What is the difference between cellular data being used on my phone and cellular data being used on my notebook? Data is data.

  • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    What is the difference between cellular data being used on my phone and cellular data being used on my notebook?

    The difference is the cellular company’s profits amount.

    • Oneobi@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      They had this restriction in the UK where the networks would prevent hotspots from actually working. You had to buy a special additional package.

      Restriction has now vanished and there are no such limits on usage. Not sure if the Regulator intervened but it was most certainly a cash grab.

      These days they still manage to rip us off by annual contract increases of RPI+3.9%. That applies even during a 2 year contract.

    • GroundedGator@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I think this is also an archaic model from before smart phones and the early days of smart phones. In the early days of apps, most attempted to limit data usage because most network providers charged a premium for data and the networks were much slower and smaller.

      While you could tether in these early days, even before smart phones, the computer was capable of much higher data usage than the phone. These limits were put in place to protect a network that wasn’t really built for this level of load.

      Old rules with good purpose turned into a way to charge more money.