I just found out that my cell phone bill from Verizon was up by $5 this month, from $45 to $50.
Why am I paying $50 per month to perform tasks that are technically a few cents ("fair" market value). I rarely come close to my limit in terms of minutes or text messaging. I understand that towers have to be put up and maintain, but at a cost of $50 per month on my end? I also understand the licensing fees that Verizon has to pay the government i.e. FCC, but at $50 per month? I'll be glad to pay for a phone, and not go to a two year prison term they call a contract.
My idea is not new and I think Google, Apple and Skype are thinking of this possibility. Imagine paying $23 per year for a phone number, and with Skype you can make phone calls in WiFi hotspots. Hotspots are increasing common so much so that it should be call WiFi areas instead. A lot of people, I believe shares my phone usage habits i.e. they live and work in WiFi areas. When I travel, there is no retarded neo-cromagnum primal urge to use my cellphone. My family and friends will do just fine without knowing my whereabout during my trans-Atlantic flight transfer in Salt Lake City. Like some of you, I stop and ask what makes a cellphone so important in life that it should cost $50 per month to own! I understand that there are people out there who relies on cellphone for business, but for a lot of us this is not the case.
Here is the detail of the possibility based on my cellphone habit for 2 years:
$299 iTouch
$23 for a phone # per year
2 cents a minute for calls to a cellphone or land line in the States (varies internationally). I average 200 minutes per month ($4)
Total cost is $441 (this number will go down a lot more if I keep the iTouch for an additional year).
Verizon cost $1250 for 2 years
I can save at least $800. Clearly, with this saving I can buy a new iTouch after my second year and still have money left over.
Just a thought.
Cinch
Why am I paying $50 per month to perform tasks that are technically a few cents ("fair" market value). I rarely come close to my limit in terms of minutes or text messaging. I understand that towers have to be put up and maintain, but at a cost of $50 per month on my end? I also understand the licensing fees that Verizon has to pay the government i.e. FCC, but at $50 per month? I'll be glad to pay for a phone, and not go to a two year prison term they call a contract.
My idea is not new and I think Google, Apple and Skype are thinking of this possibility. Imagine paying $23 per year for a phone number, and with Skype you can make phone calls in WiFi hotspots. Hotspots are increasing common so much so that it should be call WiFi areas instead. A lot of people, I believe shares my phone usage habits i.e. they live and work in WiFi areas. When I travel, there is no retarded neo-cromagnum primal urge to use my cellphone. My family and friends will do just fine without knowing my whereabout during my trans-Atlantic flight transfer in Salt Lake City. Like some of you, I stop and ask what makes a cellphone so important in life that it should cost $50 per month to own! I understand that there are people out there who relies on cellphone for business, but for a lot of us this is not the case.
Here is the detail of the possibility based on my cellphone habit for 2 years:
$299 iTouch
$23 for a phone # per year
2 cents a minute for calls to a cellphone or land line in the States (varies internationally). I average 200 minutes per month ($4)
Total cost is $441 (this number will go down a lot more if I keep the iTouch for an additional year).
Verizon cost $1250 for 2 years
I can save at least $800. Clearly, with this saving I can buy a new iTouch after my second year and still have money left over.
Just a thought.
Cinch
