Hi Rich and all, May I clarify the US payment scheme? It is different than elsewhere, and I have found that seems obvious to Americans, but is apparently sufficiently different that it is not easily understandable to others. One bottom-line is that because of the concept of 'airtime' and the removal of long-distance charges (in comparison to landline telephony), we don't have the same clear concept of 'caller pays' that I think exists in other regions.
So Rich is right, most plans are such that a customer pays a monthly fee for plan where they receive what might best be referred to here as 'airtime' minutes (in Rich's example, $50 for 1000 minutes). With the exception of weeknights and weekends, whenever a person is talking to another person on their mobile phone, this time counts against the plan's minutes. It doesn't matter if you make or receive the call. Then there other things at work that would figure into an actual cost/ minute calculation: --now, most plans are such that there are no long-distance fees associated with placing calls. In 2000, for example this was not the case and has since changed over time. Considering how large the US is, and how easily long-distance charges are incurred when placing landline calls, this is another 'freebie.' --Customers can make completely 'free' calls outside the weekday- restrictions by calling on the weekends and weeknights (I think usually after 19:00 but this might vary across plans). This is where many people get their greatest cost savings by NOT using up their plan's airtime minutes, and then remember of course that they don't have to pay for long-distance calls. People design their calling practices such that they place calls to friends and family who live at distance during those unrestricted hours. --Also, many providers now have 'family plans' and such that if multiple members of one's household are on the same plan, then any calls between those phones do not dock against the plan's set airtime minutes (in Rich's example, 1000 minutes). So it is possible to stretch a plan's airtime minutes quite far. --There are other schemes in place that allow customers of a single provider to also call each other for free. --Some (all now?) providers allow unused airtime minutes from one month can now be rolled over to the next month. This didn't used to be the case. So it is possible to bring the average cost per call (made or received) down quite a bit, especially in comparison to landline calls when long-distance prices are figured in. Also, it is better to have more airtime minutes than one needs, because placing or receiving a call once those minutes are up is where the big expense is. So, service providers do make extra money/minute by customer's knowing they need this surplus. As I explained above, one very big difference here is that because the long-distance charges are no longer in play, we don't have 'mental models,' if you will, for 'caller pays' or 'receiver pays.' Except for the idea of within-family plans, the cost is now constrained to the use of a particular phone device, and is not as much dependent on the transaction between two phones. At least that is how I understand it (but things change quickly on this front). leysia On Jun 3, 2007, at 10:47 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello all, > > > I have heard different estimates and comparisons of calling in the > US and in, for example, Europe. I have heard that it is cheaper to > use a mobile phone in the US but I am wondering about how the cost > is calculated. > > In the US, you buy a "bucket" of for example 1000 minutes. These > cost, for example $50 per month (I am not sure about the actual > prices). In this example the cost per minute is 5 cents a minute. > However, when people call into your number you use up minutes. > Assuming that you make and receive about an equal number of > minutes, this would say that the real price for calls that you make > is 10 cents per minute. In addition, unused minutes often revert > to the operator. If you only use 700 minutes, then you are in > effect paying 30% more since you have to pay for all 1000 minutes. > Thus, if my math is correct, you are up to 13 cents per minute in > this example. > > The issue of free weekends and evenings also plays into the > equation in some way. > > By the same token, in Europe, there is often a flat rate and some > sort of use tariff. This varies by operator and by subscription type. > > It would be interesting to see if there was some sort of direct > comparison of the cost of calling in different places around the > world. > > Rich L. > > > > > ============================ Leysia Palen Assistant Professor connectivIT Lab Computer Science, ATLAS & ICS University of Colorado, Boulder http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~palen/ http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~palen/connectivIT/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "mobile-society" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mobile-society?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
