All-you-can-eat 3G? Not Really

The rollout of 3G-HSDPA (third-generation/High Speed Downlink Packet Access) mobile data services around the globe looks good so far, but the carriers may be painting themselves into a corner.
To get subscribers to buy the high-speed services and start using them, mobile operators are offering some "unlimited" data plans that allow as much streaming, uploading and downloading as the customer wants in the course of the month -- within certain terms of service. Some uses, such as hosting a Web site, typically aren't allowed. Below are some of the data service plan offered by various mobile operators, with the "unlimited usage" with so called "fair usage policy"!

M1, SG: for unlimited usage
S$22 (US$14.17)	384Kbps,
S$38 (US$24.48)	1.8Mbps
S$68 (US$43.80)	3.6Mbps

[Excessive (downloading or uploading more than 2 GB each month inclusive of video streaming, video calls, email access, VOIP calls, downloading and uploading of any content), $0.01 per KB in blocks of 10KB]

Maxis, MY: for unlimited usage
MYR$69 (US$19.50)	384Kbps,
MYR$98 (US$27.70)	768Kbps

[total usage per month shall NOT exceed 3GB of data volume transmitted (total upload and download usage)]

Vodafone, UK:
£25 ex VAT (US$49)	250MB per month
£45 ex VAT (US$88.1)	unlimited usage

[customer's UK usage must not exceed 1Gb per user account in a month]

CSL, HK:
$138 (US$17.79)	60MB
$268 (US$34.55)	150MB
$538 (US$69.36)	unlimited

[maximum volume of 1GB per subscription in a month]

Cingular, US:
$39.90 (US$39.90)	20MB
$49.90 (US$49.90)	50MB
$79.90(US$79.90)	unlimited

[maximum data volume usage not found]. detail plan

Flat-rate tariffs and fair use: mobile operators gear up for HSDPA

In order to boost revenues significantly it is critical that the price of the flat-rate tariff is set an appropriate level.