[LINK] US, Canada have priciest cell phone plans in the world

[Ivan Trundle]

On 18/10/2010, at 10:18 AM, Kim Holburn wrote:

> What a pity they didn't include Australia.
> 
> http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/10/us-canada-lead-the-world-in-expensive-cell-packages.ars

Anecdotal evidence tells me:

1. A majority of my US friends and contacts no longer use fixed lines, due to expense. Mobile telephony is all they need.

2. A mobile phone 'package' often include such things as unlimited calls to either others on the same network, or more often others on the same 'bill' (i.e. a family can have four mobiles and only pay one bill as if they were using one phone). This makes it extremely attractive even at the costs quoted.

3. Mobile phone users pay for incoming minutes as well as outgoing in the US.

4. Data plans in the US, from what I am told, are still so generous as to be virtually free for many of my friends: they have special packages that bundle voice and data in a way to make data effectively free, even though standard plans do not advertise this.

Also, it's a factor of what the market will bear and what infrastructure supports it. There are still many places in the US which have sub-standard mobile telephony. 

Mind you, I can name many places in Australia where the mobile phone won't work, and in places where populations live and work.

I think OTI nailed it by asserting that "cost structures varied as a direct result of competition and innovation in each country".

I wonder what the NBN will do for mobile telephony here?

iT