Thirty-five years ago, The Who, sang about mobility long before it was in fashion. “When I’m drivin’ free, the world’s my home, when I’m mobile.” Mobile voice help us cut the cord, mobile data keeps us connected and eventually mobile applications will keep us entertained. In a future world, I will be able to drive across the country while downloading my favorites songs off iTunes, stream and download video from a host of service providers, engage in a multi-player game, hold a real-time video call with work or family and interact with my favorite advertisers, all while driving 65 mph. And don’t forget staying connected with my email, voicemail and other office related applications.

Sounds great and expensive.

Call me old-fashioned, but when I am in my home office, I prefer my fixed broadband and telephony connection. Better quality, consistency, security and reliability than anything offered by my mobile operator. Cost: $40 per month for broadband, $70 per month for telephony (taxes included). Total: $110. This comes with the added bonus that everyone in my household has access to these services for no additional charge per month.

However, when I am in my car and traveling, I (and other family members) prefer the benefits of mobile network for voice and basic data (to check my Blackberry, of course!). Cost: $40 per month for voice, $40 per month for data. Total cost: $80 per person per month.

Adding in a broadband wireless plan, so I don’t have to rely on those lousy Wi-Fi networks found in airports and hotels costs another $60 per month per person.

Add to that our video entertainment which includes Cable Television, Premium Channels, DVR functionality, High Definition, etc and this bill alone is easily $100 per month.

So for a family of four (2 adults and 2 teens) communications and entertainment costs easily exceed $400 per month, not counting iTunes downloads, gaming, video purchases and other services such as VUDU.

Yes, all you can eat mobile and fixed line voice packages and family plans help to reduce the cost of these products, but the trade off is simply the fact that now I have more of them. I’ve keep the same fixed line phone for more than 10 years, but I have gone through six mobile phones at $200 or more per phone.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the flexibility that mobility provides, but as we move from a household model where costs are shared, to an individual model, cost go up.

Hopefully, as we moved towards 3G/4G networks, fixed/mobile operators in the United States will look towards operators in other parts of the world to benchmark how products should be priced and packaged. A great example is 3, which offers a variety of mix and match options that can be individually customized for communication, information and entertainment services. Because without some type of bundle, I might just have to get a second job just to pay for everything.