Text 8454, 77 rader
Skriven 2010-06-09 11:17:09 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Cellphone woes
======================
Hello Robert,

On Tuesday June 08 2010 07:34, you wrote to me:

 MV>> There is such a thing as a cheap lunch. A free lunch? No way José.

 RB> Generally speaking, you're right. But there are exceptions, depending
 RB> on the circumstances. For example, I pay nothing for banking because
 RB> of the fee structure of the bank and the services that I use and more
 RB> importantly _don't_ use.

Of course you pay. It just does not show on the bill. Banks are not St Clauses.
They are there to make a profit. Fot that the customer pays: you.

 BF>>> One of the nets have prepaid and calls within that net are
 BF>>> totally free.

 MV>> So if a family all has these prepaids and use it only to call each
 MV>> other, the telco has zero revenue from them? That does not sound
 MV>> like a good business model.

 RB> It is, because most people do _not_ merely phone one another,

Ok, so it is possible to get a free lunch by leeching.

 RB> and most people are additionally too lazy and convenient to go in a
 RB> group and buy SIMs from one provider (losing their present phone
 RB> number in the process, or if porting it is at all possible, paying a
 RB> fortune - in Germany EUR 25 as a rule - to keep the number)

In The Netherland porting the number is always "free".

 RB> Never worry, the provider will always make enough to keep going.
 RB> Concentrate on your own interests and don't worry about those of your
 RB> provider.

O. I am not worried about the provider. I KNOW they will make money. It IS my
own interest I worry about. In know TANSTAAFL. So when I get offered something
that LOOKS like a free lunch, I start looking for the catch. And the less
obvious it is, the more suspicious I get. Bcause usually, the better the catch
is hidden, the bigger it is.

 BF>>> I just looked it up. Within his own net all calls and SMS/MMS are
 BF>>> free and he pays just under EUR 5 per month

 MV>> If he pays a monthly fee, then it is not free...

 RB> There are prepaid discounters here who also offer such rates within
 RB> their own network. Naturally you have to buy the SIM first. I don't
 RB> know of anyone who gives away SIMs and then doesn't charge _anything_
 RB> for calls inside his own network, but that would be pretty
 RB> unbelieveable anyway.

Indeed. That would be a free lunch...

 MvdV>>>> International roaming is still a milking cow for the telcos.

 BF>>> That is why I buy a prepaid while in Thailand.

 MV>> Of course. If it is more than an occasional short visit, that is
 MV>> the sensible thing to do.

 RB> The only problem there is that the validity period is often _very_
 RB> short, you don't use up the balance on a vacation and simply lose the
 RB> remainder when you leave the country for home. Unless you're on a
 RB> lengthy trip and only pay a small amount for the local SIM, you're
 RB> often better off paying roaming fees and using your normal SIM.

Yes, it depends. In the case of Björn - the other Björn - who stays there for
quit a long time and return often the local SIM is apparently of advantage.

See also my next message.

Cheers, Michiel

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