Thats one way to utilize bandwidth shaping but how do you " guaranteed minimum of 1.5Mbps, 4Mbps and 6Mbps" at those low rates to every use and make money? Maybe I'm wrong but the problem I see is that you will end up having unhappy subscribers when their expectations are not met. Thats where the premium rates can come in. I find people all the time who would pay more for committed speeds if it can be delivered.
BTW: Cricket Communications, subsidiary of Leap Wireless has lost money since its inception and continues to do so. Give me an example of an non-subsidized "all you can eat service" company in a competitive market that actually makes money (bottom line). On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 4:55 PM, Jayson Baker <[email protected]> wrote: > Ya know, we've looked at this many times over the past couple years, and > even tested it for a bit. > > Fact is, people like unlimited, and not having to guess. I, myself, being > a > fairly lite user of the Internet, would still always opt for an unlimited > plan--even if I knew my bill may be lower on a pay-per-use plan. I have > unlimited cell phone minutes, txt messages, etc. If I could pay for > unlimited utilites, I'd certainly do that too! > > We've got the infrastructure in place for a pay-per-use, and could activate > it at anytime. We tried selling it about a year ago, and people just > didn't > understand the concept. People aren't used to it--most people got online > when Internet was $19.95/mo for dialup (or, $22.95 for AOL!), and don't > remember the 10 for $10 dial-up packages. Nobody knows what ISDN with 300 > hours is. > > We currently offer 12Mbps service for $24.95/mo. This makes us the fastest > in the area, and the cheapest. We have local sales, support and > installations. We decided the way to win is to shape traffic--we offer > three 12Mbps packages; one with a guaranteed minimum of 1.5Mbps, 4Mbps and > 6Mbps. If you do nothing than browse, share pictures, etc. (i.e. "normal > use") you'll always see the 12Mbps. But once you fire up a torrent or > Netflix, you only get that speed for 10 minutes--after that, you get your > guaranteed minimum. Prices double from 1.5 to 4, and double again going to > 6Mbps. We have never had a complaint about speed or price with this > structure. > > I'm hoping that the "big guys" do go to pay-per-use plans. Just one more > way we can advertise and win against them. "Tired of counting your bits > and > bytes? We're unlimited" Look at Cricket wireless--they've just exploded > with customers on their unlimited-everything service. > > Just my 2 cents > > Jayson > > On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Travis Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The cellular guys don't charge by the minute... I have an unlimited plan > > on my cell phone. I can also get unlimited text and internet access for > > $9.95/mo extra. > > > > People don't want to guess what their internet bills are going to be from > > month to month. Would you want that at your own home? > > > > Travis > > Microserv > > > > > > Gary Garrett wrote: > > > > You sound like the cell phone company. > > I am convinced the big failure in my business model is I charge by the > > month while the cellular guys charge by the minute. > > > > > > Travis Johnson wrote: > > > > > > Hi, > > > > You are talking about having to add additional resources (radius, etc.) > > to track it. Then you have to bill it. Then you get to deal with the > > phone calls from users that say "My computer wasn't even turned on > > during those times. Remove the charge or I will go elsewhere." So, even > > that one extra phone call costs you money (because you have to think > > about scaling). Imagine if you have 100x the number of customers you > > have now... does the same solution work? Probably not. > > > > The easier solution would be to call that customer and get them to > > upgrade to the next plan up (which would provide higher speed as well). > > This works very well for us... and then I have that guaranteed extra > > income each month, even if they don't use it. > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today!http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe:http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! 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