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elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
 ·SONIC.NET
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to ShellMMG
Re: Ya think
said by ShellMMG  :We are living on borrowed time with Alltel. I went with them because they do NOT have a cap, and I'm trying to figure out a way to extend my contract before Verizon's cap comes down on us. I'm in the same boat you are -- it's Alltel/Verizon or satellite. I'm a former WB customer and learned the hard way that caps are NOBODY's friend. I'd like to see Google use it's corporate weight as leverage against these caps. Its my spectrum too. I suspect, if we all wanted to use it as you do, that the effective cap would be much lower than 5GB.
Caps make sense on today's 3G. The $60 monthly charge may seem extreme, but it is what invites competition.
Tomorrow, with WiMax, you'll probably get four times the cap for 2/3 the cost.
Today's entry-level bandwidth is 3x faster than it was ten years ago, at 1/4th the cost. Similar measurements apply for 3G used as rural broadband.
When Time Warner disclosed the terms of their cap, after the bad press, I was disappointed to see them withdraw their offer, which would have saved me, along with dozens of kinfolk, about $300 a year. Caps are friend to many. | |
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH
| Don't be a corporate apologist. You don't even know half the story. Regional carriers offer better data plans than the likes of AT&T and Verizon, and yet those 2 own all the special access lines that everyone rents from them to provide bandwidth for their 3G networks. It's been well-documented they put huge, huge markups on the price of the lines.
Exorbitant profit doesn't encourage competition when the barrier of entry to the market is insurmountably high.
You can go to Europe and buy a completely unlimited *pre-paid* plan for $70. That should tell you about the "fairness" of the 5 GB cap. | |
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
·Comcast
·Qwest.net
 ·magicjack.com
 ·BeeCreek Communica..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to elray
Bandwidth doubles on the backbone for the same price in what, nine months? EvDO is actually REGRESSING with the 5GB cap; a few years ago everything was cool, with DSL-speed EvDO Rev. A being deployed in many areas (like mine) and bringing competition to terrestrial broadband outside areas where cable and DSL have deigned to go. Now you pay $12+ per GB.
To compare, around here a T1 can be had for $600. That's under $1 per GB at 100% usage, maybe $2 or $3 per GB if used moderately. However bonded T1s are a bit cheaper, weighing in at maybe $550. Heavy-duty bandwidth, which can (and is) being wirelessly backhauled, can be had even here for $150 per megabit or less, or less than 50 cents per GB. The botto line: $12 per GB (and $50 per GB on overages) is ridiculous.
You might be right in saying that mobile broadband was never meant to replaced fixed broadband, but you try using a stellite connection for a month and see whether you want to go to mobile...or even dialup. Seriously, I like browsing over dialup better than mucking with sat internet, as long as I can get at least a 33.6k connection. | |
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