 SLDPremium
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA
1 edit | reply to openbox9
Re: Seriously? The article explains that you really have to be over-paying already to qualify for these features. Rate increases would only add insult to injury.
With the average cell user already paying $3/minute, what to the cell companies really have to complain about?!? |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | Huh? Over paying? $3/min...please explain. |
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SLDPremium
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA | Maybe someone can find the original LA Times article, but here is one from my area:
»blogs.chron.com/techblog/archive···ell.html |
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 cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | reply to openbox9
There was an article earlier this year of a survey of 700 San Diego cell phone users that found that, on average, consumers were paying $3/minute. The numbers were skewed by people that paid for many minutes but only used a few, but even excluding the extremes, people were still paying $.50-$1/minute. |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | the study, conducted by the auditing firm TeleTruth on behalf of the Utility Consumers' Action Network and showing an average charge of $3.02 per minute, was based on 134 wireless bills. I'd need to look at the report before this claim can be taken seriously. Anyway, I don't look at my wireless phone bill as paying $x/min, I look at it as paying $y/mth for the convenience of always having a voice capability with me. |
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cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | said by openbox9:I'd need to look at the report before this claim can be taken seriously. Take it for what it's worth. I'm not saying the methodology is right or wrong, I'm just pointing to where the $3/minute came from.
Anyway, I don't look at my wireless phone bill as paying $x/min, I look at it as paying $y/mth for the convenience of always having a voice capability with me. For many users that don't use it as a primary line and rather just a backup or while they are out type usage, prepaid may be far more economical as you still have the convenience of having the capability (as long as the minutes are there) but you aren't losing unused minutes at the end of the month. T-mobile for instance has rates as low as $.10 per minute which is only slightly higher then many of their monthly plans but the minutes don't expire for a year, or even longer if you top off within that year with additional funds. |
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 birdfeedrPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
kudos:8 | said by cdru:prepaid may be far more economical as you still have the convenience of having the capability (as long as the minutes are there) but you aren't losing unused minutes at the end of the month. Prepaid plan no longer offered by Verizon but grandfathered if you have it but don't change it, has a $15/mo. minimum bump (100 minutes), but unused minutes rollover, as long as you continue to renew. My wife's cellphone has 58+ hours primetime minutes accumulated. Double on nights and weekends.
The trouble with drawing the minutes down -- you gotta answer the phone when somebody calls. 
She uses it for emergency only.
The trouble with that $3/minute study mentioned earlier is it probably takes the monthly fee and divides it by the minutes actually used to come up with minutes cost. Which says a lot of people have plans they don't fully use.
"But I can make a call if I want to." |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | reply to SLD
Thanks for the article. While I think the article is lacking important data, I don't doubt that the cost/minute is relatively high. I don't consider this "over-paying", but more an opportunity cost of convenience. |
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SLDPremium
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA | reply to cdru
I use that. I pay about $100/yr for cell. |
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| reply to cdru
Plan AT&T Family w/1 iPhone 2000 min
Phones 5
Billable Minutes used 1706
Now if I only take the voice portion of the bill, and divide by the minutes used...about $0.09 per minutes if I round up.
We won't be using as many billable minutes this next month, that new 10 free numbers started.
I really miss T-Mobile, not only did I pay about $30 less for the same things, but each number had the fav 5. Now, if their service would just work at my house I could switch back.
--
Retaking our country one election at a time. |
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| reply to birdfeedr
VZ does have a prepaid plan still. It's just $$$$ now. |
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