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fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to cameronsfx
Re: Welcome to the club.... Quite honestly, the customers are the one asking for this. MANY customers are looking for every way possible to not use minutes of the provider at hand. They're wanting vonage mobile, skype, and other forms of VOICE communications on their phone and do an end run around every voice provider as it stands.
Quite honestly, what are the carriers supposed to do? .. sit back and let it happen and erode income in the process as people shift towards data use?
So the customer takes the lowest amounts of minutes and buys the $30 data plans that will in a sense "replace" voice units.. as it stands, voice is sold in buckets and isn't cheap. (At least American Thieves & Thugs allows you to roll over minutes unused making your minutes worth more than say Sprint and Verizon)
So if the shift is towards data use, it's only natural that they're going to start modeling data after voice rates. People want 'dumb pipes' and this is what the people are going to get. People don't like hearing things like "unlimited" along side of "network management" either. People also can't expect that companies will invest Billions into their network to meet these needs of the customers and not recoup those investments back from the source that causes the need for upgrade. Unlimited data isn't something that will ever last for ever.. in fact, the unlimited model of anything, as history shows, comes and goes. Unlimited voice, even, comes at a much higher price as well.
So really, I don't see what the issue here is. If someone wants the CONVENIENCE of having mobile data at their every beckon they should be paying for that. For what ever reason people have or need wireless data, it's a choice THEY make on their own. I've head people say they want to stream radio - fine, the more and more you do, the more you're going to consume and the more investment has to be made to handle that. Unlimited data isn't going to live long with that desire. People justify using a lot of data, as has been stated, because "I want to watch a video while sitting in a doctor's office waiting room".. again, another CHOICE people have made. No matter what the need, it's a choice, not a necessity.
Much of the data that's being consumed in higher chunks are quite honestly entertainment based anyway. The more people want to entertain themselves and have that convenience, again, at their beckon, it's only right they need to expect to pay more. If I were to be honest about it, a lot of the data being pushed isn't anything that makes the world go around, rather, its ways to keep one's self occupied and pass the time. If THAT kind of data is going to be the driving force behind "more data" (and it is - no one TRULY needs to have HQ video on the go, they WANT it) then they need to expect that the model and times are shifting as will the data plans.
Personally, 5GB data on mobile devices would seem more reasonable instead of 2GB, but it's their networks and they can price it as they see fit. However, even 2GB of data on a wireless handset is PLENTY for most mobile "needs".. .if someone is consuming more than 2GB, then they're quite honestly "screwing off and passing the time" which is most commonly called "a luxury".. and in this country we pay for luxury.
On a side note: Sprint's Any Mobile, Anytime plans was brilliant. They're not a wireline provider so their attitude is to help erode landline sales in favor of their wireless service. This move also helps stop the rush to skype and other mobile Voip calling to help keep that kinda data rush off their data network. IN my opinion, as it stands, SPRINT is the only carrier being honest in their moves and network management. | |
 Z80APremium
join:2009-11-23 | They can try it but that is the same mentality they used with their wireline service which has since been DECIMATED by competitors. | |
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL | reply to fiberguy
That's all well and good but I feel you are leaving out a few important points.
One of the big talking points over the past few years from telco lobbyists has been wireline services do not need to be regulated because there is plenty of competition. One of their shining examples is the wireless data market. But wireless can not be a true competitor to wireline with such low caps.
Also as Mr. Burstein points out in his analysis, the networks can handle bigger caps. With LTE being more efficient than 3g will we see more reasonable caps introduced as that service is rolled out? If it was truly a move to protect the network, the caps would be based on what the engineers are saying the network can handle. The fact that they are so low is to stifle the migration to the services you talk about in your post. If we had a real competitive market it wouldn't be a problem, as AT&T and Verizon would be punished by the market place. But the government has allowed them to grow so huge through mergers, that their power over Sprint and T-mobile is immense.
It's like with wireline. They never offered unlimited voice service until the cable companies came along with their unlimited service and started bleeding their business. Luckily we had a 2nd pipe into the home that was easily able to launch a competing service after investing in the technology. Any newcomer into the wireless market will not start with the same coverage T and VZ have. That was cable's trojan horse. Already being hooked up to almost every home.
For the record I do not subscribe to a wireless data service. | |
| reply to fiberguy
said by fiberguy:Quite honestly, the customers are the one asking for this. MANY customers are looking for every way possible to not use minutes of the provider at hand. They're wanting vonage mobile, skype, and other forms of VOICE communications on their phone and do an end run around every voice provider as it stands. Yes, I am sure that customers asked to be charged more for less services, that seems like a honest expectation.
The customers' already pay for a base number of minutes. The fact that they are finding ways to use voice communication without being ripped off for using more minutes at high prices is a GOOD THING. | |
| reply to fiberguy
You should try to stop prefacing your industry propping comments with "if I were honest about it" and "quite honestly".Your comments have nothing to do with honesty, but with advancing the telecom's industry greedy excuses to rip off customers. | | |
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