The Odd Variations On 3G Per-Megabyte Pricing

GMGruman writes "Carriers are increasingly charging for 3G mobile access by the megabyte, to prevent 'unfair' subsidies of heavy users by everyone else. So why does the price of a 3G megabyte vary based on the device used to send or receive it? Why is an iPad megabyte cheaper than a MiFi one? After all, a megabyte is a megabyte as far as the network is concerned. InfoWorld has a comparison of 3G pricing for the four major US carriers for their various supported devices, so you can see whose 3G pricing is out of whack for which devices."

the interesting page is that one :

[godrik]

that's the one that actually contain the table your are looking for.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/the-strange-unpredictable-pricing-3g-data-plans-485?page=0,2 [infoworld.com]

Not all megabytes cost the same

[Anonymous Coward]

Transferring 1 1MiB chunk stresses the network a lot less than transferring 1024 1KiB chunks.

It makes sense to charge differently for devices with different usage patterns.

That's an easy one

[Minwee]

So why does the price of a 3G megabyte vary based on the device used to send or receive it?

Because you keep paying it. Next question?

Re:UK - setup

[RotateLeftByte]

Some UK PAYG Tariffs do have time limits on the period that the 'Top-Up' is vaild for, AFAIK, these are not from the main carriers but secondary networks that buy space on the main networks.

Back to Data Tariff's.
'3' has a contract £15.00/month for 15Gb. i use the same Sim in a 3G Dongle and in a 'mifi' unit. No problems with 1Mb 1Mb here.

Re:Profit!

[h4rr4r]

Not in the least.

Our system is totally to the benefit of the wireless carriers. We even have GSM and CDMA carriers to ensure that phone portability is as limited as possible. The only major carrier that offers to unlock phones once they are paid for is one you probably have heard of, T-Mobile.

When comparing regulation between two Germany and the USA it is always like this.

Re:Profit!

[puto]

ATT has unlocked phones for years. All you had to do was well ask. I worked in tech support there until 2006 and we we used to process requests and send out unlock codes on daily basis. In 2009 I moved to south america, and called ATT and requested an unlock code for my Samsung Blackjack, and they sent it out to me in two days via email. And if you had an contract phone, and an account in good standing for at least 90 days, you could request and get an unlock code if you were going to travel abroad. The only phone you could not get an unlock code in recent history was the Iphone.

Re:Fascinating

[timeOday]

Dilbert coined the term confusopoly [wikipedia.org] for this: "a group of companies with similar products who intentionally confuse customers instead of competing on price."

Obama advanced Elizabeth Warren for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she has railed against this problem for years: "Today, the big banks churn out page after page of incomprehensible fine print to obscure the cost and risks of checking accounts, credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. The result is that consumers can't make direct product comparisons, markets aren't competitive, and costs are higher."

It's not hard to see the tie between confusopoly and the mortgage meltdown that wrecked the economy, either - and here I include not only under-educated sub-prime borrowers, but bankers creating and selling complex derivatives that were not well understood by ratings agencies, regulators, nor even the bankers themselves.

However, Republicans slammed [house.gov] the bill creating the CFPB as "a government takeover of the economy. The President and Democrats today gave financial regulators the power to create years worth of financial uncertainty, which will only lead to more struggling businesses and fewer jobs." Just as with the Credit Card Reform Act [findlaw.com] of 2009.