I still remember the days 7 years ago when I was all excited over Vodafone's new WebSession program that offered mobile Internet access while roaming. 15 euros was worth 50 MB in those days. At the time it was enough to keep me connected when I was traveling on business with some volume to spare. Prices have fortunately come down over time and if the Internet access over the hotel Wi-Fi and in meeting rooms is working I am quite amazed at how much data flows over the wire when I don't have to think about cost: On a recent business trip, my data consumption at the meeting venue and in the hotel exceeded 1 gigabyte each day according to my VPN log.
Granted, I didn't hold myself back and just did the same as I would when I'm in the office and at home as well:
- Webradio in the morning
- Up- and download of large files throughout the day
- Emails with large file attachments
- Streaming videos from Youtube in the evening
- Skype calls with videos with excellent quality (2+ Mbit/s bi-directionally)
- Uploading pictures I have taken during the day to my Owncloud
- Remote screen sessions for IT support
- … and of course web browsing for research, fun and information
50 MB per day 7 years ago, 1000 MB today. Quite a steep change!