[0xbadcafebee]

Actually subscription plans will be here indefinitely. The cost of inference will only go down over time, and subscriptions are the end-game for all businesses as it's recurring revenue. Most subscribers don't use all the capacity, and there are limits imposed, so the financials work out. Same basic model as residential internet & mobile phones, but cheaper because there's an order of magnitude (or two) less support and maintenance.

[otabdeveloper4]

There's no reason to buy a subscription instead of just paying per-token.

(With internet and phones there's a cost of leasing the channel you're using, so there are built-in subscription costs in any case.)