I'm growing tired of data caps being measured on 'how long it would take you to download that amount of data'. Faster speed and lower latency are boons for less data intensive applications too.
My iPhone's on a 3G plan with a 500MB monthly cap at the moment. I never go over it, even though the good 3G coverage here is plenty fast enough for video streaming etc. - I just don't want to use it for that. I'd love a faster, lower latency connection, but I don't anticipate my habits changing such that the /quantity/ of data I consume increases.
I've been using a tethered iPhone 4 as my only internet connection for 18 months now. 250gb of downloaded games (Steam), iPlayer, youtube, and general browsing later - I can't help but wonder what the point of 4G is?
I could play MMOs without issues, browse without concern, and generally enjoy a very low hassle internet connection all for not much more than line rental + normal broadband.
I see the future as being fewer and fewer wires. But not whilst mobile phone companies charge heavily for data.
Edit: To be clear I am on Three, and pay £35 a month for the phone + calls,text and unlimited tether. Uncapped broadband comes in at £20 a month minimum including line rental
Are you sure your data coverage is good? I've noticed that with sinking latencies and rising bandwidth (but probably mostly the latency), data consumption rises.
I couldn't place it on a scale or give you figures, but it seems good to me in use. I certainly never feel its stopping me from doing anything.
As well as browsing, maps etc., I also use it to listen to (low bandwidth, admittedly) radio streams while jogging and iTunes Match occasionally with no problems.
My mobile consumption habits have changed since purchasing an iPhone 5 with LTE. Before I didn't use a lot of data, because it was too slow to consume a lot of data. With LTE downloading a web page for me is as fast as my laptop. So I find myself using it more.
My iPhone's on a 3G plan with a 500MB monthly cap at the moment. I never go over it, even though the good 3G coverage here is plenty fast enough for video streaming etc. - I just don't want to use it for that. I'd love a faster, lower latency connection, but I don't anticipate my habits changing such that the /quantity/ of data I consume increases.