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by URSpider94 5850 days ago
Hey entrepreneurs: pretend for a moment that AT&T is YOUR company. You have a hit on your hands (the iPhone), but one that has crippled your network in major metro areas like San Francisco and New York. Investing in new cell towers means not just millions in capital expenses, but also years spent arguing with NIMBY neighborhood associations who don't want to see any more of your ugly towers. And, you have a way to reduce the monthly fee for 98% of your users, prompting MORE people to sign up for revenue-generating data plans, while dis-incentivizing the 2% who use the most data. What would you do?

As to those who are wondering why they have to pay extra for tethering, are you really surprised that a company would charge more for a service that you value, which will result in heavier usage of their resources? How many Hacker News readers run web companies with "freemium" business models? How do you sleep at night charging your customers for only twice the number of accounts/downloads/records that you give away for free to others?
2 comments
orangecat 5850 days ago
As to those who are wondering why they have to pay extra for tethering, are you really surprised that a company would charge more for a service that you value, which will result in heavier usage of their resources?

If it results in heavier use, they should just charge for the use directly, not micromanage how I use the service. In the freemium scenario, it would be like charging extra to be able to access the website from more than one computer. Both are stupid because both require nothing to "support"; they inherently work as part of the existing infrastructure. On the other hand it does take resources to try to block that functionality, because you have to actively look for "cheaters".

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URSpider94 5849 days ago
"If it results in heavier use, they should just charge for the use directly, not micromanage how I use the service."

When you sign up for a 2GB per month plan with AT&T, they are counting on the fact that you won't actually use that 2GB, because for most users, it's just too hard to suck down that much data through your smartphone (especially if, like me, you're roaming onto a WiFi network at home and the office). When you use tethering, you're pretty much guaranteed to use more of that 2GB.

When you go to an "all-you-can-eat" restaurant, you do know that they don't actually expect you to eat until you get sick, right? If every customer did that, they'd probably have to raise their prices.

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jonny_noog 5849 days ago
When you sign up for a 2GB per month plan with AT&T, they are counting on the fact that you won't actually use that 2GB

Maybe people just don't like being lied to?

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kragen 5850 days ago
What would you do?

Announce a US$50 per month femtocell subsidy for anyone who installs an AT&T femtocell in their house in targeted neighborhoods.

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wooster 5850 days ago
The femtocell range is extremely short. It wouldn't do your neighbors any good. (I have one.)
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