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The fact is, this kind of calculation shows how absurd the mobile market is in the USA. So much for claiming that it's a "free market" and it is "competitive".

tptacek 19y ago
I would be interested in seeing you defend this argument. What's better about your favorite mobile market?
- pierrefar 19y ago
  Here in the UK, it's better, but not by much. I remember reading a study a while back that historically, the UK mobile costs tended to be lower than elsewhere in the world. My defense is this: as the cost of technology is constant going down, we the customers are not seeing any corresponding drop in costs. And that with the introduction of new operator (called 3 Mobile). In my mind, such a competitive market would transfer these savings to customers. Examples: A 200-minute (ish) any time any network plus some included texts price plan has stayed at around £25 for the past 6 years. More recently, they started experimenting with 18-month plans. These tend to give much better call and texting costs but when you factor in the "free" phone, they sometimes end up costing more than a comparable 12-month plan.
  - tptacek 19y ago
    Price needn't track cost, especially in technology. Services are often deployed with low margins for the provider, with the expectation that margins will drop over time as technology gets cheaper. Consumers benefit from this if it means they get access to new technology at a lower price than they would if margins were held constant.
    - pierrefar 19y ago
      In a competitive market, margins would be squeezed. It would be hard to keep them constant, let alone increase them.
      - sprig 19y ago
        Which is problematic when to have the market in the first place, huge investment in infrastructure has to be made.
  - thorax 19y ago
    Most phones these days can use the web. Theoretically they can bypass this all on a data plan and send text messages as large as you want via email/apps/etc. At a minimum this gets around sending costs assuming you can find a site service that will send for free.
ardit33 19y ago
they need something like EU, which puts good regulations on hold. Carriers used to charge lots of fees for calls made out of your country, and I think EU is putting an end to that extortion. Sure, you have the "free markets" types that say eventuall something will rise and sidestep SMS, but that's now going to happen. In this case free markets, with no proper regulation, just create an enviroment where the carriers can collude, and milk every cent from you.
- pierrefar 19y ago
  I'm not sure more regulation is the way forward though. Maybe in the short term, but certainly not long term...
  - mixmax 19y ago
    Ideologically I agree with you, but regulation seems to have worked well in the EU.
    - pchristensen 19y ago
      Ditto. A perfect market wouldn't need regulation, but we're far from a perfect market. The barriers to entry (both financial and regulatory) means that there isn't much competition, so regulation can help. Regulation isn't perfect, but neither is our implementation of the market.
      - anamax 19y ago
        The solution to the barriers imposed by regulation is regulations? I'm reminded of the "danger, low sign" sign.
deleted 19y ago
[deleted]

tptacek 19y ago

I would be interested in seeing you defend this argument. What's better about your favorite mobile market?

pierrefar 19y ago
Here in the UK, it's better, but not by much. I remember reading a study a while back that historically, the UK mobile costs tended to be lower than elsewhere in the world. My defense is this: as the cost of technology is constant going down, we the customers are not seeing any corresponding drop in costs. And that with the introduction of new operator (called 3 Mobile). In my mind, such a competitive market would transfer these savings to customers. Examples: A 200-minute (ish) any time any network plus some included texts price plan has stayed at around £25 for the past 6 years. More recently, they started experimenting with 18-month plans. These tend to give much better call and texting costs but when you factor in the "free" phone, they sometimes end up costing more than a comparable 12-month plan.
- tptacek 19y ago
  Price needn't track cost, especially in technology. Services are often deployed with low margins for the provider, with the expectation that margins will drop over time as technology gets cheaper. Consumers benefit from this if it means they get access to new technology at a lower price than they would if margins were held constant.
  - pierrefar 19y ago
    In a competitive market, margins would be squeezed. It would be hard to keep them constant, let alone increase them.
    - sprig 19y ago
      Which is problematic when to have the market in the first place, huge investment in infrastructure has to be made.
- thorax 19y ago
  Most phones these days can use the web. Theoretically they can bypass this all on a data plan and send text messages as large as you want via email/apps/etc. At a minimum this gets around sending costs assuming you can find a site service that will send for free.

ardit33 19y ago

they need something like EU, which puts good regulations on hold. Carriers used to charge lots of fees for calls made out of your country, and I think EU is putting an end to that extortion. Sure, you have the "free markets" types that say eventuall something will rise and sidestep SMS, but that's now going to happen. In this case free markets, with no proper regulation, just create an enviroment where the carriers can collude, and milk every cent from you.

pierrefar 19y ago
I'm not sure more regulation is the way forward though. Maybe in the short term, but certainly not long term...
- mixmax 19y ago
  Ideologically I agree with you, but regulation seems to have worked well in the EU.
  - pchristensen 19y ago
    Ditto. A perfect market wouldn't need regulation, but we're far from a perfect market. The barriers to entry (both financial and regulatory) means that there isn't much competition, so regulation can help. Regulation isn't perfect, but neither is our implementation of the market.
    - anamax 19y ago
      The solution to the barriers imposed by regulation is regulations? I'm reminded of the "danger, low sign" sign.

deleted 19y ago

[deleted]