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I'm on the fence on this one because it doesn't prevent going up on all data plans. Which will just increase Verizon's revenue and probably not cost them much.

by delinka 14y ago

I'm on the fence on this one because it doesn't prevent going up on all data plans. Which will just increase Verizon's revenue and probably not cost them much. However, I'm not advocating price controls. But I know how to solve this. Someone needs to become the defacto wireless network that focuses on the network (reliability, bandwidth) and doesn't deal with consumers. Instead they resell to companies who deal with consumers. Wonder if I could do a KS campaign...

SwellJoe 14y ago
Has a Kickstarter campaign ever raised $4 billion? Because I suspect that's what it would take to begin building a network from scratch. There are resellers that focus on data, however...Clear is one. They aren't great (they share the Sprint Network, which is very bad in some places, and fair to middling in most), and they reportedly throttle some high usage customers (I've not run into this, though the times when I've needed a lot of data, Clear couldn't provide it anyway, even without throttling), but they don't regulate what you run on the network. All my devices, including phone, connect through it when I'm on the road.
- bengl3rt 14y ago
  I've had pretty good experience with Clear everywhere except Manhattan, where the service is horrible.
  - SwellJoe 14y ago
    It's pretty good/fast along highways, but not in cities. It's also got much broader 2G and 3G, in middle of nowhere places, than T-mobile, which is my cell provider. Since I can't work without some kind of connectivity, I'm willing to pay for both. T-Mobile is really fast in bigger cities, but it's easy to find places with not data at all. Clear in Austin is horrible, in particular, but T-Mobile is crazy fast.
mistercow 14y ago
>I'm on the fence on this one because it doesn't prevent going up on all data plans. It doesn't, but simple economics will prevent the price going up on all data plans as much as Verizon was charging for tethering.
user49598 14y ago
However, I'm not advocating price controls. If what you're implying is that you believe in the ability of the free market to solve the problem, then first we would need free the wireless phone market.
- matwood 14y ago
  Exactly. I'm a huge free market proponent, but the problem is that the wireless spectrum is a public good/utility. As such, we the public should put stipulations on companies who want to use that public resource.

by delinka 14y ago

SwellJoe 14y ago

Has a Kickstarter campaign ever raised $4 billion? Because I suspect that's what it would take to begin building a network from scratch. There are resellers that focus on data, however...Clear is one. They aren't great (they share the Sprint Network, which is very bad in some places, and fair to middling in most), and they reportedly throttle some high usage customers (I've not run into this, though the times when I've needed a lot of data, Clear couldn't provide it anyway, even without throttling), but they don't regulate what you run on the network. All my devices, including phone, connect through it when I'm on the road.

bengl3rt 14y ago
I've had pretty good experience with Clear everywhere except Manhattan, where the service is horrible.
- SwellJoe 14y ago
  It's pretty good/fast along highways, but not in cities. It's also got much broader 2G and 3G, in middle of nowhere places, than T-mobile, which is my cell provider. Since I can't work without some kind of connectivity, I'm willing to pay for both. T-Mobile is really fast in bigger cities, but it's easy to find places with not data at all. Clear in Austin is horrible, in particular, but T-Mobile is crazy fast.

mistercow 14y ago

>I'm on the fence on this one because it doesn't prevent going up on all data plans. It doesn't, but simple economics will prevent the price going up on all data plans as much as Verizon was charging for tethering.

user49598 14y ago

However, I'm not advocating price controls. If what you're implying is that you believe in the ability of the free market to solve the problem, then first we would need free the wireless phone market.

matwood 14y ago
Exactly. I'm a huge free market proponent, but the problem is that the wireless spectrum is a public good/utility. As such, we the public should put stipulations on companies who want to use that public resource.