The shape of things to come for AT&T and iPhone users. MarketWatch on Verizon:
Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch said current data plans, which allow unlimited Internet access for a flat monthly fee, encourage overuse of wireless networks, mainly by a small number of “bandwidth hogs,” or individuals who send and receive lots of large files.
I’m sure AT&T’s executives would agree that the all you can eat for one price causes problems. How did we get to this problem?
Phone companies introduced flat-rate data plans earlier this decade to entice customers who mainly used wireless phones for voice calls to spend more money. Demand for data service began to explode in 2007 after AT&T Inc. launched the Apple iPhone and other handset makers released a slew of Internet-capable smartphones.
I’m in favor of some form of tiered pricing or metered bandwidth. But what’s fair value?