If you read this column regularly, you know that last year I relied on technology to help me lose we...

1. Silverman: Mobile video runs into mobile data caps
If you read this column regularly, you know that last year I relied on technology to help me lose
weight. That effort also turned me into a real gym rat - I hit the weights and the treadmill about four
times a week.
I'm still spending about an hour on the treadmill most days, and to forget that I'm doing something
unpleasant I'll often watch TV shows on my iPhone. But after buying a new iPad with a 4G LTE
connection, I thought I'd experiment using video on its high-resolution display to keep my mind
occupied while I sweat.
I tried it once, and I probably won't do it again, thanks to the high cost of the Verizon LTE data plan
on the iPad. I suspect a lot of other iPad Wi-Fi + 4G owners will feel the same way once they give
video-over-LTE a try.
Verizon charges $20 for a single gigabyte of data over a 30-day period for its cheapest tablet plan.
Yes, that's pricey, but it's better than the lowest-cost plan for ATT's version of the tablet, which is
$15 for a measly 250 megabytes a month. The next step up for Verizon is $30 for 2 gigabytes, and
that's the option I picked to test LTE on the new iPad.
I'd gone about two weeks into my first month of the plan when I decided to try watching video over
LTE at the gym. I'd used only 197 MB of data at the time.
I hopped on the treadmill, fired up my iPad and at first tried connecting to the facility's free WiFi
network. But as I'd learned trying to stream video on my iPhone, the WiFi signal in the workout
room is terrible. I switched over to LTE.
Two episodes
Firing up the Showtime Anywhere app on my iPad, I watched two 30-minute episodes of "The Big C,"
a series about a woman struggling with cancer. Afterward, I checked the data usage.
The data monitor had jumped to 1,197 MB. I'd used a full gigabyte of data in just one hour, or half
my allotment for the month.
If I had watched another hour of quality television, I'd have overshot my data limit and would have
been charged an overage fee. That's where mobile data usage gets even more expensive.
Under the $30/2-GB plan, each additional gigabyte is $10. But if you opt for the cheapest plan,
$20/1-GB, each additional gigabyte is $20. Yikes!
Why does so little video eat up so much data? Video in general is data-intensive, and the higher the
quality, the bigger the stream. Providers like Showtime adjust the size of their stream based on the
speed of your connection and the resolution of your screen. LTE is a very fast connection - I've
gotten download speeds over 40 megabits a second, though 20 Mbps is more common. And the
screen of the new iPad has the ability to display full 1080p HD video. As a result, Showtime turns its
digital firehose on full blast.
In contrast, I've watched video using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone that also connects to

2. Verizon's LTE network, and an hour spent watching an episode of the British spy series "MI-5" on
Netflix chews up about 600 MB. The speeds are comparable, but the display capabilities aren't.
WiFi not always there
Obviously, the ideal scenario is to connect to WiFi when you want to stream video. But that's not
always possible, or when it is, the quality of the connection on a public hot spot may not lend itself to
a reliable stream.
Clearly, something's got to give. Video streaming over tablets and smartphones is on the increase.
That's running headlong into the data caps and higher pricing imposed by wireless carriers. Serious
sticker shock will set in as 4G devices become more prevalent.
Sprint's take on it
Note that Sprint remains a holdout, currently offering its 3G and WiMax 4G service as unlimited.
And a Sprint executive recently told me that, when its LTE network launches in Houston in just a few
weeks, it also will be unlimited. I don't think Sprint's tenacity will ultimately lead to the return of
ubiquitous unlimited mobile from other carriers.
But if Sprint's option becomes popular as mobile video use accelerates, who knows how the
company's rivals will react?
Either way, the current situation needs to change, and soon.

3. dwight.silverman@chron.com blog.chron.com/techblog twitter.com/dsilverman
http://www.chron.com/business/silverman/article/Silverman-Mobile-video-runs-into-mobile-data-caps
-3486716.php