My cell phone bill is just…crazy. Calls to my clients, my wife, my boss, friends—they add up. And I admit, not all of those calls are emergencies. Many of them I made because I was too lazy to walk to a regular phone. But that’s what technology does to you. You get used to the convenience, you change the way you do things, and pray to the gods that be that the technology becomes cheaper as demand for it increases.

And what I’m hoping for is that WiFi will make cell phone bills cheaper: inexpensive flat rate, unlimited calling plan, nationwide long distance. Especially for calls I make when I’m at home or in the office, or anywhere within my WiFi calling area. The technology’s in place—why not use it to benefit customers?

Because of profits. Initially mobile companies saw it as a threat, thinking people would minimize use of regular minutes in favour of the cheaper WiFi minutes. But it’s all in the way they make those packages, and how many people they can actually convince to sign up for them. Now that that there are more dual mode WI FI/cellular phones—and more people like me who’ll pay good money for that option—we’ve reached a critical mass. And all studies point to how use of both cell phone calls and Internet are on the rise.

It’s not going to happen overnight, and certainly won’t be helping my next billing statement. But I live in hope.