While the price of a acquiring a cell phone and associated service is going down, the cost of using a cell phone and associated service is going up. What do you think is meant by this statement?
This statement is quite clear to me. I can't think of one single service provider that does not include additional fees on a customer's bill. In most cases when you go to get a new phone, whether it is a regular cell-phone or smartphone, the price of the hardware itself will be cheaper as long as you sign a new contract with your service provider (normally 2 year contract). That is where the price of acquiring a cell phone has gone down.
In the past, all you had to worry about was how much you sent text messages and how many minutes you had for use per month. Now, recent trends in technology has presented us with faster, all-around more efficient technology, which is where we have seen a change in fees from mobile service providers. Laptops paved the road to the future by putting all the features of a desktop into a smaller device, leading to smartphones.
Now, you pay for the original price of a phone (with or without a new contract), monthly minutes, monthly text messages, and data servicing fees. Every time you access the internet, FaceBook app, Twitter app, etc. you will be charged, especially if you are with a mobile service provider such as AT&T because ever since they acquired a contract with Apple to provide service for iPhones, they changed their fees for data service fees.
Additionally, as more and more people make use of mobile phones, mobile service providers are likely to follow the "supply and demand" theory to maximize profits for their companies. Below is a link to a website comparing all of the top mobile service providers.
http://cell-phone-providers-review.toptenreviews.com
This website lists US Cellular as not one the best options but, if you are like me, you might be already grandfathered in (I have been with US Cellular since I was 14 so, 8 years) and end up paying significantly less (unlimited text messages and data services). The same may also go for any others grandfathered in to their mobile service provider.
I completely agree that cell phone companies have hidden fees for literally everything. These companies basically hold all the power, and as consumers we have to pay the price for these products. It would be nice to see the price of the services go down, however with the growth of mobile internet and apps, I can't see this happening anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThis why cell phone companies will never be hurting for money. Like you said there is not a bill that they don't add addition fees. With the high demand for smart cell phones they will pay about anything to get the latest and greatest phone on the market.
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