Ulmo
join:2005-09-22
San Jose, CA
 ·Comcast
 ·SONIC.NET
1 edit | reply to MightyPez
Re: It's the market, unfortunately
said by MightyPez  :As it was mentioned on Slashdot and on this site before as well, people are willing to pay it, so companies are more than willing to charge it. I myself have a data plan that includes unlimited text messaging. Remember, we are willing to pay money for a bottle of water that we can get for free and cleaner out of a tap (well, in most cases, anyway). When we pay for something, we perceive it has value. Not all of us are that stupid, and get the free water instead, but can't do without texts.
As soon as there's a phone plan without the outrageous fees, of course we'll use it. |
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ooglyoggly
@xo.net | reply to factchecker
Re: It's the market, unfortunately
And we still get a charge for Touch Tone! |
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anaonono
@cox.net
| reply to jhboricua
Moral thing to do? Do you think ANYONE standing to gain from any phone company's profits cares at all whether or not it is the moral thing to do?
Business is business, the only goal is to make as much money as possible. Any perception of morality is merely an attempt to make more money by giving some appearance of a company being moral to gain more customers, thus, make more money.
The only motivation behind any action any company does is to make more money. Bottom line. There is no such thing as "moral" in business. |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | reply to jhboricua
That's why they have legality  through contracts/service agreements bought for by lobbiests and lawyers.
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Canada = Hollywood North |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to MightyPez
It's the lack of a competitive market, unfortunately....
This only happens because there is a limited amount of competition and they all do much the same thing.
People always extol the virtues of the Market and the Free Economy. Too bad it doesn't exist anywhere but in fiction.
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
·CableOne
| reply to disc
said by disc :Rumour is that Sprint is going to start some price wars: Well yeah, they have to do SOMETHING to keep from losing all of their customers due to billing mistakes and poor customer service. |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
·CableOne
| reply to Dan
said by Dan :How did that jump to a RIAA slag from a topic on sms? It's called a comparison. He was comparing the market of MP3s to the market of sms messages. |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here
| reply to factchecker
The thing is it's all part of the business model. Costs themselves are nebulous. A businessman just looks at total resources and how much he could make selling them off. If we paid the true cost of Caller ID, dod you think we'd pay the same in other fields? |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| reply to TKJunkMail
said by TKJunkMail :The capitalist system, so far, has been the best at optimizing scarce resources. I would be careful when you say that once you realize that capitalist economies also exhibit the greatest amount of waste - wasted food (look in the trash of any restaurant), wasted resources (disposable products), etc.
For example, millions of gallons of oil are wasted each year on bottled water because the bottles are used once and discarded to landfills. Single use products, like water bottles, made from finite resources, like oil, are not an efficient use of resources. |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| reply to TKJunkMail
said by TKJunkMail :But Caller-ID is an OPTION and not required. That doesn't mean customers should not be alerted to the true price versus the actual cost of delivering the service.
The reason companies get away with charging as much as they do for services like SMS/TXT and caller ID is because consumers don't know the "real costs" of the product - how much it costs to deliver that service/product. |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| reply to en102
that's an unfortunate and true fact - and is why it is necessary sometimes for the government to become the conscience.
without either an internal or external conscience we get industries like telecom, where their greed and lack of concern for their country has resulted in a broadband market that is years behind the rest of the developed world, or the content industry, whose lawsuits and bullying have stifled untold creativity and created misery for innocent people.
the free market extremists don't believe in any government regulation or intervention, unless it is of course regulation or intervention that helps industry - does the oil industry really need tax breaks? should congress be passing laws that help the content industry prop up their obsolete business model? |
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jhboricua
ExMod 2000-01
join:2000-06-06
Minneapolis, MN
clubs:
| reply to en102
Ah, and yet these same people that believe in profit at any cost, and other that supports their practices are quick to chastice the morality of those who, for example, download copyrighted material by using P2P applications.
If they lack the morality to charge ridiculous fees, how can they question the morality of those who won't play their game?
--
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." - Albert Einstein
Jose A. Hernandez * System Admin * MPLS, Minnesota, USA * |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
1 edit | reply to factchecker
said by factchecker :said by bogey780 :Soon they'll expose that Caller ID is making criminal profits too. Actually, that Kushnick (sp?) guy has been doing that for several years now, talking about the true cost of CallerID and how much people are charged. But Caller-ID is an OPTION and not required. Do I wish it was cheaper - sure. But even at the price they charge, to me it is worth it to screen callers and give me control over who I talk to and when I talk to them.
P.S. I don't pay extra for CallerID myself - it is included in a land line / mobile pkg.
--
Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to jhboricua
said by jhboricua :But do you consider this a moral thing to do? The capitalist system, so far, has been the best at optimizing scarce resources. And a system that is efficient returns the most to society. So, yes, I find that moral.
--
Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| reply to bogey780
said by bogey780 :Soon they'll expose that Caller ID is making criminal profits too. Actually, that Kushnick (sp?) guy has been doing that for several years now, talking about the true cost of CallerID and how much people are charged. |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to jhboricua
Business and morality do not go hand in hand.
Businesses are out there to make money/profit.
Morality requires a conscience.
Businesses require keeping an eye on the bottom line - conscience can get in the way.
--
Canada = Hollywood North |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD | reply to TKJunkMail
also don't forget, "there's a sucker born every minute". |
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jhboricua
ExMod 2000-01
join:2000-06-06
Minneapolis, MN
clubs: | reply to TKJunkMail
But do you consider this a moral thing to do? |
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disc
join:2005-12-31
Raleigh, NC
1 edit | reply to Kfedka
said by Kfedka :I've had a cellphone for three years first year being Tmobile and last two years being Verizon. I have seen a drop of 0% on the rate. ISP's are either dropping rates or increasing bandwidth speeds, But these phone companies or doing neither. Rumour is that Sprint is going to start some price wars: »www.thestreet.com/s/sprint-preps···googlefi |
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