Or, AT&T's new data plans will empower the future of mobile by making mobile app developers use bandwidth intelligently rather than wastefully. If bandwidth is free, there's no reason to focus on preserving it. The result is a tragedy of the commons where apps use more bandwidth than they have to, slowing the network for everyone and making some apps impossible to run in crowded (SXSW) or remote environments.

Maybe a challenge to use bandwidth wisely will spur innovation.