Buying bandwidth in the app store

Mobile operators are looking at application stores as a way to boost revenue, not by selling applications but by selling the bandwidth needed to use them. We're going to have to start paying more for mobile data anyway if the operators are to maintain profits and invest in new frequencies and technologies, but operators and …

[VespertineStar]

They want to charge more for data?

Is that even possible? £15 a month for 3GB data allowance isn't what I would call generous. If they can't handle the traffic then why offer the service at such speeds that people can happily torrent large files all day. How much are they planning to charge for a bittorrent app then? Say the average person downloads 5 movies a month and a few music albums, that's getting perilously close to a £15 a month sub just for that at current data prices. Or what about an iPlayer app?

You can't charge a flat rate for a Youtube app either, what about all the people who exclusively watch SD/HD videos? Their usage patterns would be vastly different and would require a different charge. How long are people's phone bills going to be listing all the apps they are "subscribed to"?

How long before we are back to "oh that app uses some data? That'll be one arm and one leg please."

[EmperorOfCanada]

Shill

What Telecom Shill wrote this? Data must go up because it doesn't make as much money as their other gouging services? Plus this bull about them investing billions in infrastructure. If you add up all the many billions they all claim to have spent and then look at the total sales of the required equipment by companies like Nortel and Cisco you are forced to wonder where the money is going as it isn't going to the suppliers. So unless it costs billions to install this stuff it sounds like these companies are trying to make themselves sound indispensable.

A Wireless company recently set up in Canada and I know their costs did not run into the billions to provide significant coverage of their own in some of Canada's biggest cities.

As people have calculated. Text message data costs more per byte than Hubble telescope data even if you include things like repeated launch costs and astronaut training. So if the Telecom companies have to actually earn their money then boo hoo.

[John Navas]

Priority Access won't fly in the USA

FCC "network neutrality"

[Mike Brown]

this isnt what mobile broadband is for!!

its for email, and on the fly websurfing, and social networking. mayeb the "odd" small video. not for torrenting, not for watching lots of youtube. no wonder the mobile companies are worried. there customers are muppets!!

[Captain Save-a-ho]

So, how to enforce such restrictions?

As soon as generic web access is available, all the bandwidth hogs become possible (especially since HTTP can become a conduit for other protocols). The alternative would require the carriers to carefully maintain a list of valid URLs or services for people to reach (which would quickly become tiresome and expensive to maintain).

Personally, the carrier want to make money, but don't want to realize that they set unrealistic expectations 10 years ago that they've never been able to overcome. Clearly, none of them want to be first, but the sooner they get the expectations in line, they'll be more profitable.

Of course, once people have to pay more, will they stay with any service? There's a fine line between raising prices and pissing off the sheeple.

All the more reason to NOT work for a carrier (glad I don't any longer!).

Paris, who knows all about blowing expectatations. :))

[Anonymous Coward]

The idea is dead before birth.

Look what they did to WAP (greedy bastards). Tried to cash up on the novelty and no one even bothered. ( I remember predicitng this on this forum about when this was touted). And the speeds were less than dialup? On Monochrome screens? What audacity they had then.

Look, even Nokia had to give in to free Maps (after spending 8 billion buying up Navteq). Thats one application people use "often". How many will use other popular applications once charges kick in? In fact I foresee a drop in data usage (AND REVENUE) for operators who are trying to cash in on this pattern. Killing the golden goose? Sure

History repeating itself. 3 Gb for £15 is the best one can get currently. Why cant they actually invest in the technology and give "all you can eat" plans? This will retain the customers longer. Like they do for voice with inclusive minutes.

I feel operators have just put the blinkers on again.

Paris, cos she can also sense futility here.