Comments on: Sunday Times does a hatchet job on o2′s STUPID data rates. GET IN! http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html Daily news and opinion for 250,000 industry executives and mobile fanatics Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:14:00 +0100 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Schaefer http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html/comment-page-1#comment-22074 Michael Schaefer Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:25:04 +0000 http://www.smstextnews.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html#comment-22074 Paul, very funny, though I have to take issue with your comment: " . . . it’s a little inappropriate to disclaim liability when o2’s ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS mobile data charges are totally clear." While this may be true, the point is that it's not clear how much you are actually being charged at the time. Try it yourself: stream some data over a smartphone and tell us how much data you've downloaded (which is quite different from just surfint). Answer: you can't! In retrospect, I don't believe I was that lucky. The whole business model is just not reasonalbe. It wasn't based on how UMTS might be used in the future. Instead, it was based on how GPRS was used in the past. As soon as I found a decision maker, the absurdity of the sitation was immediately recognized and dealt with appropriately and swiftly. My biggest failing was that of an early adopter. I remember similar sitations in the old days when ISDN routers would dial up a connection to deliver an email and then hangup, and then dial again for the next email, and then hangup again and dial again, and so on for each new email. Customers were being charged MORE than their quoted hourly ISDN rate becuase of multiple connection charges. The early adopters of this technolgoy were stuffed for thousands. Ultimately, however, the business model surrounding the technology caught up and now we're on £12 per month for unmetered wireless access at 10 x's the speed of wired ISDN; just not on O2, yet. It's people like us, constantly pushing the envelope by challenging the old, who make it better for eveyone else! O2 will come around real soon and we'll know within ourselves that we had something to do with that. Great pub talk. Keep up the blog! Paul, very funny, though I have to take issue with your comment: ” . . . it’s a little inappropriate to disclaim liability when o2’s ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS mobile data charges are totally clear.”

While this may be true, the point is that it’s not clear how much you are actually being charged at the time. Try it yourself: stream some data over a smartphone and tell us how much data you’ve downloaded (which is quite different from just surfint). Answer: you can’t!

In retrospect, I don’t believe I was that lucky. The whole business model is just not reasonalbe. It wasn’t based on how UMTS might be used in the future. Instead, it was based on how GPRS was used in the past. As soon as I found a decision maker, the absurdity of the sitation was immediately recognized and dealt with appropriately and swiftly.

My biggest failing was that of an early adopter. I remember similar sitations in the old days when ISDN routers would dial up a connection to deliver an email and then hangup, and then dial again for the next email, and then hangup again and dial again, and so on for each new email. Customers were being charged MORE than their quoted hourly ISDN rate becuase of multiple connection charges. The early adopters of this technolgoy were stuffed for thousands. Ultimately, however, the business model surrounding the technology caught up and now we’re on £12 per month for unmetered wireless access at 10 x’s the speed of wired ISDN; just not on O2, yet.

It’s people like us, constantly pushing the envelope by challenging the old, who make it better for eveyone else! O2 will come around real soon and we’ll know within ourselves that we had something to do with that. Great pub talk.

Keep up the blog!

]]> By: Steve Paine http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html/comment-page-1#comment-14205 Steve Paine Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:21:23 +0000 http://www.smstextnews.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html#comment-14205 LOL. Similar to the story here in Germany where the Spiegel reporter spends a month reporting the Tour de France via a PCMCIA card and comes home to a 9000 Euro bill. Thank God the mainstream press are reporting this. Steve. P.S. I found a full UMTS flat rate with no strings in Germany for 45 Euro per month. (30 quid?) Voice (national) and Data included. Includes 3G USB module for a laptop/umpc. Base is the company. (Part of E-Plus) Shame I can't buy it as a data only package though. LOL.

Similar to the story here in Germany where the Spiegel reporter spends a month reporting the Tour de France via a PCMCIA card and comes home to a 9000 Euro bill.

Thank God the mainstream press are reporting this.

Steve.

P.S. I found a full UMTS flat rate with no strings in Germany for 45 Euro per month. (30 quid?) Voice (national) and Data included. Includes 3G USB module for a laptop/umpc. Base is the company. (Part of E-Plus) Shame I can’t buy it as a data only package though.

]]> By: John http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html/comment-page-1#comment-14161 John Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:06:03 +0000 http://www.smstextnews.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html#comment-14161 Ah, poor O2. They'd probably just got back in on Friday after their Christmas party and were ambushed by the Times. Its very difficult to do good PR with a hangover. Ah, poor O2. They’d probably just got back in on Friday after their Christmas party and were ambushed by the Times. Its very difficult to do good PR with a hangover.

]]> By: David McQueen http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html/comment-page-1#comment-14159 David McQueen Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:42:17 +0000 http://www.smstextnews.com/2006/12/sunday_times_does_a_hatchet_job_on_o2s_stupid_data_rates_get_in.html#comment-14159 LOL....ROFLMAO....OMG.....fast moving technology....pricing structures and commitees. Now that is absolutely great. Oh my belly is hurting. Talking about bellies...are you free for lunch on Wed or Thurs? LOL….ROFLMAO….OMG…..fast moving technology….pricing structures and commitees. Now that is absolutely great. Oh my belly is hurting.

Talking about bellies…are you free for lunch on Wed or Thurs?

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