40GB of Mobile Data Can Cost as Much as a House

It’s no secret that mobile broadband is expensive when looked at from a ‘per GB’ standpoint, but did you realize that mobile data is one of the most expensive resources on earth? In fact, in a loose comparison, it could be even worth more than gold, because I’m quite sure you’d have a lot more to show for half a million dollars worth of gold than you would with 40GB of mobile data. Wait… what?

UK tech site PC Pro did the math to figure out just what it would cost to transfer 40GB worth of data through a couple of the most popular European Internet / mobile providers. With BT’s home Internet service, the cost is about £18 (£1 ~= $1.60 USD). Orange mobile Internet? £1,600 – or roughly the same price as a 27″ iMac.

Things get even better when talking about mobile (smartphone) costs. With Virgin Mobile, 40GB would set you back about £200,000, while O2’s ups the ante to £240,000. Great house, or 40GB of mobile data? Hmm, that’s a tough one.

The EU is soon to impose caps on mobile usage costs, but at £17,600, it’s still bound to bite some people hard. Is there a reason we couldn’t simply see a £1,000 limit, or less, given that virtually no one is going to deliberately spend thousands on their mobile broadband?