people who complain about data caps...this is why its needed

[Deeko]

(psssst, it sounds like he knows what he's talking about)

 

[DivideBYZero]

For the bolded, do you have any proof of this? I doubt it since you most likely won't have an idea of what the operator costs are for a wireless network. You don't just wave a magic wand and make a 1X-RTT network have an EVDO overlay. Factor in growth, and you are continuing to make investments while having it transparent to the customer.

How exactly were they able to recoup costs for equipment that wasn't manufactured yet? (LTE)

The free market is what's getting us to 4G data rates, and what has gotten us to 3G in the past. If there was no competition, the rates would be abysmally low.

This x 11ty. It took a VERY long time to go from plain jane 2G, to GPRS to EDGE then to 3G(UMTS), but in contrast we're going to move to 4G in a much faster timeframe.

 

[hellotyler]

52GB is nothing... New games are about 10GB buy just 5 of them in one month and you're over your cap ? Add in streaming HD netflix, movie/tv/music purchases from iTunes, gaming, and that cap is reached VERY quickly. Money needs to be spent on infrastructure. Japans data cap ? 250GB / DAY, and ultra fast of course. Tethering is the future.

 

[Strk]

52GB is nothing... New games are about 10GB buy just 5 of them in one month and you're over your cap ? Add in streaming HD netflix, movie/tv/music purchases from iTunes, gaming, and that cap is reached VERY quickly. Money needs to be spent on infrastructure. Japans data cap ? 250GB / DAY, and ultra fast of course. Tethering is the future.

I wish I had the extra cash to spend $300+ a month on movies and games.

 

[Anubis]

52GB is nothing... New games are about 10GB buy just 5 of them in one month and you're over your cap ? Add in streaming HD netflix, movie/tv/music purchases from iTunes, gaming, and that cap is reached VERY quickly. Money needs to be spent on infrastructure. Japans data cap ? 250GB / DAY, and ultra fast of course. Tethering is the future.

seeing as everything you listed is done on a real computer and not a phone why the fuck would you tether it and not just plug it into a router/wireless router.

and yes ill break VZWs 5gb cap this month which no i don't think is excessive. 52gb on your phone is abuse. with or without paying for the hotspot.

hell IDK if ive used 50gb a month on my normal internet connection in years

 

[hellotyler]

A lot of people don't have home wireless these days, just phones. I know a ton of people like this actually.

 

[slag]

I'm not making excuses for their shitty network. They're doing what they can to fix it. Considering LTE is coming very soon, it makes sense financially to have a stop gap solution to the 3G problem while focusing on preventing it from happening for 4G.



Nixes Pandora and Youtube? Hardly. Nixes running Pandora in the background while watching Youtube videos all day over 3G? Yes.

I have multiple email addresses pushing all day, twitter/facebook/other similar services updating frequently, I browse regularly, use GPS navigation multiple times a day, and do some (not all day) Pandora and Youtubing, and while I've gotten close to 2GB, I've never surpassed it. And I'd consider my data usage to be higher than the average smartphone user.

You've got to remember...the average person is not like us. So why should they pay the same amount?

While I'm not arguing with you over data usage or anything like that, I have to ask, what is so good on youtube that people can stream it all day, much less 5-10 minutes? Its just a collection of stupid user crap that could not possibly hold one's attention for longer than maybe 15 minutes at best. Do people really stream youtube all day long, for multiple days? I just cannot fathom that....

 

[DivideBYZero]

A lot of people don't have home wireless these days, just phones. I know a ton of people like this actually.

And? What's stopping them getting proper internet access? Expecting to be able to download blu ray movies over a cellular network, or even that that is reasonable use, is laughable.

 

[dguy6789]

And? What's stopping them getting proper internet access? Expecting to be able to download blu ray movies over a cellular network, or even that that is reasonable use, is laughable.

Internet access is Internet access. How does one go about deciding that someone can't do something with one service provider but can with another? It's perfectly reasonable and more cost effective for individuals to just surf the web using their cellular connection than to pay for unlimited Internet twice as you suggest.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Internet access is Internet access. How does one go about deciding that someone can't do something with one service provider but can with another? It's perfectly reasonable and more cost effective for individuals to just surf the web using their cellular connection than to pay for unlimited Internet twice as you suggest.

No, it isn't. Mobile internet access has limitations, such as download limits and response times. You have to understand those limitations if you want to go mobile only. If you don't and still expect to be able to download 20 BR movies a month then you're just doing it wrong.

 

[abaez]

edit: nm.

 

[Anubis]

A lot of people don't have home wireless these days, just phones. I know a ton of people like this actually.

you can get a wireless router for like 30$ massively cheaper then a smart phone + data plan hell having someone wire cat5 for you is still prob cheaper then a smart phone and if you meant some people who dont have access to high speed cable at all VZ and a few others offer wireless broadband plans, they also have limitations but less limitations then a phone

 

[MrX8503]

Internet access is Internet access. How does one go about deciding that someone can't do something with one service provider but can with another? It's perfectly reasonable and more cost effective for individuals to just surf the web using their cellular connection than to pay for unlimited Internet twice as you suggest.

Internet from your cable provider is much faster than from a cellular carrier. Its not practical to rely on your cell phone for heavy data usage, but if the user doesn't mind, then more power to them.

LTE should speed things up, but it still won't be as fast as cable internet especially once we go fiber optics.

 

[pookie2132]

Some of us out in the sticks don't have access to cable, fiber, or dsl. When the download speed on your phone is twice what you can get from your local ISP it really isn't rocket science why someone would want to tether their phone. And the several times I have contacted the cable company, I always get the same answer, " We don't ever plan on providing services to your area."

 

[judasmachine]

If they are going to allow tethering for an extra fee, and you pay it, then you should be able to draw a crapload of data. The dude is paying an extra $30 for the privilege. That's data plan+wifi tethering plan.

 

[DivideBYZero]

If they are going to allow tethering for an extra fee, and you pay it, then you should be able to draw a crapload of data. The dude is paying an extra $30 for the privilege. That's data plan+wifi tethering plan.

You can. You just have to pay more for it than the guy who pulls <1Gb a month doing the same thing. What's the problem here?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

2.4 GB this month only on surfing and streaming music. Id be screwed if I had ATT.

 

[Strk]

Some of us out in the sticks don't have access to cable, fiber, or dsl. When the download speed on your phone is twice what you can get from your local ISP it really isn't rocket science why someone would want to tether their phone. And the several times I have contacted the cable company, I always get the same answer, " We don't ever plan on providing services to your area."

I don't think people have an issue if someone is paying a premium to tether their phone (this guy is), but for people not using their phone is their primary connection, data caps with lower costs are fine.

 

[Anubis]

OH NOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!