To interject a bit... Cricket is unlimited everything... that is actually how they market.
They keep costs low by really only building in metropolitan areas and not subsidizing cell phone purchases (so all of their phones are crap). My wife has their service because a plan that meets her talk time and text requirements from other carriers would be at least $100 more a month. But the downside is their service is crap IMHO... half the time when I try to call her she is not getting good reception :-) In a way though, they get the users no one else would want. Users that will not sign contracts (read... plenty of illegal's who can't pass a credit check) and heavy users... like my wife. I'd rather be a Verizon than a Cricket as a WISP anyday :-D Daniel White 3-dB Networks http://www.3dbnetworks.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Marlon K. Schafer Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 12:51 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Metered Billing Unlimited cell phone? I don't buy it.... There's a limit, there always is. Also, is your "unlimited" cell phone program only $40 or $50 per month? If I could get the same $100 to $300 per month for internet that people often pay the cell companies I'd be able to sell them a LOT more service for the same price they are paying now. I could also put in much better hardware. Lets see, 600 subs at an average of $37 per month is $22,200 per month. 600 subs at an average of $150 per month is $90,000 per month (and the same number of people needed). http://www.wirefly.com/learn/wireless_news/jd-power-analyzes-average-cell-ph one-bill/ According to JD Power the average cell bill is $77 per month. So 600 subs at an average of $77 per month is $46,200. Still much nicer than my current $27 per month :-). How did we end up in this situation? grin marlon ----- Original Message ----- From: Travis Johnson To: WISPA General List Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 1:24 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Metered Billing 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! 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/
