Comment on Why do cell phones have a data limit but home internet doesn't?
mesamunefire@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Home internet did happen to have a limit in most places prior to the pandemic (at least in California). It was one of the big quiet changes that occurred. For example, ATT used to have 150GB limit about 5 years ago but it kept getting bumped up.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
That is exactly the reason.
Those caps also prevent the small percentage of people who would abuse the system from having as much of a negative impact on other users.
Back when the company I used to work for offered an unlimited voice calling deal (we’re talking 25 years ago on the old analog cell system) there were a few people who decided it would be a good idea to use their phone as a baby monitor, which tied up a voice channel for days at a time. There being only a dozen or less voice channels on most towers at the time made that kind of thing a signifigant cause of congestion.
mesamunefire@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yep. And to add to your statement, its probably to make torrenters/massive downloaders pay or curtail their activities. Then streaming came along, voice chat, etc… that both helped us entertain ourselves and work within the home from the pandemic. If people didn’t have unlimited plans, they would switch ASAP because it was no longer a want, it became a need.