On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 10:53 AM, Christopher Morrow < morrowc.lists@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Leo Bicknell<bicknell@ufp.org> wrote:
PCMag did the math, you can use up the 5GB alotment in 32 minutes with LTE. Seems like as the speeds get faster the cap should get larger, doesn't it? airtime is still the same price for the carrier... Ah, but you're making my argument! I agree airtime * spectrum is
In a message written on Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 10:29:13AM -0400, Christopher Morrow wrote: the limited quanity for the provider, and so should influence the cap and pricing. I did say I thought the argument was bs ...
As far as I can tell, LTE can drive 8-10x the data in the same spectrum over the same time period, as compared to HSDPA. If you're really buying "spectrum-minutes" then you should be getting more data with LTE for the same price. so... there's also the bw to the tower, which I think most carriers actually lease as well (they don't own the tower, nor the link to the tower) so it's possible that the whole setup just costs them more now.
anyway, they do these donkey things because they can :( people have no real option (except not to play the game, ala war games).
On 8/16/2011 11:49 AM, chris wrote [as a top post - now moved to the bottom - k thx]: Overall, IMO the trends are just seem to be going backwards. We have more speed but we can use it less? What kind of technology advancement is that?
I've had "unlimited" gprs, edge, 3g, and never really seen any kind of actual cap. Sure they were slower but I didn't have to worry about getting surprised on my next bill. If my edge from 5+ years ago could 3gb/day and 90gb a month how is 4G at 5gb an improvement of the service?
chris
Demand truth in advertising. Write your representatives in congress and the FCC to ask them to put in place regulations requiring wireless data speeds advertised be based on the cap (if any) regardless of the technology used. 5GB = 5 * 8 * 1024^3 = 42,949,672,960 bits 42,949,672,960 / (86400 * 30) = 16570 b/s 16570 / 1024 = 16 Kb/s So, Verizon LTE (with a 5GB cap) would be a 16Kb/s wireless data connection. [my math may be off, but I get credit for showing my work] NB: if someone wanted to be "clear" that unlimited != unlimited, then they would use the term limited instead. The term unlimited is used precisely because they want to be "UNclear" that unlimited != unlimited. We haven't exceeded the ability of the language to describe this, there are many synonyms for limited - confined, restricted, bound, caped, constricted, curbed, hindered, inhibited, rationed, restrained - any of these could be used to prevent the confusion of unlimited != unlimited. ...and after you have written these letters, copy the files, search and replace "wireless data provider" with "broadband data provider" and send another copy to your representatives :-) Just a thought... and not an original one at that... -DMM