway in the next decade, but Wifi replacing everything else is an overstatement.
It is still needed. I live in the centre of London and despite this I find that if I want to connect to WIFI while away from my house then I will have to pay and sometimes through the nose! My phone comes with 2gb limit each month and I find this is plenty for me while I'm away from the house.
I save a lot of money by not having a data plan. You figure that's $50 a month, so $600 per year! That's a whole paycheck for some of us! I would much rather use that money to pay off debt or put towards a house. WiFi is very widespread and only getting more so. I have been data plan free for 2 years now, and I do not miss it one bit. I can normally find wifi, or just wait until I get somewhere that has it. Sure if you are rich then by all means get that unlimited plan. If you are interested in saving a lot of money then don't bother.
While it is tempting to use free WiFi in stores, restaurants, and other public places, I have heard that accessing these free WiFi spots can lead to people hacking your device. Has anyone else heard of this risk of using free wifi? Has this happened to you or anyone you know? I used to connect to free WiFi where ever I would go, however, now I am more cautious. I live in a more rural area, so there is not really WiFi everywhere I go. However, I do have WiFi at home and at work, which are the two places I spend most of my time online.
For me mobile data absolutely neccessary. Thought I don't use much of it - unless I go out of town and use my phone as a WiFi hotspot for my laptop. But I agree that with time WiFi (hopefully free of charge) coverage everywhere will be reality. It already is in most commercial/downtown areas, but smaller cities and less populated places still are black spots on the map with no WiFi coverage.
I don't know about thi because I use a phone that doesn't have a wifi hot spot built in. This is just one of the ways that I am behind the times. It is important to get the kind of phone you wish to use, and if you don't need a data plan to go with it, you are certainly going to save some money, but most people seem to feel they are necessary.
Sometimes I envision being able to go the park on nice mild days and work from my laptop, but the reason I do not do it is because the park area does not have free WiFi and I do not have much data on my phone. It certainly would be nice if more areas like that did incorporate free WiFi or if my phone carrier had some cheaper rates.
You've got a point, since when I went abroad there used to be so many WI-FIs my phone actually took time to decide which had the best connection before connecting to the respective network! But where I live, this isn't the case at all. WI-FI connections are quite rare, and there's some to be found, they're password-protected, so... I have to carry a data plan with me at all times. But I don't use much Internet anyway, so 500MB suffice enough to me... and it costs nothing more than $3 a month. Great deal!
I like to use mine in the car a lot, so I still need data. Plus, I feel more comfortable being on my own network than some wifi that may be un secure. That is just my opinion anyways. I use about 2 to 2.5 gbs of data every month. I have a friend that goes through 10 gb a month. I think that is crazy and I just can't believe it! He must watch a lot of movies and do a lot of video streaming.
Wifi isn't all that prevalent where I live. It's funny, I have a friend who lives in another state who uses wifi at Walmart when he's hanging out waiting for his prescriptions to be filled. That can take up to or over an hour, and the wifi is constant and consistent. We don't even have free wifi at my local Walmart. I would love if it was available, but it's not. There is a McDonald's inside the Walmart, but I haven't checked to see if they have wifi. My understanding is that some have it, and some might not. I have AT&T at home, so those hotspots are available to me, but since I'm way outside the city, it's still difficult to find free and open wifi. When I do use free wifi, I am also conscious of security issues, as mentioned above. I only do certain things on the free wifi, and reserve financial transactions and other sensitive tasks for when I'm at home.
I do think it's mostly unnecessary at this point. It's hard to go to far without running into free wifi in my area, and I just can't justify paying more for mobile data when that's the case. Honestly if there's anything major that I'd need to do, I tend to end up using my laptop and/or tablet instead, anyway. I tend to use my phone for texting, calls when absolutely necessary and light gaming. So it wouldn't really benefit me to have a lot of mobile data to play around with.
Over here, there's not much wi-fi hotspots, so I think it would still be pretty convenient if you had access to the internet using a DSL or a mobile plan so that you can still have access to the internet when you are at home. Mobile internet here can be pretty cheap, depending on the plan that you choose.
I can really see what you mean, especially lately, because I can pretty much get free WiFi wherever I go if it is near a public place, which is more places than you would think when you are out walking around. That said, there are times when I need the data so it is still necessary to me. Having the unlimited data though is paying way too much and even the higher plan are still a waste for me, so just purchasing what I need has really saved me a lot in the long run.
I would say yes, I do still need the data package from my cell phone provider, even though I also use WiFi with my phone where available. Even though there are many places offering free WiFi, the coverage is spotty and you cannot rely on public WiFi for when you are doing stuff like traveling and trying to use Google Navigation. Plus some WiFi hotspots require you to sign in and agree to some terms and conditions, which you need to do manually. Generally speaking I use WiFi on my phone when I am at home to save on my mobile data usage, and mainly only use the mobile data when I am away from home. I'm only on a 1GB plan currently with T-Mobile, then it's "unlimited" slow data. But as long as I'm not on the road much, I generally stay within that 1GB each month. The only times I go over it are when the internet is down at home, and I have to tether my phone instead temporarily.
