More data than talk and the scam continues

There’s a report making the rounds on the web that started with a New York Times post about how cellphones are being used more for data than they are for actual voice phone calls.

According to the CITA, the wireless industry association, the amount of data in the form of emails, streaming video, music and other services in the United States increased by more than 50 percent over 2009. Not only that but the actual time spent in a phone conversation has dropped as well from 2.27 minutes in 2008 to 1.81 minutes in 2009.

“I have thousands of rollover minutes,” said Zach Frechette, 28, editor of Good magazine in Los Angeles, who explained that he dialed only when he needed to get in touch with someone instantly, and limited those calls to 30 seconds. “I downgraded to the lowest available minute plan, which I’m not even getting close to using.”

Mr. Frechette said part of the reason he rarely talked on his phone was that he had an iPhone, with its notoriously spotty phone reception in certain locales. But also, he said, most of his day was spent swapping short messages through services like Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. That way, he said, “you can respond when it’s convenient, rather than impose your schedule on someone else.”

Others say talking on the phone is intrusive and time-consuming, while others seem to have no patience for talking to just one person at a time. They prefer to spend their phone time moving seamlessly between several conversations, catching up on the latest news and updates by text and on Facebook with multiple friends, instead of just one or two.

“Even though in theory, it might take longer to send a text than pick up the phone, it seems less disruptive than a call,” said Jefferson Adams, a 44-year-old freelance writer living in San Francisco. By texting, he said, “you can multitask between two or three conversations at once.”

Source: New York Times

All of this the mobile providers love of course because the more data they get flowing the more money that can make and eventually the more the can increase their fees for service.

However this is a nothing more than a scam. The idea that we are paying to separate fees, one for voice and another for data, is nothing short of theft. What people are seemingly forgetting that both data and voice are exactly the same ones and zeros in the digital age. The moment your voice or data hits the pipe they are exactly the same.

The pipe doesn’t go – oh this is voice ones and zeros … oh and these are data ones and zeros. We have been convinced by the providers that these are two different things and as long as they can keep us all fooled they get to make money hand over fist because they are in effect charging us twice for a single service.

Talk about having your cake and eating to.