Text 1009, 131 rader
Skriven 2006-05-09 08:41:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
    Kommentar till text 989 av Philip Lozier (1:267/169)
Ärende: none
============
Hello Philip.

08 May 06 07:08, you wrote to me:

 PL>>> Here, the person with the landline phone pays for absolutely
 PL>>> nothing by those who have unlimited service on their phones, and
 PL>>> rightfuly so.

 MvdV>> Of course. But is that "unlimited service" really unlimited?
[..]

 PL> It is unlimited local, regional, and long distance... not
 PL> international...

So it is not really unlimited. There are exceptions. Just like here...

 PL> so 24/7 I can call anybody in the lower 48, Alaska, and Hawaii at the
 PL> fixed rate (39.99 plus taxes and surcharges bringing it to like 43 or
 PL> 44 bux a month).

I would not call $44/month exactly "free".

 PL> Considering I have family in NYC, Maine, Virginia, Florida, Illinois,
 PL> Indiana, and Wisconsin, it's a lovely thing.  I used to run some HIGH
 PL> long distance bills up... not anymore.

But I can see that for you it is a good deal.

 PL> The VOIP providers are to thank for this...

Yes, nothing like a bit of good competition to bring the prices down. One can
only hope that VOIP will do what the EU has not managed so far: Bring the
European cell phone operators with their outrageous international roaming
charges to their senses.

Who is going to pay one Euro a minute on raoming charges of you can make an
almost free call with your laptop. a wifi hotspot and VOIP?

 PL>>> On the other hand, free inbound to mobile phones would be a good
 PL>>> thing on the part of the mobile owner IMO...

 MvdV>> But you realize I hope that you can not have it *both*. Calls
 MvdV>> to a cell phone cost more than calls to a fixed line - and
 MvdV>> *someone* has to pay for it. If calls to a cell phone would be
 MvdV>> free for both the caller and the callee, the Cell phone
 MvdV>> companies could not make any money.

 PL> Many of the providers have been offering free "walkie-talkie" services
 PL> for people on their network... free calls in essence for whoever is on
 PL> either end, no matter how far away they are.

I bet these customers pay a monthly fee for that....

You see here most cell phones are pre-paid. There is no monthly fee and you pay
in advance for a card that give you so many minutes.

 PL> I hate it.  Nothing is more annoying when being in crowded events and
 PL> having people talking away, and hearing the screaching of the person
 PL> they're talking to blaring out of their cell phone, and the non stop
 PL> BEEP_BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

Welcome to the 20th century. Better get used to it, like cars, it is not going
away.

 PL> I would say -this- cuts into profits though as now you have BOTH sides
 PL> talking free.

Thgere is the monthly fee. I bet these customers spend more on their phone bill
than the perpaid user who only pays for the calls and who has no mothly fee.

 PL>>> more people would get them, and in the long run the cell
 PL>>> providers would make more money while easing costs on the
 PL>>> individual phone owners.

 MvdV>> To make more money the cell phone compaNies need more people
 MvdV>> that *pay* for the calls. Making incoming calls free without
 MvdV>> charging the caller would only get them more freeloaders. One
 MvdV>> can not make money on freeloaders.

 PL> If inbounds were free though, than many, many more people would get
 PL> them.

People who only use them for incoming calls and hence generate no income for
the cell phone company.

 PL> What they would lose on a per person basis would more than be
 PL> made up for by volume use.  It's a simple concept that has been
 PL> applied to many things in the past at great success.

Sure, but it does not work if you give it away for free. Suppose you were to
offer people to take down their trees for free. ToTally free, no charges
whatsoever. Yes, you would get lots of customers....

As I understand it in most parts of the USA local calls are free. Including
calls to cell phones. So suppose i had one of these cell phones with free
incoming calls. What would I do when I wanted to contact you? I would make the
following deal with you: I call you, let it ring three times and hang up. You
see the caller id and call me back. No charge for you, no charge for me. How is
the cell phone company going to make money?

 PL>>> Some peope would try to say "everybody" here has a cell phone,
 PL>>> but that is far from realistic. Not even half of the population
 PL>>> actually has one.

 MvdV>> Over here everybody *has* a cell phone. Even my 86 year old
 MvdV>> mother has one. Penetration is over 100%. That means that some
 MvdV>> people have more than one and a few, very few do not have one.
 MvdV>> Mainly the very young and the very old. And most people leave
 MvdV>> their cell phones on all the time.

 PL> Some people would like to -claim- that neraly everybody here has a
 PL> cell phone, but that is -not- the case anymore than is it the case
 PL> that everybody has an internet connection and 99% of those are
 PL> broadband... it's just hype.

Not here. Cell phone penetration is over 100%. Internet.. no, around 70% I'd
say...

 PL> As to on all the time... everybody I know with a cell phone has it on
 PL> all the time... you don't get charged for anybody dialing your cell
 PL> number, only if you answer it, so turning it off to save money doesn't
 PL> make sense to me.

Hmmm... good point. However... Dale switches it off...

Cheers,

Michiel

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