insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN | Why?
Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? |
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Boomerang86
Got FUD?
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join:2002-10-18
VampireState
clubs:
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| said by insomniac84  :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? You've got a few thousand folks with older analog only equipment, mostly installed in automobiles. Very few of them have monthly billing; most are OnStar customers or use a credit card for the occasional emergency call.
Analog (AMPS) is 25 year old technology, guess it has to die someday.
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| said by Boomerang86 :Very few of them have monthly billing; most are OnStar customers or use a credit card for the occasional emergency call. I believe GM contracts exclusively with Verizon to provide service to On Star subscribers so this shouldn't affect them at all. Verizon and Cingular have roaming agreements in place and I doubt this will affect them either because the rates and terms are already set in the contract.
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kruser
Premium
join:2002-06-01
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
 ·AT&T Southwest
| reply to insomniac84
said by insomniac84 :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? I own country property south of St. Clair, MO and the only thing that works is my old analog Motorola bag phone.
It works great while a GSM phone has absolutely no signal.
Last fall there was a roll over accident on the road and one person died.
They say the other would have died if they had not received the emergency call quickly which was made from the bag phone.
So that is my main reason for keeping analog and will be forced to pay this extra fee until they shut the analog signal down..
Plus the digital conversion delay sucks on every carrier I've ever used (Cingular, Verizon and Nextel).
Digital may be better for squeezing more signals into a given bandwidth but they need to work on the delay that is introduced. |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to insomniac84
said by insomniac84 :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? Good point. Cingular is just taking the steps necessary to phase out old systems and equipment. And they are doing it over several years until early 2008. Some users will just not upgrade unless incented to do so.
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footballdude
Premium
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO
| reply to insomniac84
said by insomniac84 :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? Because when I got a cell phone I took the free phone they offered me instead of paying for a better one. I've been too lazy to go back and upgrade.
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R4M0N
Brazilian Soccer Ownz Joo
join:2000-10-04
Glen Allen, VA
·Comcast
| reply to GOLFnSUN
said by GOLFnSUN :said by insomniac84 :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? Good point. Cingular is just taking the steps necessary to phase out old systems and equipment. And they are doing it over several years until early 2008. Some users will just not upgrade unless incented to do so. I have no problem with them wanting to migrate customers, but I think a carrot is better than a stick when you're trying to KEEP those customers.
How about a non-crappy selection of phones that can be swaped for free? They did that once but the phones were't worth the drive to pick them up. That's why we chose to keep the older phone. |
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy
| reply to GOLFnSUN
said by GOLFnSUN :said by insomniac84 :Why would anyone still be using an analog phone? Good point. Cingular is just taking the steps necessary to phase out old systems and equipment. And they are doing it over several years until early 2008. Some users will just not upgrade unless incented to do so. If they want to "incent", they should offer a basic phone. I gotta think that a free phone is more cost effective than completely giving up a subscriber.
-tom
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
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| said by nixen :If they want to "incent", they should offer a basic phone. I gotta think that a free phone is more cost effective than completely giving up a subscriber. Usually, but not always. Some customers generate so little revenue, that billing and customer service costs exceed the income derived. They may not mind those customers departing to a competitor.
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
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join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy
| said by GOLFnSUN :said by nixen :If they want to "incent", they should offer a basic phone. I gotta think that a free phone is more cost effective than completely giving up a subscriber. Usually, but not always. Some customers generate so little revenue, that billing and customer service costs exceed the income derived. They may not mind those customers departing to a competitor. True. You also have to factor in, "how attractive is a company with 16Mn subscribers versus one with 10Mn subscribers" to potential partner program partners, investors, etc.
If they've got their cell plans structured such that a customer using 0 minutes per month is costing them money, then they've got bigger problems than legacy technology.
Lastly, if the 15%:3% posted in another subthread is accurate, the TDMA users are actually providing a small subsidy to Cingular's bottom line.
-tom
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"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." -Louis D Brandeis |
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MeanPeepsSuk
Premium
join:2004-11-21
Muddy Field
clubs:
1 edit | reply to insomniac84
Back in '97, the corporation I worked for got in a deal with AT&T Business Services that provided employees of this company a sign up deal, 'for life' (..cough.. cough.. ). If we signed up, we got our phones for $14.95 monthly. But, you can't break the contract or the 'life' deal is over.
Mind you, since then.. the contract has gone from AT&T business services, to AT&T wireless division to AT&T wireless, now to Cingular (and I guess back to AT&T Wireless soon).. Moving my account along the way.
I broke my phone last year (3rd time since) and to get a new phone, I'd have to go on a GSM phone since "they no longer provide /those/ phones". Which, would end the contract since it was, according to them, a new contract on a new service.
I said, 'F that'.. and got a new TDMA on Ebay and put it on.
Sign me... Waiting for the shoe to fall and checking my mailbox daily.
P.S. TDMA is not analog (it's "Time Division Multiple Access") and works great at least for me. |
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tnroroc
Let's Rock
join:2001-04-25
Matawan, NJ
| reply to insomniac84
It's also TDMA phones. This advertising is also misleading. I currently have an old TDMA family plan with 2 phones on it with 45 minutes a month for $30 a month. In the 6 years we have had this plan, we hav gone over the 45 minutes probably half a dozen times. We really only use the phones for emergencies.
To upgrade, I will need a newer phones, which could be free, but the minimun family service plan is $59 a month.
So in order to upgrade, we are doubling our monthly cost.
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travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Santa Fe, NM
| reply to GOLFnSUN
said by GOLFnSUN :Usually, but not always. Some customers generate so little revenue, that billing and customer service costs exceed the income derived. They may not mind those customers departing to a competitor. Right. What you have to understand is that the cellcos are rated by Wall Street based on their ARPU - Average revenue per unit (subscriber). By dumping subscribers who are pulling their ARPU down, the cellcos get rewarded by Wall Street, even though they have less customers to cover the fixed costs, which is the majority of their business. |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | reply to kruser
you may want to look into one of those cell antennas that people in the country and on the side of mountains use. sorry, i don't have a link handy.
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK
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| reply to GOLFnSUN
said by GOLFnSUN :Some users will just not upgrade unless incented to do so. Well I learned something today  I too thought the meaning of the word "incentive" implied a positive or encouragement to carry out some task. Apparently that's not the case, "incentive" is actually neutral, as is, it can be a positive (the carrot) OR a negative (the big stick) to carry out a task.
So saying Cingular punishes their customers as an incentive to upgrade is actually a correct use of the word, incentive.
But I digress.... I feel they would be better off offering upgrade bonuses before bringing the Punishment out. That just makes customers angry and when they DO upgrade, they will most likely pick a competitor FIRST.
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Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA | reply to tnroroc
Just FYI...
$30/month is super expensive for 2 phones and only 45 minutes a month. You can save even more if you went with prepaid cellular - for people using as few of minutes as you do. |
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KrK
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Tulsa, OK
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| reply to tnroroc
Re: Why?
said by tnroroc :To upgrade, I will need a newer phones, which could be free, but the minimun family service plan is $59 a month. So in order to upgrade, we are doubling our monthly cost. Which really is the point. Pay more. Or if you refuse to pay more... Pay more anyway, with a new penalty.
And that's what it's really all about.
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"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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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
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Tulsa, OK
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| reply to Jerm
Re: Just FYI...
said by Jerm :$30/month is super expensive for 2 phones and only 45 minutes a month. You can save even more if you went with prepaid cellular - for people using as few of minutes as you do. Depends. I haven't found a true use prepaid system yet. I've looked at a few. The catch I have found with every pre-paid program I have checked into is that your pre-purchased minutes expire on you if you don't use all of them in a certain time period (usually a month), and that you have to use a certain minimum required amount of dollars spent on minutes per time period. In other words, it's not only not so cheap, it can be the biggest ripoff of all.... (Pay for something, never use it, never get it.)
Pre-paid wireless has been a revenue growth sector for awhile now. Many prepaid programs, while avoiding a monthly contract or fixed payment, are actually more profitable over all for the company then ppl with fixed minute plans and heavier usage.
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"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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my2ndhandle
join:2006-07-24
Chattanooga, TN | reply to insomniac84
Re: Why?
Because of people like my mom. Some people need a BASIC phone. A big phone with just numbers, # and * keys, and power / send button. |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| reply to KrK
Re: Just FYI...
said by KrK :said by Jerm :$30/month is super expensive for 2 phones and only 45 minutes a month. You can save even more if you went with prepaid cellular - for people using as few of minutes as you do. Depends. I haven't found a true use prepaid system yet. I've looked at a few. The catch I have found with every pre-paid program I have checked into is that your pre-purchased minutes expire on you if you don't use all of them in a certain time period (usually a month), and that you have to use a certain minimum required amount of dollars spent on minutes per time period. You aren't going to find a true prepaid phone system. That phone number your phone gets associated with isn't free. If you only use it in an emergency, you might never use your purchased minutes yet the cellular provider must maintain all the equipment and your account like you were using it constantly. But there are options that would probably suit you fine...
T-Mobile for instance has prepaid cards 30 minutes for $10, 130 minutes for $25, 400 for $50, and 1000 for $100. The minutes don't expire for 30, 90, 90, or 365 days respectively. You are paying $15/line/month for each of your phones. With the $25 plan, you will be paying 8.33/month. Once you reach $100 in any combinations for total purchases per phone, your minutes don't expire for a year after your last purchase, so as long as you add $10 worth of minutes once a year, you are set. Plus you get a 15% bonus on minutes you buy.
In other words, it's not only not so cheap, it can be the biggest ripoff of all.... (Pay for something, never use it, never get it.) Do your 45 minutes roll over from month to month under your $30 plan? Chances are they don't, so it's not that much different.
Pre-paid wireless has been a revenue growth sector for awhile now. Many prepaid programs, while avoiding a monthly contract or fixed payment, are actually more profitable over all for the company then ppl with fixed minute plans and heavier usage. Of course it is, but it works well for those that don't want a contract or don't want to be locked into a contract. My wife has a prepaid phone and uses it mainly for emergencies or quick phone calls to check something, not as a primary form of communication. She might use a hours worth of minutes a month. Buying a $25 every 2 months is cheaper then any cell phone plan I've seen.
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