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posted by
mattie_p
on Thursday February 20 2014, @09:36PM
from the but-think-of-the-stockholders dept.
from the but-think-of-the-stockholders dept.
siliconwafer writes:
"Competition among wireless providers could hurt profits in the wireless industry, according to a report by Reuters. T-Mobile's aggressive price structure, abandonment of contracts, and termination-fee payments have put downward pressure on mobile costs for consumers, and Wall Street analysts are forecasting a reduction in profits in the wireless sector as a result. AT&T in particular is showing signs of stress. While this may be bad news for the wireless industry, it's good news for consumers."
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Wireless Providers Competing More Than Ever
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by spiritfiend on Thursday February 20 2014, @11:51PM
When profits are so high, it's a sign that the market is broken. I don't think that wireless carriers fall into the category of a free market because the barriers to entry are high. There is only so much wireless bandwidth available, and it is all owned by a few players. They collude as much as they compete. Why is it that when one company instituted data caps, the other big players did also?
(Score: 2, Informative) by evilviper on Friday February 21 2014, @08:24AM
The data caps came along when 3g and iPhone arrived. That unlimited data plan sounded like a GREAT idea when it was half as fast as dial-up on 2G, and only used as much bandwidth as a phone call. When users could suddenly use 50 times as much data and smartphones came along making them WANT to do data-intensive things with their phones, the UNLIMITED model simply blew up in their faces.
That's not to say they aren't completely gouging their customers on data usage rates, but there is a mundane explanation for the behavior and the timing.
Do YOU see ALL home-page stories?
dev.soylentnews.org/search.pl?tid=1
github.com/SoylentNews/slashcode/issues/78
(Score: 2, Insightful) by spiritfiend on Friday February 21 2014, @10:07AM
I remember differently. My first android phone, Moto OG Droid, came out in 2009 at least a full year after the iPhone 3G. I had an unlimited data plan on that phone for at least 2 years. You could say that the data caps were put in place for 4G, but in truth a monthly cap that could be reached within minutes made the speed boost worthless. It seems disingenuous to build up this new network if it were not functional. If it were only one company instituting the caps, they would be at a competitive disadvantage.
(Score: 1) by Bob9113 on Saturday February 22 2014, @02:30AM
I don't think that wireless carriers fall into the category of a free market because the barriers to entry are high. There is only so much wireless bandwidth available, and it is all owned by a few players.
Very agreed, and well put. T-Mobile only moved them from minimal effective competition to limited effective competition. Every little bit helps, and more would be better for everyone.