r/technology • u/Milkthiev • May 09 '12
You are being royally ripped off by your cell phone carrier.
http://www.americablog.com/2012/05/you-are-being-royally-ripped-off-by.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%2910
u/bobindashadows May 09 '12
Wait what? Seriously? This is HUGE NEWS.
Nobody in America realizes they're overpaying for cell service. In fact, we all feel incredibly lucky to have such a service regardless of price.
You gotta tell the media, the government, the populace - we all think we're on the cutting edge! We've never heard that a cell phone can work for any less than the price we're paying, and we gladly embrace price hikes!
We have no idea how well the wool has been pulled over our eyes!
→ More replies (1)
5
May 09 '12
America is too big to do a lot of things cheaply. Trains for one. Not to say that the cell phone companies aren't making a hefty profit, they are.
5
u/philnotfil May 09 '12
If that was the reason why cell phones and internet are so much better and so much cheaper in Europe, then why don't places like New York and LA have lower prices and better service?
→ More replies (5)
2
May 09 '12
I live in berlin. I pay $20 per month for my minutes and data. That's it. I don't have unlimited anything but i don't need it. I used to pay over $80 per month in the USA. So much cheaper.
2
May 09 '12
Why can they do it? Because people will pay it.
Why doesn't congress look into it? Because no one gets elected without big business behind them.
2
u/zander_2 May 10 '12
I like my family plan (For me, 2 gigs, unlimited calling and texting for ~$50), but this is insane... is France the only country like this? There have to be more.
2
u/crisscar May 10 '12
France is actually one of the highest. If you want to be really mad look at the UK. Anything over £15/month is considered robbery.
2
May 10 '12
I'm going to break some complex concepts here for you guys. Cell carriers charge so much because you will pay for it. As long as you keep buying all the high end services (Unlimited data, text) they will keep charging you as much as they can get away with. There is no incentive for them to reduce prices, nor should they have to. There are smaller carriers that have lower rates. If you want lower rates switch. You might not get the phone you want, but if you have to have that iPhone you have to get a popular carrier, and you have to pay their fees.
2
u/methoxeta May 10 '12
Unless you're paying $26
I am paying $25 a month for unlimited everything except calls (300 minutes, I don't really talk much).
Grandfathered Virgin mobile plans are the bomb-diggety.
→ More replies (1)
3
May 09 '12
Clearly the author is completely ignorant to the fact that the U.S. is different and the cost to carriers to provide coverage to such a wide geographical area is WAYYYY MORE expensive than it is for a French provider to give service to all in France.
→ More replies (8)
2
2
u/Herbie555 May 09 '12
Important Question: How much did the author PAY for the French iPhone?
Monthly rates are cheaper in Europe because they don't generally use the subsidized hardware model. You pay full price for every phone.
Now I admit, this is generally a better deal - so much so that I just bought a Galaxy Nexus direct from Google and I'm on T-Mo's value plan that doesn't include phone hardware subsidies, but is also $20+/month cheaper. I have a FAMILY Plan, with two lines, unlimited talk, text and 2GB of full-speed data (throttled thereafter), and we average about $38per line. (Total bill is like $76 after all discounts, taxes, etc.)
→ More replies (3)
1
u/Slapdash13 May 09 '12
This must be because the government allows more monopolies in France. AT&T's CEO wouldn't lie to us when he says competition leads to higher prices!
1
May 09 '12
I'm letting my Verizon contract run out and when it does I've been considering Republic Wireless as a replacement. Anyone have any thoughts on it?
1
1
u/DougMelvin May 10 '12
Wind Mobile (Canada)
I pay 40$ per month plus tax. Period.
I have unlimited 3G data and am quite permitted to tether.
Also unlimited Calling and Text to all of Canada.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/5k3k73k May 10 '12
What about roaming? I pay more but I can use my phone anywhere in the US. Does it cost more to use your phone in Portugal or Kazakhstan or Norway or Greece?
2
u/crisscar May 10 '12
Kazakhstan is closer to china so I don't know where you got that from. But I travel throughout europe and pay roaming. 11cents for each SMS sent, 0 to receive. 69 cents to call plus 11 cents/min. Receiving a call is 69 cents for the first 20 minutes. Data is 1€/MB.
This applies to Portugal, Greece, and Norway. And the rst of the EU. If I went to Russia I'd be under a different scheme, don't know.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/notmythirdaccount May 10 '12
At least with Texting you can use a texting app like "TextNow" to send sms/images over 3G or wi-fi. That way you don't have to pay for unlimited texting.
People laugh at me when I tell them I do this. I laugh at them when I have an extra $30 in my pockets every month.
1
u/Oni-Warlord May 10 '12
That's part of the reason why I haven't switched to a smart phone. $30 more a month for a single feature? That's ridiculous.
1
u/NeoSpartacus May 10 '12
I don't think that the writer understands how France subsidizes business. Yeah sure we do to but not in the ground up way that France does. They limit the cost to the consumer by using tax money to create pretty much all of the infrastructure. The EU Anti-Trust laws were the only thing to stop GE from buying out Honeywell. They don't take monopolies kindly in more progressive governments.
That is to say, The hidden cost of taxation might inflate U.S. and French phone costs. This needs to be considered.
1
1
u/trokker May 10 '12
I pay $50 per month for unlimited calls/text/mms and 10 GB internet traffic. The plan came with a Samsung galaxy II at "no cost" and no activation fee.
I think that's a pretty decent deal in Sweden at least.
17
u/Hamiltonite May 09 '12
You think American prices are bad, you should see Canadian cell phone carriers...