Hades, my internet usage jumped to 250 GB a month since covid. (My Comcast account allows 1200 GB) I am a FIRE'd former college professor and now have endless access to academic zoominars and professional conferences. I'll be somewhat disappointed when much of that returns to lower capacity in-person in 2022.
For commercial conferences at least, there's a general belief that events will continue in a hybrid way. That said, I expect that conferences that just went free when they went virtual will start charging again; many have tacked on at least nominal fees already. (Some are even more.)
While, I haven't been wild about online conferences in general, it has let me dip into events I couldn't normally justify attending.
