Vodafone warns investors of rival spoilers

Vodafone's CEO has declared tiered data pricing, based on consumption, is inevitable while the company's US arm is already working out how to provide faster wireless to its best customers. Speaking at an investors' conference, and reported by the FT, Vittorio Colao said that while smaller operators might hold on to unlimited …

[Anonymous Coward]

"tiered data pricing, based on consumption, is inevitable"

Welcome to the real world. "Unlimited" usage was never real anyway. Either it didn't really mean unlimited, or it was only a short term feature while the connectivity provider was in "customer acquisition" mode. Bandwidth isn't quite free, more bandwidth costs more money. Even to providers such as LLU ISPs (CLECs in the US??) who pretty much own all their own connectivity, more bandwidth still costs more money.

[Eponymous Cowherd]

Follow the Bandwidth

Modern phones are bandwidth hungry beasts. There is no point in offering a smartphone and tying it to a data dribble.

While some will be quite happy to pay premium prices for premium data rates, most won't. If they can get higher bandwidth for lower cost from another provider, then they will move shop.

People are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the "free" phone contract model that ties the customer to an outdated phone for 2 years for £35 PCM, while allowing the service provider to shaft them with changes to T's & C's regarding their bandwidth allowance.

My next phone will be bought outright. I will sign up to a rolling 1 month contract with whoever offers the best value data package and move if a better offer comes along.

[Pandy06269]

Done!

"My next phone will be bought outright. I will sign up to a rolling 1 month contract with whoever offers the best value data package and move if a better offer comes along."

I've just done exactly that. Gone from a £35/mo 2year lock-in contract, to paying £419 one-off for an iPhone and a Giffgaff PAYG SIM who are currently offering unlimited texts and unlimited data (yes) for £10/mo.

I reckon it'll save me about £200 over 2 years.

[Anonymous Coward]

....but it could cost you 200 quid to move a GB of data

From their website "and you'll get free Internet until 28 FEB 2011"

"After that date, mobile Internet will be charged at 50p a day (if you use less than 2.5MB/day you'll pay less than 50p and if you go over 30MB you'll be charged extra at 20p/MB)."

Even worse "Giffgaff runs on the O2 network"

[Martin 72]

Premium Bandwidth

"While some will be quite happy to pay premium prices for premium data rates..."

How about paying premium prices for a data dribble? Mines the one with the HTC Hero tied to Orange for £35/m in the pocket.

[Anonymous Coward]

Please for God sake

... do it.

And stop subjecting UK telco customers to illegal scams like Phorm and Nebuad as a substitute for your dishonest failure to price/operate your network properly.

Excessive usage? Price them off the network, or profit from it. But don't throttle other users because you can't manage the economics of demand and supply properly.

[The First Dave]

untitled

Is it _really_ inevitable? Do the operators themselves have a fixed cost per bit, or are their costs actually dominated by static overheads?

Speed is where the real issues lie.

[Bill Gould]

Why?

Bell, (at least in most of North America) owns the copper. Why can't they offer actual unlimited data or actual unlimited internet of throughputX? They don't because they want more money. Fair enough, but they CAN do it.

[Terry Barnes]

Why?

Erm, because the copper *isn't* the internet? It's an access network.

[Anonymous Coward]

Great for fixed line providers

Not long ago we talked about dumping the fixed line.

Just who wants a wireless dongle now?

If you ask me, not only are the operator’s greedy, they seem incompetent, not being able to keep pace with services they pushed.

I dont use the mobile much, I'm more than capable of using fixed services more than mobile, and I don't chat about (c)rap, or text boloolox. So, I have to put up with a deminished service as a result?

Incompetence is the normal for english connedsumers!

[Andy Hards]

Someone from Giffgaff

got on here or somehwere else last week and claimed that one the goody bags from them their data is proper 'unlimited' and I sentthem an email asking what will it be after the dates mentioned and they said it would still be unlimited on the goody bags, but I'd like to see it before I'll believe it. More and more people will be paying for their phones outright now. Unblocked and as others have mentioned chop and change to who ever is doing the best rolling one month for a tenner.

2 year contracts are a joke. Most phones don't last that long these days anyway. Not like the old bricks you could kick down the street and would still work.