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Because if there are multiple companies offering 5G (and they are not colluding), they will compete for customers. Verizon will offer a higher data cap than T-M

Because if there are multiple companies offering 5G (and they are not colluding), they will compete for customers. Verizon will offer a higher data cap than T-Mobile. T-Mobile will then respond with a higher data cap than Verizon, and so on.

mschuster91 9y ago
I call bullshit on this one. In Germany all 3 major providers offer LTE (O2, though, only since ~2-3 years), and still the most common cap are 3-4 GB, some discounter/business tariffs excepted. Telekom and Vodafone offer a high quality network but high pricing at both and outright scammy sales practices at Vodafone makes me say "no thanks". O2s network is rotten, and it regularly breaks dowm when it's congested (bei it due to political rallies or soccer games) but at least they're cheap and improving. Competition does obviously not work, and Germany is still stuck with slow internet over copper wires and universally shitty mobile providers as a result.
AnthonyMouse 9y ago
It isn't a competition problem, it's a laws of physics problem. If you want to carry more traffic you either need more wireless spectrum or more towers. But "more towers" quickly devolves to the point that you would need a "tower" on every block, at which point you have nearly all the expense of a wired network and might as well run the cable inside the buildings.
- Retric 9y ago
  We are talking about 35.46 gigabits per second. With 20x over subscription that works out to 20MBPS for 35,000 homes per tower. Or roughly a 200 x 200 home 'block' if everyone was your customer. Alternatively, is your suburb is 0.5 homes per acre and 20% of people are your customers that's one tower per ~136 square miles. Note: These numbers are not accurate for several reasons including directional antenna on towers etc but they give a ballpark.
  - AnthonyMouse 9y ago
    DOCSIS 3.1 supports multi-gigabit speeds on coax. With actual fiber 100Gbps links are commercially available. For equivalent performance you aren't serving 35,000 homes per tower, it's more like 35. And a provider having a lower penetration rate doesn't save you any towers, they still have to exist and be operated by someone else in order for those people to have service. Splitting the market between more providers each with lower customer density would only make each provider's costs higher -- same total number of towers but now you each need your own spectrum.

mschuster91 9y ago

I call bullshit on this one. In Germany all 3 major providers offer LTE (O2, though, only since ~2-3 years), and still the most common cap are 3-4 GB, some discounter/business tariffs excepted. Telekom and Vodafone offer a high quality network but high pricing at both and outright scammy sales practices at Vodafone makes me say "no thanks". O2s network is rotten, and it regularly breaks dowm when it's congested (bei it due to political rallies or soccer games) but at least they're cheap and improving. Competition does obviously not work, and Germany is still stuck with slow internet over copper wires and universally shitty mobile providers as a result.

AnthonyMouse 9y ago

It isn't a competition problem, it's a laws of physics problem. If you want to carry more traffic you either need more wireless spectrum or more towers. But "more towers" quickly devolves to the point that you would need a "tower" on every block, at which point you have nearly all the expense of a wired network and might as well run the cable inside the buildings.

Retric 9y ago
We are talking about 35.46 gigabits per second. With 20x over subscription that works out to 20MBPS for 35,000 homes per tower. Or roughly a 200 x 200 home 'block' if everyone was your customer. Alternatively, is your suburb is 0.5 homes per acre and 20% of people are your customers that's one tower per ~136 square miles. Note: These numbers are not accurate for several reasons including directional antenna on towers etc but they give a ballpark.
- AnthonyMouse 9y ago
  DOCSIS 3.1 supports multi-gigabit speeds on coax. With actual fiber 100Gbps links are commercially available. For equivalent performance you aren't serving 35,000 homes per tower, it's more like 35. And a provider having a lower penetration rate doesn't save you any towers, they still have to exist and be operated by someone else in order for those people to have service. Splitting the market between more providers each with lower customer density would only make each provider's costs higher -- same total number of towers but now you each need your own spectrum.