Data rates and ‘Dumb pipes’

March 16, 2007

Here’s a great post on mobile service providers and the state of play with data costs. I’ve often complained about this, as the charges (at least in Australia) are abysmal with rates often measured in $s per 100kb. With the new Apple iPhone coming soon and the news that Google is releasing a phone, mobile data is set to become a big issue.

Robin Landy’s post points this out and accurately states that ‘Apple knows the networks don’t ‘get‘ consumer data’. Amen to that. The way in which telcos also attempt to hedge customers into using only their services is also distasteful. With Apple, and most likely Google, setting up their own platforms, hopefully this relegates the service providers to their rightful tasks: shuttling the data rather than providing the content.

I recall signing up my latest phone, a s60 Nokia model, and using heaps of data to check emails (gmail, POP3, etc.) and the web and so on because the data was free for the first two bills. One month afterwards and the size of the bill was outstanding, even though I had dropped back to ‘moderate’ usage. Now, I don’t even know if the settings are correct – it’s just not worth using.

The message at the end of all this is simple. In order for the mobile market to move forward, led as it will be by Apple and Google, data charges will have to be dramatically revised. Otherwise it’s going to be like driving a Ferrari on 50 metre-long road.

Posted in Tech