But you have to understand several things to understand why most americans
understand very little about celular telecom:
1 - Probably 80% of Friam does not understand the difference between GSM and
CDMA, the two major celular protocols in the US. And that they do not
interoperate. I've explained to at least 50 people why their Verizon phone
will not work in Rome.
2 - "Mobile" means for americans "within 20 miles". Certainly not global.
3 - Coverage maps. I remember trying to tell an Italian about that concept.
I failed utterly. It is why most folks in Santa Fe will never use GSM.
I'm odd, I use GSM because I travel and won't tolerate the wreck produced
by our telecom world. Color me "moral".
4 - Roaming: In most GSM areas, Roaming is required by law and is strongly
enforced outside the US. Here, if you are a TMobile GSM customer wandering
into a ATT area, you definitely will NOT get roaming services.
5 - "Regulatory" is a dirty word. Free markets cannot handle it.
6 - Costs: I know of few celular user who understands the cost differences
between carriers. Here, TMobile (Deutsche Telekom) gives 20% cheaper costs,
and allows contract-free services that are very inexpensive, and handles SMS
and voice. They even offer very inexpensive phones for SMS/Voice.
7 - History: The french created GSM and lobbied very strongly for its
universal adoption. We have "states" that have far less power, thus are
lead by the corporate giants, far larger in income than the states. So
chaos is welcomed, to our woe.
I could go on. Its a wreck. But because it is too hard for most folks to
understand, thus cry out in pain, we are but pawns in the game. It is a
deeply painful thing to be a US citizen who understands tech from the bottom
up.
-- Owen
On Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 7:29 PM, Sarbajit Roy <sroy...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I'm hugely amazed by your post. Being involved in telecom regulatory
> matters (as a citizen stakeholder) in my country. I'm surprised that
> consumers in yours tolerate such nonsense.
>
> Just to provide some reference points
>
> In India: The average postpaid mobile commitment cost is about US$3 per
> month (which is instantly refunded with equivalent talk time). For prepaid
> it gets even better with zero (0) commitment and bonus talk times for every
> balance top-up. Call costs are about 1 CENT (US) per MINUTE to call anywhere
> within my vast country (ie. for about 1 US$ I can speak for 1 hour) All
> incoming calls are free. We have per second billing. At regulatory hearings
> I participate in, my fellow consumers are always griping that there are
> allegedly other countries in the world where mobile telephony is even
> cheaper.
>
> PS: We can buy any handset from te open market and the telco's vie with
> each other to connect us free (or a very nominal) charge
>
> Sarbajit
>
>
>
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