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Cisco CEO predicts that mobile data prices will ‘come down rapidly’

Published May 30th, 2013 7:30PM EDT
Cisco CEO Chambers Interview Mobile Data Prices

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It’s not often that we hear speculation about wireless carriers actually charging customers less for wireless data services, but Cisco CEO John Chambers seems to think that it’s really going to happen in the near future. AllThingsD reports that Chambers told the D: All Things Digital conference on Wednesday that new developments in wireless transport will let carriers aggressively lower their prices as expansions in Wi-Fi capabilities will help absorb increased traffic from wireless devices over the next several years.

“Price points are going to come down rapidly,” said Chambers. “Transport will become free… Architectures will change. With intelligence throughout the network, the network will become the platform of the future.”

Chambers also took the opportunity to tout his own company’s Service Provider Wi-Fi technology that will help carriers unload data onto unlicensed spectrum and presumably save them lots of money. Whether this leads wireless carriers to actually cut their prices is another matter entirely, of course.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.