Cellular Technology sure has come a long way in the 25 years since the FCC issued the first license for a mobile phone. In the 1989 Radio Shack catalog they feature a new model mobile phone that only weighed 28 ounces and cost a miniscule $1500. It would have made Zack Morris proud. Little could we have imagined then that 20 years later 85% of Americans would have a phone small enough to fit in their pocket. The question though, in the age of iPhones and bluetooth, is where do we go from here? While researching calling options for my likely move to South Korea in early 2010 I stumbled upon an intriguing calling option through Skype. For those of you who don’t know, Skype is an Internet based calling company that allows you to talk to other Skype users around the World for free through video, audio, or text messages using a computer or portable Wi-Fi device, like an iPod Touch. If you want to talk to someone who isn’t on Skype, all you have to do is pay $2.95 a month and you can call from the US to any phone number in the US for free. Considering the cheapest unlimited nation-wide calling plan starts at $49.99 a month, the savings potential is obvious. In my opinion the only thing holding back the usefulness of Skype is the availability of wireless Internet. After all, while many people have wireless internet at home and work, it is still not widely available while walking down the street or traveling.
There are however 2 trends that are making me think that nationwide high-speed Internet may be possible in the next several years. First, several large airlines, such as Delta and American, have started to equip their planes with Wi-Fi capability. If a plane can be constructed with Wi-Fi, then why can’t a car? It’s not to hard to imagine a time in the not too distant future when most new cars are sold with optional Wi-Fi, just as they are with GPS upgrades today. This could give you the ability to drive cross country while your passengers surf the Internet.
Secondly, we have the advent of city-wide Wi-Fi that is available now in a handful of cities. This technology essentially works the same as the wireless Internet you would get through your cell-phone, but is generally faster and can be used on any number of devices. One day soon we will mostly likely pay our monthly Internet bill in exchange for a network password instead of a modem and an assortment of cables.
Ultimately this could spell the end of the current cellular phone business model of subsidized phones, contracts, and high monthly rate plans. After all, why would you pay for Internet and a phone bill when you could simply pay for the Internet and call everyone for free? It will be interesting to see who adapts and who is relegated to electronic purgatory. Already companies such as Sprint and AT&T seem to be focusing more of their advertising touting their Internet speeds than there cellular network. Realistically though, it is only a matter of time before a company like Skype can fully take advantage of the accessibility of high-speed Internet and can make our World that much smaller.
