Consumers spending more on digital data

In 2004, the average bill for telecommunications services came to $771 per year. That figure reached $903 per year by 2008 and is expected to hit $997 this year, The New York Times reported Tuesday using data from the Census Bureau.

Not only has the prices of telecommunication link-ups risen faster than inflation, but demand rises with each new gadget or feature, like text messaging, which was almost unheard of 10 years ago.

Once upon a time, American families paid for a phone service and put a television antenna on the roof. Now games, movies, music, photos, documents and voice are delivered through an array of devises that require carriers.

The digital world has also blurred the distinction between a critical service -- a phone you might use to call an ambulance, for example -- and entertainment.

"You don't really lump these expenses into a discretionary category. As the expectation of connectedness increases, it's what is expected for people to be functional in society," said Robert Frank, an economics professor at Cornell University.

Copyright 2010 United Press International.