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About "recovering the huge umts licence costs with Portals": Some countries sold the licences very cheap (30M€ in Switz.), yet still the prices are way up there, this can't be the reason.
Here's a nice question: At which cheaper price-point would you change the way you use data services?
And is there a realistic middle ground, considering that the mobile providers might have to make a little return as well?
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Posted: 2005-01-11 00:52:12
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@wagawaga: On the issue of profit, Scots argument a few posts back brilliantly answers that.. On issue of price point, that will vary from country to country. One thing is sure, an operator will NEVER recoup its investments on a service if subscribers refuse to use that service because of its high pricing.
This message was posted from a P800
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Posted: 2005-01-11 04:45:44
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@AYA
You're right, but ultimately if ALL the networks within a country collaborate to keep prices at an artificially high level, and users either have the choice of using what services are available and paying the prices, or not using at all, surely the majority (not Esato members who may know better - I think we know we don't represent the majority, or we'd all have 10MP camera, Wi-Max UIQ 3.0 phones
) will take what they can get rather than boycotting the services on a price principle?
I agree that if one network (most likely to be Orange in the UK, I would imagine) were to take the lead and make the suggested reductions you/Scots and many others suggest that all the others will be forced to follow suit, making the market much more competitive to the benefit of consumers. The problem is that nobody looks likely to do this, given the high cost of licences and the fact that they are, at present, allowed to get away with what is effectively price-fixing.
I do accept the point though the UMTS idiots-auction that took place in the UK 5 years ago can't be entirely responsible for the inflated prices elsewhere, though you have to recognise that Vodafone paying c.£7bn for a UK UMTS operating licence is going to have a knock-on effect for it's global 3G network partners, likewise with Orange (France Telecom), T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) and 3 (Hutchinson-Whampoa) who all have global 3G representation.
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Posted: 2005-01-11 15:36:53
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i have free video calls till march
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Posted: 2005-01-11 16:00:20
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@dave: Well articulated. And you are definitely 100% correct about informed Esateans being the minority, among other points. So who (or which network) is going to bell the 3G cat? If I lived in the UK for example, I personally would keep off 3G till further notice. Nuff said :)
This message was posted from a P800
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Posted: 2005-01-11 16:28:21
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The telecoms regulatory body, Offcom, should really be doing something about the prices if the networks aren't going to take the initiative. Pricing will have to come down though, there is only so much that customers will pay and the networks will eventually be forced to address the issue or customers will loose interest in using the pricey features that the networks provide.
If one looks to video calling for example, one would see that this feature could be a very popular feature, but at current pricing levels it is unlikely to be used very much by the average customer. Reducing the price of this feature wouldn't harm profits at all, just as the reduction of voice call charges, from their initial high levels, didn't harm profits.
Data services are not the primary source of income for the networks and they never will be unless they are made more attractive to the customer. If the pricing levels are to remain as they are the networks should at least make the content worth the money. Either offer more for the the current prices or reduce the prices for the current content.
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Posted: 2005-01-11 18:19:39
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@scotsboy... yeh in japan docomo introduced the first true data services but in the UK vodafone led the pack on true data services...
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Posted: 2005-01-11 19:55:34
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@voda_jon
I have been very impressed by Vodafone, having joined them for the first time a few weeks ago when I bought my V800. The data services are good, although I would like to see more diversity in the content that is offered as well as a reduction in prices of course.
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Posted: 2005-01-12 00:36:28
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I have 60mins free video calling and 50mb's free data every month for a year on Orange 3G.
And most of the downloads are free anyhow.The prices of tones, games, pics and premium video clips etc are exactly the same as before on 2.5G. However, now they download much faster and are much better quality and can be streamed as well as downloaded.
This is why I upgraded to 3G in the first place..... and I love using my z1010 as a 3G modem with my laptop. Its only 50p a MB after the free 50MB's a month and I hardly go over it anyhow since I use my broadband connection at home most of the time.
The change over from 2.5 to 3G is seamless and Orange do indeed have the most integrated 3G network in the UK at the moment as promised. I am very impressed.
Video calling works great with my m8's on both Orange and 3 and I think video mail is a great idea too.
Shame about the current handsets though.... but my USIM works A OK in my P900 anyhow via 2/2.5G
To conclude, I upgraded FOC to 3G and got a z1010 FOC too and I have saved myself £10 per month not having to pay a GPRS/Data bundle. That'll be a £120 saving this year for me.
And as others have mentioned things can only get more competitively priced as times moves on.
A happy and loyal Orange customer and z1010 and P900 user
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Posted: 2005-01-15 15:14:14
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@holistica... most integrated network??? Vodafones handover from 2G to 3G is seamless.. no different from ne other network... coverage wise vodafones take is that we prefer to be like a thick crust pizza... lower coverage but better quality whereas orange and 3 are thin crust... more coverage but less quality of network... AND voda are the only network (as far as i know) that allow its customers to look round its own content as much as they like without charging their customers or taking it off their data bundle... U r only charged if u browse outside of the LIVE! garden or download content like games or ringtones or mp3's (after the first 3 until the end of feb) or wallpaper. We also have the widest range of content and i personally feel of a very high quality...
on the content side i dont see oftel coming in and forcing prices to be lower. How long have the networks been charging for this content... and still oftel havent told them to lower the prices... its just as it is in the games industry... money gets syphoned off to everyone in the line of production and the prices stay the same until a game (content) is older or superseeded... This is startin to be seen with some java games and some other content where by the older they r or superseeded they r lowered in price.
I am 99.9% sure that we will see prices coming down via special offers and other additions to the network... but every networks main priority at the mo is getting the 3G networks up and running and fulfilling their legal obligations by 2007... it is probably then we will c the true fight for customers to start...
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Posted: 2005-01-15 16:10:15
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