Yes, America, we are really paying too much for our data plans.

[Ivabign]

Data may cost a bunch - but high fructose corn syrup is cheap.

Diabetes - is diabetes a product?


...seriously though, you should be able to buy your telephone service and data service from different providers - or at least have the option of no data at all - certainly the phone subsidy would have to be shrunk - but maybe there is a happy medium.

There is no competition in the USA

 

[old-wiz]

sadly, american telecom is a monopoly.

And the carriers pay lots of money to the right people in the government so that it stays that way. Not a monopoly though since there are several carriers.

 

[iAi]

You mean you get your drinks diluted with really cold water.

Seriously.

In Europe, at most clubs, 1 cocktail drinks (not watered-down) is included in the entrance (if there's any).

 

[acatch90]

But then they have far more customers to balance that out.

That combined with not covering a huge majority of the land.

Compare the size of France/UK to the US. It's a pretty big difference.

It's not like the carriers have to cover all of Europe. The Orange sim I got in France roams when I leave France.

 

[chakraj]

yes its at least four inches larger on my map.

 

[acatch90]

yes its at least four inches larger on my map.

A UK sim roams when it goes to France (or anywhere outside the UK), so it's not like the US where we can use our sim across the country (MUCH larger area).

 

[darster]

"U.S. consumers who bought mobile service through contracts spent $115 a month for 3G service"

Who pays that much a month in the US? I get unlimited LTE data, 1000 SMS/MMS and 450 minutes for $80 including tax on Verizon.

 

[Ran7]

"U.S. consumers who bought mobile service through contracts spent $115 a month for 3G service"

Who pays that much a month in the US? I get unlimited LTE data, 1000 SMS/MMS and 450 minutes for $80 including tax on Verizon.

The quote is simply a false and a false premise -- it acutally uses a classic "straw man". The majority of US users are not even on individual contracts. By taking something that is a minority of moble customers, and oen of the most expensieve ways to buy, the stats are scewed. The 115 also includes taxes which are skewed because there are both fees and taxes paid for mobile in Europe outside of mobile billings. (Europeans pay not just fees, but mobile taxes from landlind calls to mobile phones). EI the revenue stream of both the carrier and the govenmr on mobile costs is more than the net of all "mobile" billing due to calling party pays scheme in most of Europe.

As also noted in the US we have moch lower densities which increase costs

 

[Daveoc64]

The 115 also includes taxes which are skewed because there are both fees and taxes paid for mobile in Europe outside of mobile billings. (Europeans pay not just fees, but mobile taxes from landlind calls to mobile phones).

Prices here MUST always include tax. It's not like the US where it's added on when you go to buy something.

I pay £39 ($63) per month for:

Unlimited Data (including Unlimited Tethering)
5000 text messages
2000 voice minutes (any network/any time)
5000 voice minutes (to people on the same carrier)

These allowances go further because we don't pay to receive calls or messages.

That includes the standard rate of VAT (Value Added Tax) - 20%.

I paid £89 ($144) upfront for the iPhone 5 32GB.

The only plan I can think of in the US that's remotely similar is Sprint's "Unlimited Everything", but that's basically twice the monthly cost.

$109.99 monthly plus taxes
$299 upfront plus taxes

We're not talking slight differences in price, it's a huge difference.

 

[willmtaylor]

You mean you get your drinks diluted with really cold water.

It may be lower quality, but it's greater quantity. That's the American way, no?

 

[Diode]

But there is a spectrum crunch, they dont have enough to go around that's why they moved to tiered pricing.

everyone knows that spectrum is going extinct.

It will only be a matter of time and there wont be any spectrum left running free, then you will all look back at this and wish they had made it even more expensive.

Those poor phone companies, being abused by all of those greedy people who have unlimited data plans. I just cant believe you would buy unlimited when offered, then expect to be able to use it, its you greedy users who made this happen. with unlimited $30.00 per month you have to use 12 gigs every month to match the Euro price per gig.

If all of you abusive unlimited users would just give up your plans then Im sure the companies would lower their rates.

Those poor telecom companies, god bless them every one.

Save the spectrum!

Don't buy into the spectrum lie. All carriers are sitting on huge swaths of unused spectrum. Verizon and AT&T aren't even using their AWS licenses at all.

They don't need more spectrum - they just need to more efficiently use what they have and it's one of the reasons LTE was created in the first place. Dragging their feet is how we got into this multi radio mess.

AT&T finally agreed to start sun setting 2g for LTE - something they should have offered to do from the start - but they knew if they did the T-Mobile merger would have been shot down almost instantly.

 

[wordoflife]

I agree that prices are very expensive but one most consider that geographically, if you were in Europe, it's almost as good as comparing service from London to Moscow. Obviously it's cheaper to have a network all in the same country with same laws and rules, which doesn't happen when you talk about service from London to Moscow, but it's still a thought to consider.

Honestly, I think they should have plans that cover state to state. I think most people don't travel out of their state that much, so they shouldn't really have to pay for that much coverage. And if you want that coverage, then just pay a little more (less than or equal to what you're paying now).

In hindsight, the USA is pushing new infrastructure (like LTE) really fast compared to Europe.

 

[einmusiker]

yep right on. Not me I pay about a dollar per gb but anyone on data share plan is

 

[ViperDesign]

Duopoly rules here in the United states

 

[iAi]

Next quarter or in the next 2 years or so, Verizon & AT&T will post their record breaking net profits having pretty much the same number of customers.

 

[darster]

This is a question I ask our European friends as I don't have any clue on the answer. How many cities with populations of 150,000 or less have LTE service in Europe? I ask this not to be sarcastic but since my city is this size with LTE, and perhaps our bills are higher because these companies are rolling out these services to rural areas with more gusto than in Europe. My state of South Dakota is larger land wise than many countries in Europe, while only having a population of 750,000 total. Yet most of the cities over 5,000 have LTE service.

 

[MattMJB0188]

If one is worried about paying "too much" on AT&T, ditch the iPhone and get an international phone, like the GSIII and switch your data plan to the $10 medianet plan. You'll then enjoy TRULY unlimited HSPA+ data.

This is a known fact, so don't argue with me.

 

[iAi]

If one is worried about paying "too much" on AT&T, ditch the iPhone and get an international phone, like the GSIII and switch your data plan to the $10 medianet plan. You'll then enjoy TRULY unlimited HSPA+ data.

This is a known fact, so don't argue with me.

GSIII + $10 medianet plan + unlimited HSPA+ yeah, perfect together (you get what you pay for!), known fact!

 

[MattMJB0188]

GSIII + $10 medianet plan + unlimited HSPA+ yeah, perfect together (you get what you pay for!), known fact!

Is this sarcasm? I have it on one of my lines with my Internationale GSIII and I will continue to enjoy unlimited amounts of data while others get throttled at 3 & 5GB on iPhone unlimited plans.

 

[iAi]

Is this sarcasm? I have it on one of my lines with my Internationale GSIII and I will continue to enjoy unlimited amounts of data while others get throttled at 3 & 5GB on iPhone unlimited plans.

No. Am glad, it works perfectly and that you are happy with your choice. I have my own needs and purpose for having an iPhone and with LTE vs. among others blah blah blah ... aka iPhone 5 or nothing on a carrier that will offer and utilize the best features of iP5 like on V & A networks for reasonably less. Not second best speed!

 

[Dwalls90]

Basic economics:

when demand increases at a constant supply price will increase. The rate the demand is increasing in America I am surprised the prices aren't even higher.

Telecom's aren't keep up as much with their infrastructure either keeping supply of data around the same. It's easy for companies to charge what they are charging now due to low competition. AT&T and Verizon then sprint is 2nd tier. Gives us telecom oligopoly.


We don't have any telecom subsidies in America either which will raise prices.

Exactly.

But there is a spectrum crunch, they dont have enough to go around that's why they moved to tiered pricing.

everyone knows that spectrum is going extinct.

It will only be a matter of time and there wont be any spectrum left running free, then you will all look back at this and wish they had made it even more expensive.

Those poor phone companies, being abused by all of those greedy people who have unlimited data plans. I just cant believe you would buy unlimited when offered, then expect to be able to use it, its you greedy users who made this happen. with unlimited $30.00 per month you have to use 12 gigs every month to match the Euro price per gig.

If all of you abusive unlimited users would just give up your plans then Im sure the companies would lower their rates.

Those poor telecom companies, god bless them every one.

Save the spectrum!

Excuse me, but are you insane?

Don't read into the big carriers bullcrap, there is no spectrum "crunch." I don't know about you, but my latency and data speeds are just fine, and were fine when I had unlimited data. The FCC is auctioning off spectrum like it's their job, there is more than enough to go around.

Well one problem is the size of US. Telecom have to provide coverage at vast amount of highways and suburbs.

Another problem is the "not in my back yard" attitude in terms of cell antenna, making it difficult or expensive to add coverage in cities.



You meant oligopoly, because there are at least AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile.

No, duopoly. You can't seriously be considering Sprint, or even T-mobile, a serious competitor, can you? Verizon and AT&T have about 3/4 of the market.

And the carriers pay lots of money to the right people in the government so that it stays that way. Not a monopoly though since there are several carriers.

Hi,

When two companies price fix and collude (which effectively AT&T and Verizon have done, as a duopoly, see above), it's often WORSE than a monopoly to consumers. Economics 101.

Don't buy into the spectrum lie. All carriers are sitting on huge swaths of unused spectrum. Verizon and AT&T aren't even using their AWS licenses at all.

They don't need more spectrum - they just need to more efficiently use what they have and it's one of the reasons LTE was created in the first place. Dragging their feet is how we got into this multi radio mess.

AT&T finally agreed to start sun setting 2g for LTE - something they should have offered to do from the start - but they knew if they did the T-Mobile merger would have been shot down almost instantly.

Precisely my point. There's no lack of spectrum, and the FCC is rigorously granting additional bands constantly.

 

[iAi]

Don't read into the big carriers bullcrap, there is no spectrum "crunch." I don't know about you, but my latency and data speeds are just fine, and were fine when I had unlimited data. The FCC is auctioning off spectrum like it's their job, there is more than enough to go around.

When two companies price fix and collude (which effectively AT&T and Verizon have done, as a duopoly, see above), it's often WORSE than a monopoly to consumers. Economics 101.

BINGO, finally!

 

[terraphantm]

Don't read into the big carriers bullcrap, there is no spectrum "crunch." I don't know about you, but my latency and data speeds are just fine, and were fine when I had unlimited data. The FCC is auctioning off spectrum like it's their job, there is more than enough to go around.

Depends on where you are. In NYC and various college towns, my AT&T iPhone is damn near unusable. Speeds less than 100kbps with pings as high as 4-500. Essentially edge speeds over HSPA. I don't know how much of that is spectrum crunch vs poor backhaul though

 

[CSpackler]

I don't think our European friends understand just how big the US market is. And our population density is much much lower.

 

[decafjava]

I live in northern Europe and for the equivalent to $75 per month (2 year contract) I get:

- The new iPhone 5 64GB
- Free and unlimited calls (within my country)
- Free and unlimited SMS
- Free and unlimited MMS
- Free and unlimited video calls (within my country)
- Free Spotify Premium
- Mobile broadband at 32 Mbit/s (60 GB bandwidth per month - If I use more the speed will decrease to 0.5 Mbit/s)

Edit: When it comes to broadband at home I pay the equivalent to $60 per month for 1000 Mbit/s via fiber with unlimited bandwidth.

Wow I'm, in Central Europe and don't get as nearly good a deal. What is your phone company (and country) if I may ask?

Oh @ CSpackler, good map to show the difference, we have similar problems in Canada.