Cloud storage is everywhere. From data backup, image sharing, music streaming, and even full operating systems, it is becoming difficult to find a company without it. 

While the number of heavy users may be relatively small at the moment, expect this number to quickly increase with new music streaming options from heavy players like Google, Sony, and Apple, large increases in portable tablet sales, and even a push from Google for a completely cloud based OS.

Cloud storage is everywhere. From data backup, image sharing, music streaming, and even full operating systems, it is becoming difficult to find a company without it. Google, Apple, Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft, Sony, and recently Best Buy are just a handful of the major players in the industry. However, the major carriers have been working in parallel to capitalize on the shift and are beginning to push back. Verizon will be announcing this week a new tiered data plan, raising prices heavily on those who consume significant amounts of data. While the number of heavy users may be relatively small at the moment, expect this number to quickly increase with new music streaming options from heavy players like Google, Sony, and Apple, large increases in portable tablet sales, and even a push from Google for a completely cloud based OS.

Sprint users have managed to duck the blow for the time being, though I expect it is only a matter of time before they too join the group. In the meantime, this could be a major selling point for Sprint and its newly announced EVO 3D going forward. Given this, even Sprint users have not escaped without issue. When the Evo 4G was announced, Sprint mandated a $10 fee for 4G connectivity as a requirement for owning the phone. While this seemed like a fair price to pay for the increased speed, many were unsatisfied with the premium tax in areas without 4G connectivity. As a result, Sprint used the plan to push its ‘unlimited data’ feature and thus give merit to the additional cost. More recently, the $10 fee became mandatory for all smartphones resulting in a somewhat hidden increase in prices.
The ball is now in the consumer’s court. As data usage increases and prices follow, will consumers reluctantly absorb the additional costs, or will budget watching users carefully monitor data use and make the switch to carriers without the caps. Unfortunately, although voice and text usage is beginning to subside, carriers are unlikely to offer reduced plans for the casual caller. Even Sprints base family plan offers a whopping 1500 minutes with free mobile to mobile calls. For the many users who casually use less than 500 minutes, you are void of any less expensive option. Thus, Data is now the new most important number keeping in mind that times will certainly change during the remaining 2 years of your contract. While your data usage may be currently limited, future options of music streaming, Internet gaming, photo sharing, and movie streaming services may quickly become a stumbling block. With a look to the future of cloud storage, streaming, and gaming, the 2 year contract is once again a stumbling block. While you may be willing to pay the cost to support your current data usage, what will your story be when new services require data usage of more than 10x what your plan supports. What may seem like a reasonable cap today may result in an empty wallet in 6 months’ time.