Ken Andersen's blog about technology related subjects.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Cell Phone Choices
The news that AT&T is buying T-Mobile has got me thinking about how evil cell phone companies appear to be. There seems to be an evil side to a lot of corporations in America, but not all of them get to the level of trying to squeeze every cent out of Americans that they possibly can. This seems to be even more true when it comes to cellular phone carriers in the United States.
Of the remaining big 3 carriers in the US, only Sprint has not announced plans to get rid of unlimited data plans. Data and tethering pricing on cellular devices is the one of the largest forms of screwing over American consumers. My "unlimited" data plan with Verizon is $30 per month. Unlimited really means don't go over 5 GB a month. By comparison, my Comcast dedicated connection does not have these limits and I only pay $10 more a month. I get a connection that is at least 15 times faster than my cell phone that is always on for not much more money. Something is wrong with this picture.
When the iPhone 4 was released on AT&T, they announced tiered data pricing. You no longer get your "unlimited" connection, but you can get 2 GB of data for $20 a month. My mom uses 2 GB a month on her connection at home just checking her email. AT&T is screwing people over. They are going to make a lot of money on data overage charges
Verizon is going to do the same thing, as they have at least hinted that they will have the same kind of plans when they finish rolling out their LTE network. Why do they have to squeeze every last penny that they can out of their customers?
When the T-Mobile acquisition is complete, surely AT&T will find a way to get T-Mobile customers to pay the same rates that current AT&T customers pay.
So why do we even have cell phones? Why do we let the carriers push us around like we do? I am just as much at fault here as everyone else is. Can we not live without our mobile devices?
I want to hear from people as to why they pay what they do. Why do you have a cell phone? What phone and on what carrier do you have service? Do you have a smartphone with data capabilities? If you don't, is it because of the high premiums you pay for data? Have you considered getting one?
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Of the remaining big 3 carriers in the US, only Sprint has not announced plans to get rid of unlimited data plans. Data and tethering pricing on cellular devices is the one of the largest forms of screwing over American consumers. My "unlimited" data plan with Verizon is $30 per month. Unlimited really means don't go over 5 GB a month. By comparison, my Comcast dedicated connection does not have these limits and I only pay $10 more a month. I get a connection that is at least 15 times faster than my cell phone that is always on for not much more money. Something is wrong with this picture.
When the iPhone 4 was released on AT&T, they announced tiered data pricing. You no longer get your "unlimited" connection, but you can get 2 GB of data for $20 a month. My mom uses 2 GB a month on her connection at home just checking her email. AT&T is screwing people over. They are going to make a lot of money on data overage charges
Verizon is going to do the same thing, as they have at least hinted that they will have the same kind of plans when they finish rolling out their LTE network. Why do they have to squeeze every last penny that they can out of their customers?
When the T-Mobile acquisition is complete, surely AT&T will find a way to get T-Mobile customers to pay the same rates that current AT&T customers pay.
So why do we even have cell phones? Why do we let the carriers push us around like we do? I am just as much at fault here as everyone else is. Can we not live without our mobile devices?
I want to hear from people as to why they pay what they do. Why do you have a cell phone? What phone and on what carrier do you have service? Do you have a smartphone with data capabilities? If you don't, is it because of the high premiums you pay for data? Have you considered getting one?
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