footballdude
Premium
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO | Just like ten years ago
A return to the days of 'you build it but let everyone else use it'?
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It's a trick. Get an axe. - Ash |
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nklb
Premium
join:2000-11-17
Ann Arbor, MI
clubs:
| In some ways this PROMOTES competition
Seems to me if one carrier has what is recognized to be an awesome phone, the other carriers are going to be spending more R&D money to get the next best thing.
This sort of thing can promote competition, which is a GOOD thing.
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for all your Linux questions |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| Wonderful
Now instead of being able to get a deal on a phone, we'll all have to pay full price for any phone and still not get a break on subscription fees.
And how on earth does the FCC intend to address the fact that some phones work with CDMA but not GSM and vice versa? Is it going to mandate that all phones support both systems?
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Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! |
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ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT | This is..
Just ridiculous. |
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rcabor
join:2007-04-17
Grand Prairie, TX
| reply to pnh102
Re: Wonderful
said by pnh102  :Now instead of being able to get a deal on a phone, we'll all have to pay full price for any phone and still not get a break on subscription fees. And how on earth does the FCC intend to address the fact that some phones work with CDMA but not GSM and vice versa? Is it going to mandate that all phones support both systems? Although I am not sure I agree with the government review of handset exclusivity, I dont see why carriers would not give deals on phones to get customers to sign up for their services. |
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Sr Tech
Premium
join:2003-01-19
New Fairfield, CT
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to pnh102
I am not sticking up for ATT but I do not think the FCC understands that many carriers usually invest into the manufactures to help them bring out new phones but have stipulations written where only that carrier can sell the phone for a period of time before other carriers are allowed to sell the phone. If the manufactures were have to up the money themselves the turn around for releasing new handsets might take longer and possibly more expensive to the consumer as there is only so much a carrier will subsidize due to getting that money back over a period through the contract. |
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Flibbetigibbet
@lmco.com
 from:
TKJunkMail
| M'kay
You know, I hate AT&T as much as anybody, but this is not the government's job, and not within its constitutional powers. If two companies in different businesses want to make exclusive arrangements with each other, that's their business. If AT&T and Verizon were colluding on wireless services, that would be one thing, but this is not that. Apple isn't an ISP or a telco. If they choose to be tied to a crappy partner, that's their decision. People have the choice to buy the product or not, and that's really the end of it.
Just because you want something (and I'd love to have a T-Mobile iPhone) doesn't mean the government ought to give it to you. |
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PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD | reply to footballdude
Re: Just like ten years ago
You mean back when I could actually use the same Nokia phone wherever I went? |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to pnh102
Re: Wonderful
said by pnh102 :Now instead of being able to get a deal on a phone, we'll all have to pay full price for any phone and still not get a break on subscription fees. That is a very possible outcome if exclusive contracts are eliminated. If new phones are available to any mobile provider, why should the cell companies subsidize those phones and also spend millions on advertising them. After all, a new phone won't help a mobile provider get any new customers if every mobile provider can get the same phone.
So, that may be a good thing, right? No phone subsidies. But it will keep quite a few people from buying new phones. So the ones hurt by a policy of no exclusivity contracts may be the cell phone makers and the customers - not the mobile providers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc.
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r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium
join:2001-11-14
St John'S, NL
 ·magicjack.com
·Cox HSI
·Insight Communicat..
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Waste of Money
Why are they wasting their time and money on this?
There is nothing wrong with exclusive deals. That is how companies fund the project for their phones. You take away the deals and you will not get phones like the iphone.
Also, Verizon is stupid for bribing the gov'ment to get this passed since unless they switch to GSM this will not matter for them.
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For those of you playing a drinking game.... MY FRIENDS! |
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veunad
What Does This Do?
Premium
join:1999-08-06
Alpharetta, GA
·Comcast
| FreeMyPhone
Other folks are starting up on bashing exclusive deals as well.
Free Press Launches FreeMyPhone Campaign
»www.freepress.net/node/61547
Free My Phone
»www.freepress.net/FreeMyPhone |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
|  What a crock
Man, I can't believe we're wasting money on this. Can't you see how much more expensive home phones are now that AT&T doesn't have the rights to exclusively sell you a home phone anymore? It is such a PITA to be able to buy an analog phone from ANY manufacturer and have it work with ANY US phone service provider. I really hope we don't take that same, obviously ignorant concept, and apply it to cellular phones. That would be disastrous. |
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jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
 ·surpasshosting
·ViaTalk
| You forgot your sarcasm tag. 
Hope everyone has fun paying full price for their phones -- $499 for an iPhone, $399 for a Blackberry. Be sure to send Matt a thank-you note, it will be his fault. |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| said by jester121 :You forgot your sarcasm tag. Hope everyone has fun paying full price for their phones -- $499 for an iPhone, $399 for a Blackberry. Be sure to send Matt a thank-you note, it will be his fault. I did forget my tag and my girlfriend tells me that everything is, in fact, my fault.  |
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jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
·surpasshosting
·ViaTalk
| said by Matt :I did forget my tag and my girlfriend tells me that everything is, in fact, my fault. WTF -- your girlfriend and my girlfriend must be the same person? You bastard! |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice
| reply to r81984
Re: Waste of Money
said by r81984 :Why are they wasting their time and money on this? Let me correct that for you, "they are wasting OUR money on this! Dont forget that every single on of these "investigations" is directly funding by you and I.
--
D-Day; If you can read this thank a soldier
-The United States of America-
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Phylop
Premium
join:2002-11-17
Reston, VA
| reply to jester121
Re: What a crock
said by jester121 :You forgot your sarcasm tag. Hope everyone has fun paying full price for their phones -- $499 for an iPhone, $399 for a Blackberry. Be sure to send Matt a thank-you note, it will be his fault. Honestly, I think the "Full Price" of phones would go way down if they weren't priced with the intention of being subsidized.
These phones are expensive to make, but that cost is still a fraction of the "Full Price." |
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slckusr
Premium
join:2003-03-17
Maumee, OH
·Verizon BroadbandA..
·AT&T Midwest
| Finally
We need more interoperability between the wireless networks. Im wondering how moves like this would affect Open Network initiatives.
Also what effect would this have on contracts. currently i can bring my own handset and not generate a contract. ( carriers worried they might lose some subs if something like this passes?)
As it currently stands Some carriers will produce the same phones but release them with different specifications. in the future the ability to buy the non crippled version of a phone, and use it on the superior network pleases me.
+ for the consumer,
+1 for the manufacturer ( or are they afraid of this because some might actually have to put some quality behind their equipment).
+1 for the carrier ( i would be using a different provider if they hadnt crippled the phone i have.) |
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AlexNYC
join:2001-06-02
Edwards, CO
2 edits |  Good!
I seem to be the minority when I say that I like this idea.
I have been buying my own cell phones for years and have been able to just swap the SIM card whenever I travel and use a local carrier with a local number to save $$$.
The amount of money I have saved that way has paid for the phone's price tag many times over. For example, you know about the big deal over the iPhone tethering, well I have been using tethering on occasions when I travel and there isn't Wi-Fi available for years ON A $15 phone data plan and have yet to hear any complaints from my carrier. Granted I try to keep the usage to a minimum, just check emails and a few sites so no torrents or streaming media.
I buy my own phone so I'm not stuck with a device with crippled software and can use all features to save even more money. For example I use VOIP for international calls (even over Wi-Fi), Garmin XT GPS app. that does not require any cell or data service or subscription fee, etc.
My handset is also superior to ANYTHING my carrier has to offer. 5mp Camera that does video, Wi-Fi, real GPS, MMS and millions of free apps available for the Symbian platform.
I think most people don't know what they are missing, and that's why they don't mind what their carriers are giving them.
Long Live Free Choice! |
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rcabor
join:2007-04-17
Grand Prairie, TX
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Wonderful
said by TKJunkMail :said by pnh102 :Now instead of being able to get a deal on a phone, we'll all have to pay full price for any phone and still not get a break on subscription fees. That is a very possible outcome if exclusive contracts are eliminated. If new phones are available to any mobile provider, why should the cell companies subsidize those phones and also spend millions on advertising them. After all, a new phone won't help a mobile provider get any new customers if every mobile provider can get the same phone. So, that may be a good thing, right? No phone subsidies. But it will keep quite a few people from buying new phones. So the ones hurt by a policy of no exclusivity contracts may be the cell phone makers and the customers - not the mobile providers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc. The phones could still be sold at different amounts for each carrier to get someone to signup for their service. Competition ensures that this will happen, even possibly lowering costs because you wont have for instance, the Apple/ATT markup partnership. |
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