David,
IMO, iPhones are to blame for this problem, since they have eaten up all
the
network bandwidth (and I DON'T have one!)
I doubt that ... phones don't eat THAT much bandwidth.
The statement was in context of AT&T Wireless, and in that context I believe
it is the iPhone which was primarily responsible for eating up their
wireless bandwidth. As the exclusive iPhone carrier for years, they had
explosive data growth which they had a very hard time keeping up with. Most
famously in New York City and San Fransisco.
IMO it's just the broadband providers grubbing for more money.
In the broader sense of all carriers, I concur they view data as a cash cow.
The voice market is nearing the saturation point, and is relatively price
competitive. However, until the last few years a relatively low percentage
of phones had any significant data usage. While some earlier Windows Mobile
and Palm OS phones may have started the trend, it wasn't until the iPhone
and more recently Android based phones where data usage really took off.
With profit margins on voice being squeezed, most seem look to data plans as
a major profit center.
(Aside: And text messages. I've never understood why text messages should
cost so much, apart from grubbing for more money...)
But what I find very strange is the inconsistency of the data charges, even
within a carrier. For example, I had a Sprint aircard which was unlimited
data when I signed the contract. Part way through the contract they
implemented a 5Gb cap on the aircard. It created a backlash, and the
recourse was you were allowed to cancel without a termination fee. From the
forums I followed at the time, not many did because most carriers had the
cap and Sprint was still typically cheaper when combined with phone(s) and
voice coverage.
But when they put the 5Gb cap on aircards, there was no such cap placed on
smartphones. They still had unlimited usage. Technically, they did not
sanction phone tethering but many people did it according to the Palm Pre
forums I followed at the time.
Verizon is even more inconsistent. They have the 5Gb cap on aircards, but
the $30 data plans required on smartphones is also listed as unlimited.
However, if you want to tether your phone via USB or Wifi hot-spot, they
want to charge another $20 per month for 2Gb or $30 for 5Gb. Unless you are
using a Palm Pre Plus or Pixi; then the wifi hot-spot is included free as
part of the $30 data plan. (Rumor has it they did this because they had too
large a stock of the phones and wanted to help move them.)
As with Sprint, some people try to fly under the radar by rooting their
phone to enable hot spot capabilities and just keep usage low enough to not
draw attention to the account.
With AT&T, new smartphone customers are given the choice of data plans ($15
for 250Mb or $25 for 2Gb). Customers before June or so get 5Gb for $30 and
I think get to keep that as long as they want (last I knew). New aircard
customers are $60 for 5Gb.
I find that hard to believe ... contracts are kind of hard to change after
the fact.
They only have to give you the option to cancel without a termination fee.
Doug
midrange.com
