Tiered data plans could be the worst thing to happen to mobile internet in the modern world. It is a step backwards in the development of communications technology, a way of holding back progress in the interest of saving money rather than making money. The growth of wireless communication may be affected if this increase is the way of the future.

By now, most people know that At&t has put in place a tiered data option in hopes of alleviating some of the stress they’ve experienced with their wireless service to date. It would have been smarter to upgrade first before they come out with high capacity data devices. The current options offered by At&t are as follows: $10 for 200 MB with a charge of $10 for each additional 200 MB and $25 for 2 GB with a charge of $15 for each additional 2 GB each time you go over.

Verizon is scheduled to copy At&t with its data options when they roll out their new 4G LTE data networks sometime next year; chances are their prices will be the same. So far there is no news of Sprint or T-Mobile making the same move and I really hope they don’t.

The 2GB option may not be a big deal, but the 200MB plan is a huge risk to your financing if you don’t keep a close eye on your data usage. Just a few days ago, I connected my data to my PC when my internet cable got disconnected for some reason. When I connected my phone, I streamed two videos from a social media website totaling about 15 minutes of video. Then I looked at my data usage stats and saw that I was already using 50 MB of data; that’s a quarter of the total 200MB plan allotment in just 15 minutes of video. I don’t have a tiered data plan with my service provider, but if I did, I’d be so disappointed.

There would be no point in buying a smartphone of any kind with limited data options. Smartphones are designed so that the user has access to whatever information they need or can send photos and videos on the go. Your service won’t be cut off and you still have the freedom to use your internet indiscriminately however you want, but you can reluctantly pay your bills as you go about your life.

It is unknown how this would affect the world of prepaid subscribers. Prepaid companies offer substantially lower data plans than their contract competitors. Straight talk, owned by Track phone and sponsored by Wal-Mart, uses the Verizon network and offers unlimited plans starting at $45/month. So far there are no prepaid phones that can use its new 4G system. At&t also has an unlimited prepaid plan at $50/month. Both carriers have prepaid smartphones that cost $100 or more.