a333
A hot cup of integrals please
join:2007-06-12
Rego Park, NY
 ·Cingular Wireless
 ·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | Hardly surprising...
.... considering that probably 65% or more of the general populace has no CLUE as to what the heck a GB is, how do you expect them to understand that using their 3G aircards outside the US costs extra? I personally know several people who were surprised to learn that voice roaming costs extra when you go international... That, coupled with a complete lack of technical interest or even desire to learn, is what has these people rushing to the nearest media outlet faster than you can say "roaming".....
I mean, yes, it would TEND to help if wireless companies were a tad more helpful when it came to notifications, i.e. the walled garden system, but as they say... you can't fix stupid.
Peace,
a333
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Linux: Because a PC is a terrible thing to waste
My Location: /universe/earth/north-america/USA- fsck that!!! |
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Maccawolf
Premium
join:2001-02-20
Hillsdale, NJ
| Myth BUSTED
I have no sympathy for him. He should READ the TOC just like everyone else. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to live in a nanny state where THEY look after me to keep me from doing something STUPID.
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Mom and Crockett...... I miss you both! |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC |  This Day and Age
I still don't understand why it takes AT&T DAYS to provide a data usage total. In this day and age, you would think they could track it simply. It just goes to show what a dinosaur AT&T and their systems really are. |
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jchambers28
join:2007-05-12
Alma, AR | 3g service is a con game
yet another reason I wont be getting a 3g mobile broadband service anytime soon stupid caps. |
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banditws6
Shrinking Time and Distance
join:2001-08-18
Naples, FL
 ·Comcast
| reply to a333
Re: Hardly surprising...
No, you can't fix stupid, and boy have we got a lot of stupid.
At the same time, 3G aircards and other means of getting onto wireless data networks are becoming more and more mainstream, especially with the subsidized netbooks being bundled with them as the article mentions. We're going to be seeing more and more non-tech savvy people getting on board with these devices and not understanding all of the minutiae.
It is therefore my belief that the wireless companies need to do a better job of warning users when bandwidth consumption strays into the "ludicrously expensive" category. And I mean really warning people, like by calling the number associated with the account holder, not just sending a fire-and-forget SMS that isn't guaranteed to be received by the device in question and saying "Due diligence done!" Or, provide the customer with an option to have their service suspended when a particular amount of bandwidth has been consumed, just in case.
But then the wireless companies couldn't profit from your stupidity, ignorance, or honest mistakes...could they.
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"I'll follow the law until it's just stupid." -Ted Nugent |
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sousademiami
join:2003-02-04
Hialeah, FL
·Comcast
·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | reply to Maccawolf
Re: Myth BUSTED
If you examine his Twitter feed you see that ATT claims 9GB of use, he is very aware of what the rates/Data use is. This case happens to involve ATT possibly being wrong about the data usage total, not him not knowing better. Wouldn't be the first time a carrier was wrong about data usage.
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OASAASLLS |
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jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
USA
| reply to Maccawolf
said by Maccawolf  :I have no sympathy for him. He should READ the TOC just like everyone else. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to live in a nanny state where THEY look after me to keep me from doing something STUPID. Too late! |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs:
·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to Matt
Re: This Day and Age
they can, they just don't want to.
why? they make more money this way. they've run the numbers with providing instant feedback or at least, daily feedback on usage to users vs. dealing with negative PR from these types of stories. you can tell the choice they have made. |
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funchords
Hello
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Skype
1 edit | reply to Maccawolf
Re: Myth BUSTED
said by Maccawolf :I have no sympathy for him. That says volumes about you and nothing about him.
said by Maccawolf :He should READ the TOC just like everyone else. My guess is that he read the TOC just like everyone else, which is to say that he either didn't read it or understand it because it was too long or too dense. Those things aren't meant for consumers to read, they're meant to protect the carrier from claims.
said by Maccawolf :I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to live in a nanny state where THEY look after me to keep me from doing something STUPID. Be sure to wear your seat belt.
Surprise charges on telecom bills is very similar to the surprises folks would see on consumer loans. This is exactly the reason why loan applications have that big disclosure box giving out the key rates and fees in easy-to-read font. It's a useful tool.
These laws aren't there to protect you from yourself, they're there to protect you from the acts of others that just take advantage of the fact that you're a human being minding his own business.
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL |
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expert007
join:2006-01-10
Buffalo, NY
| People don't know what a GB is...
Hell, many folks don't even realize there's a difference between wifi and 2/3/4G. All they know is that when they turn their computer on, it wirelessly connects to something or other.....
I know plenty of non-techies who are ordinary, intelligent everyday citizens, and they're used to sitting at their computer for minutes/hours/etc and sipping all they can without worry of an obscene overage bill.
I'm not part of the crowd that screams "READ THE TOS".....though I do agree that this should be done. This is quite obvious a predatory tactic though and it will come to a head at some point. |
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drew
Reformation
Premium
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA
clubs:
·wavebroadband
| reply to Matt
Re: This Day and Age
I only hope that Adam is a big enough celeb that can really do something to fight them on this and maybe get something done about it for good.
Godspeed Mr. Savage
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Come play Mafia! | My Picture Blog |
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Eat Me
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ
·PenTeleData
·Future Nine Corpor..
·VOIPo
·Vonage
| reply to Maccawolf
Re: Myth BUSTED
said by Maccawolf : I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to live in a nanny state where THEY look after me to keep me from doing something STUPID. The irony of this of course is that you live in NJ. |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
2 edits |  reply to morbo
Re: This Day and Age
said by morbo :they can, they just don't want to. why? they make more money this way. they've run the numbers with providing instant feedback or at least, daily feedback on usage to users vs. dealing with negative PR from these types of stories. you can tell the choice they have made. My Sprint account keeps up to date within about a 15 min window. I can check minutes used; data used; # text msgs; etc. If Sprint, the poster child for poor customer svc can do this so easily, so should AT&T.
Used about 49 MB of data in 3 weeks. A weakly enforced 5GB/month is the cap.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page |
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funchords
Hello
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
·Skype
| reply to expert007
Re: People don't know what a GB is...
said by expert007 :This is quite obvious a predatory tactic though and it will come to a head at some point. Just to illustrate this further, this page here is 56 KB -- and at AT&T's roaming rates in Canada (which are $0.015 per KB) means that every time your computer loads the page costs about a dollar (or just under a dollar).
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
4 edits | said by funchords :said by expert007 :This is quite obvious a predatory tactic though and it will come to a head at some point. Just to illustrate this further, this page here is 56 KB -- and at AT&T's roaming rates in Canada ( which are $0.015 per KB) means that every time your computer loads the page costs about a dollar (or just under a dollar). $.84
Good incentive to use text based web sites designed for mobile use. Like this:
»tkjunkmail.googlepages.com/mobilelinks
Besides, the text based web pages show the info you need much faster and are much easier to read on those smartphone screens.
""http: //text.dslreports.com/""
4.5 KB approx $.07
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
| reply to sousademiami
Re: Myth BUSTED
said by sousademiami :If you examine his Twitter feed you see that ATT claims 9GB of use, he is very aware of what the rates/Data use is. This case happens to involve ATT possibly being wrong about the data usage total, not him not knowing better. Wouldn't be the first time a carrier was wrong about data usage. Doen't The Iphone do a lot of background data use?
Did thing it was on the rogers network and it endless tried to download some software over and over again? |
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MrMaster
What If
Premium
join:2000-12-16
Austin, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: People don't know what a GB is...
said by TKJunkMail :said by funchords :said by expert007 :This is quite obvious a predatory tactic though and it will come to a head at some point. Just to illustrate this further, this page here is 56 KB -- and at AT&T's roaming rates in Canada ( which are $0.015 per KB) means that every time your computer loads the page costs about a dollar (or just under a dollar). $.84 Good incentive to use text based web sites designed for mobile use. Like this: » tkjunkmail.googlepages.com/mobilelinks» /4.5 KB approx $.07 not really. It goes to show you how much a ripoff data roaming rates are.
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One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. -Marie Curie |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: This Day and Age
Not only does it not update frequently, I've called in before and they couldn't even tell me what the data usage was FOR. They bury their data usage under a subpage -- all they show on the main account management page is txt msgs under the data tab.
It looks like my usage has been updated as of 2AM this morning, but nothing since. |
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k1ll3rdr4g0n
join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL
| reply to morbo
said by morbo :they can, they just don't want to. why? they make more money this way. they've run the numbers with providing instant feedback or at least, daily feedback on usage to users vs. dealing with negative PR from these types of stories. you can tell the choice they have made. No they can't because when you "roam" AT&T has to wait for the other provider to bill AT&T with the data usage so therefore usage is lagged.
No matter what ANY provider says (pointing at LiamJunket) they cannot provide instant up to date information with data that comes from different networks. In order for "instant feedback" to work, the providers would actually have to *work* with each other instead of bickering, complaining, and lying like little children. And you will always have that one oddball provider out in the middle of nowhere that no major carrier cares enough to invite into their "roaming billing system". |
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k1ll3rdr4g0n
join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL
| reply to funchords
Re: People don't know what a GB is...
said by funchords :said by expert007 :This is quite obvious a predatory tactic though and it will come to a head at some point. Just to illustrate this further, this page here is 56 KB -- and at AT&T's roaming rates in Canada ( which are $0.015 per KB) means that every time your computer loads the page costs about a dollar (or just under a dollar). What I don't get is how providers can charge for things like advertisements when I don't want them loaded. Sure, I can install extensions to block ads and such, but do you think the netbooks has them installed by default? Defiantly not. |
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