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[ NNSquad ] Re: User sues AT&T after $5000+ bill for exceeding 5 GB bandwidth cap


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On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 5:17 PM, Brett Glass <nnsquad@brettglass.com> wrote:

>  At 04:50 PM 3/3/2009, Sean Bradly wrote:
>
>
> However, this is what not what AT&T elects to charge you for 15GB/month:
> ($60+$5000(10GB overage))*12(months)*2(years).  *That's $121,440 folks.
> That's 2800% markup.* Thats a 30 year mortgage.
>
>
> That's a bargain. *It's a fraction of the cost of the spectrum needed to
> deliver that much bandwidth.* Remember, companies like AT&T bid up to $3
> million on tiny 5 MHz slivers of spectrum, which one user could consume
> completely by downloading data 24x7.
>

I don't see how the data supports your assertion. Unless you know the
theoretical limit on how small AT&T can make their cells, and the
propagation characteristics of that particular 5 MHz, you can't say with any
certainty how much revenue AT&T is extracting from that spectrum.

The whole point is moot anyways when you consider how much of the country is
lacking reliable 3G to begin with. Spectrum is not the limiting factor here:
I'd be more than happy to use that 5MHz "sliver" in my neck of the woods.

This conversation is sounding dangerously close to disregarding the
economics of statistical (or geographical, in this case) multiplexing that
/any/ commercial network depends upon.

-Nick

   [ OK, I'm ending this thread here for now.  Whether or not AT&T is
     charging reasonable fees to their wireless users (vis-a-vis
     bandwidth capabilities) isn't really relevant to the original
     controversy.  The key questions are does AT&T appropriately and
     fairly inform subscribers about the fees, and did AT&T follow its
     own rules before imposing the massive extra charges -- both
     questions better dicussed over on GCTIP at:

       http://forums.gctip.org/thread-26.html

     -- Lauren Weinstein
        NNSquad Moderator ]