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Comments on news posted 2008-12-19 16:38:14: For years, both landline and wireless carriers have been marketing their broadband services as unlimited, then burying some very real limits deep in their usage agreement fine print. ..
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Qoiz
join:2005-06-26
 ·Cox HSI
| what happened to the right way why is is so hard for 99% of companies to be completely honest?? what has happened to all the good people? are they almost all eliminated now? why must you lie to sell your product? why must you make the product as cheap as you possibly can to gain more benefit? I am sure the owners of any big company are not on the street without food, so why do they need more?.. If you have enough to survive, why must you keep taking more, more than you need? It only negatively impacts others, and you do not even care..I guess I am part of the 1% (or less) that actually care about others, and do not take more resources than I need to survive..I just don't understand why exactly most people need so much..
cricket, you shall fall!
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I have had Direcway/Hughes for years. I've had trouble with them some until the latest system DW7000. It is blazing fast 1 to 1.5 kbps down most of the time- Kath159 | |
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INsano
@qwest.net
| Unlimitless Forgive me this rant, it was prompted two days ago when I was looking at "Clear", new wireless service for my area(Portland) and I finally cracked when I saw "Unlimited*".
It nauseates me that we live in the age of Euphemism. It disgusts me that absolutes are always followed by an asterix qualifying, if you didn't already know, that terms and restrictions to that ABSOLUTE do apply. Unlimited, guaranteed, lifetime, 100%, free. It would be hard to say whether its more offensive to me philosophically or linguistically.
It's to the point where now when you purchase a product, you're often offered the chance to buy a warranty along with it...so that when the poorly constructed piece of junk soon breaks, you're not out so much money. At what point did it become ok to sell junk to people; more to the point, at what point did people decide it was just ok to buy it? The expectation that if something lasts beyond its warranty instills a loyalty in a customer these days! Products are no longer assembled, built or constructed with the understanding that they need to last; it's the disposable culture mentality that now extends to more that just the single-use styrofoam cup, the plastic grocery bag, it now reaches products that are intended for repeated use. Ask anyone who has ever bought a kitchen knife for $1.99 how long it lasted.
The truly insidious part of this euphemistic marketing is that it has now worked its way into the lexicon, into the subconscious, and we now speak in half-truths, hyperbole and rhetoric.
This has now strayed a long way from bandwidth caps on "Unlimited*" services, but I wanted to post just for my own sanity. | |
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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22
Tempe, AZ
·Cox HSI
 ·magicjack.com
1 edit | Re: Unlimitless said by INsano :
It nauseates me that we live in the age of Euphemism. It disgusts me that absolutes are always followed by an asterix qualifying,
C'mon. This age is no different than any other. We're talking about sales, which is designed to help people hear what they want to hear. If a majority of the population (whom the advertising is designed for) would never reach the cap, then for all intents and purposes, it is unlimited.
There's no reason to tell them it's really 5 gig when they probably don't even know how much they use to begin with, and wouldn't care because they'd never reach that cap.
I bet 90% of those kvetching about this do the same thing when applying for a job. Putting the best possible spin on everything. Not disclosing they had personal issues for 2 months, distracting from "implemented new system saving xyz Corp. $20 million."
You guys need to take a pill.
Mark | |
| | | Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO
| Re: Unlimitless amigno_boy
Things are definitely different than a lot of by gone ages. When people used to find out about stuff like this (think snake oil salesmen) they used to get tarred and feathered (which still occurred in many parts of the country into the 1950s). When was the last time you heard of someone being tarred and feathered in the US? Stuff like this needs to be corrected. I would include politicians in that correction. While I liked Clinton he should have been tarred and feathered over the LIEs dealing with Lewinsky(or however you spelled it). If he would have told the truth I would have settled for a slap on the wrist. I think this(basic lies) goes to the heart of what has caused this countries decline over the last 20(?) years. Our fall from grace around the world boils down to us not telling the truth about things. The finical crisis was caused by not using proper risk analysis(no, it is not risky, lie). The corruption that has crept into our lives tracks straight back to people not telling the truth. Listen to the tapes of the ILL governor. While it may be true that he did not do anything that the rest of them are doing, what he did made his oath of office a lie(basically a repeat of Nixon). Look at all the police officers busted this year(arson, murder for higher, drug dealing, and that is just here in St Louis). | |
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winston
@cgocable.net
| wow thats weird 5gb a month thats crazy......i got 100gb a month and my internet speed is 9450kb...and my bill is only like $50 dollars a month  and if i go over my 100gb limit my isp(cogeco) just calls me and says i went over the limit and all they say is try not to use the internet that much untill the month is over | |
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ShootToThril
Tell The Truth
Premium
join:2004-06-07
Sherman Oaks, CA
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
2 edits | Failed point of Legal Language! After reading through all the replies it's amazing that only a few focused on the issue the ISP's and Data Providers are simply using legal terms, The problem is they are using it in small print. We are made to believe we are getting "UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH"... not at all, the fine print says "UNLIMITED ACCESS" big difference. We all understand what UNLIMITED, AVERAGE and FAIR USE mean, but how would we be able to determine within an unlimited amount of Data as our resource What is average or Fair use,
If I'm driving a car i can maintain my driving speed in an Average and Fair manner based on the road conditions, Signs posted and pure common sense...... With Unlimited DATA I have no way of establishing when my usage becomes More than average or fair.... even BW of 400gb a months who's to say that is more than average, ***It's average to my usage and no it can't be compared with driving 90 in a 40 zone, Motor Vehicle Laws are much the same almost everywhere in the world, If no sign exist you pretty much know 25-35 is about the speed you need to be driving on surface streets. The Limit exists when driving a car but why should i be aware of small print when i was told im paying for unlimited?!?!?
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DoublePlusGood
@rr.com
| Telco Culture Telcos and cable companies, due to their entrenched effective monopolies, are culturally incapable of being truthful in what they advertise and market. Doublespeak and obfuscation are in their genes.
Exhibit One: "Unfees" on bills which are just ways to hike prices while advertising lower figures. There basically is NO WAY you can get any service for the advertised prices.
Exhibit Two: A massive number of totally different 'plans' advertised via TV, Web, and print and promoted on their call-in ordering, which are contradictory between sources. Not to mention the fact, that if you threaten to leave their service, suddenly a whole *NEW* set of 'plans' will materialize.
Exhibit Three: All the various 'unlimited' services which aren't if you read the fine print. The Crickit Unlimited Broadband on TV here shows the UNLIMITED in huge lettering on the very same screen as the tiny nearly unreadable fine print about the 5GB limit.
Exhibit Four: In my area some years ago, Verizon (then Airtouch Celluar) heavily promoted a $9.95 FOR LIFE! cell phone offer. I signed up, but on several occasions, they summarily announced 'we're giving you a new plan' which, of course, was 2 to 3 times the cost of the original. It's taken Public Utilities Commission action to enforce the original contract. The telco's answer: FOR LIFE means 'for the life of the plan'...which makes the whole thing totally meaningless since they determine what 'life of the plan' is. | |
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