AT&T Unveils New $65 Prepaid Option → Re: Straight Talk

I dont get why cell phones are so expensive.
Cell service went live in like 1981.
The provider spends nothing on content as the content is free (talking to friends, and internet).
There are no expensive wires ran all around town and towers can handle more customers than ever.
Towers and antennas, fiber drops to the towers, power, are all already in place. All the provider has to do is upgrade equipment every now and then which is pennies for the number of people the equipment can support.

But yet cell service costs just as much as cabletv which has to pay for all of its content.
It just does not make any sense.
We lease the spectrum to these companies for cheap and in return they sell us service with like 1000% margins on it.

Huge equipment costs for use equipment subsidies, tower lease fees, maintenance, leasing fiber, none of that is a cheap business.

I'm sorry, but you are absolutely incorrect when you assume that providing wireless service is inexpensive. Do you know what a fiber connection to a cell site costs each month? Try anywhere from $5K to $10K per month. Rent to be on a tower? Try $1K to $5K per month. The equipment in that cell site? Well over $100K, with more costs when capacity is added. This is for each and every cell site that is on the air, for every real carrier (not MVNO's, since they just buy minutes from real carriers) and is nowhere near a complete list of costs associated with providing service. It always amazes me how everyone on this site seems to think it is so cheap to provide cell service. I'll say it now, all of your assumptions about the costs of providing service are very wrong.

except when users saturate the connections and complain about why it isn't fast or telcos isnt upgrading it and all that....

all of that costs money...they're running a business which sadly sometimes can be a disappointment but it's their business which you're subscribing to...

How is their coverage in rural areas? I need a phone with more memory but, according to the coverage maps, the android coverage areas are very limited.

-Rob

Most of their Android phones are on Sprint, so it would suck. However, they have one on Native Verizon, and two on AT&T, including roaming partners. Easily Googleable what's what.