Finally more mobile data volume, let’s see how long that lasts
The increase in data volume on cell phones is a story that I believe is documented far too little in the technology diary. (Kathrin’s contributions to this may give rise to a distorted view of what a “usual” mobile data volume is in the future.)
That’s why I’m documenting a data point and an update on the mobile data volume of my mother and my children here: Here I documented that in 2016 my mother and my children got their first smartphone, at that time with 100 MB of mobile data volume per month. Even back then that was really very, very little, even if you only used the mobile data on your smartphone for a few WhatsApps and hardly anything else. It was therefore quickly expanded to 300 MB/month for my mother and her older son. Both of them coped quite well with this, my mother because she doesn’t use mobile data that much when she’s out and about anyway, and the son because he’s pretty clever at finding free Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes and subways etc. Both also have WiFi in the house. And for some time now, the son has also had Wi-Fi at school.
A few years ago (unfortunately I can’t remember exactly when – if you don’t write everything down immediately…!) the cheapest tariff was changed to 500 MB / month and the basic price was increased from 2 to 3 euros per month. This was sufficient as a basic tariff for some time.
Now the provider’s cheapest tariff has been changed to 1 GB / month and the price has been reduced again to 2 euros / month. Of course, 1 GB per month feels like very little for heavy smartphone users today, but for occasional smartphone users like my mother and hotspot hunters like my son, it works quite well. (My own tariff includes 50 GB per month, which I can handle. But I don’t travel very often and sometimes don’t have Wi-Fi and, on the contrary, I still have to provide devices with the Internet via my cell phone.)
Sometimes the son says that he is the only one in his class who has so little data volume and no telephony flat rate. (“The only one,” as in “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a Playstation!”) I’ve often offered to increase this if he needs more. But so far he says he’s coping well.
He would rather invest the money saved in trumpet notes than in more mobile data volume.
(Molinarius)