The recent moves by AT&T to do away with its unlimited data plans have resulted in an uproar among many users.  Just how pertinent is the gradual phasing out of unlimited data has been brought into the spotlight.  After all, the increasing number of users connecting their smartphones to their laptops to use as modems - a process called tethering, means that mobile data usage is no longer a concern limited to smartphone users alone.

As reported in The New York Times, unlimited plans are popular as people use it as an insurance policy against additional tariffs for over-usage--in other words, to guard against "bill shock." Now, Nielsen says that the average iPhone subscriber uses 400MB of data per month (compared to 40MB to 80MB for all other smartphones) while AT&T (NYSE: T) says that 65 percent of its customers use less than 200MB per month.

So far, the figures from Nielsen and AT&T seem to be bearing up to scrutiny. An online survey involving more than 8,500 participants held by tech enthusiast site Ars Technica found that only 42 percent of users from this (very) tech-savvy community use more than 200MB of data. In fact, only 11 percent says they use more than 2GB of data per month.

Personally, I know that my normal data usage is certainly less than 200MB--other than the first couple of months on getting my iPhone. With free Internet available via Wi-Fi in many places, and fast broadband at home, occasions where I tether are rare. What about you? What is your Internet data usage per month?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at The New York Times

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