NLUUG: Filling the gaps in open telephony [LWN.net]

NLUUG: Filling the gaps in open telephony

Posted May 19, 2011 18:00 UTC (Thu) by iabervon (subscriber, #722)
Parent article: NLUUG: Filling the gaps in open telephony

Telcos do exploit the information asymmetry, but that isn't the only way they can increase their profit. If they convince you to use high-margin features more because you actually find them worthwhile and they stay high-margin because the telco doesn't discount them in plans they hope you won't pick, the telco will do fine. That is, most telcos make money by getting people not to pick the deal that wouldn't be profitable. Limesco could make money by not offering deals that wouldn't be profitable. Most telcos get customers by seeming to offer a variety of great deals. Limesco could get customers based on the transparency. "The numbers on our ads may not look as good, but the number on our bill won't surprise you." Anyone who's gotten a phone bill previously and found they were mostly paying for stuff they didn't think they used would probably find this oddly compelling.

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NLUUG: Filling the gaps in open telephony

Posted May 20, 2011 11:06 UTC (Fri) by sorpigal (subscriber, #36106) [Link]

Certainly I would be willing to pay more for transparency and decency, but I fear few in the general public would care. Can a business like that break even serving only the tiny fraction of the population that's willing to agree to pay more for intangibles?

NLUUG: Filling the gaps in open telephony

Posted May 20, 2011 15:58 UTC (Fri) by iabervon (subscriber, #722) [Link]

I think few people in the public would care when they're getting their first cell phone contract, but I think a lot of people are unhappy with how their phone bills compare to what they thought their phone bills would be. I don't think that enough people care about the intangibles on principle, but I think that lots of people end up caring about certain intangibles from experience. When "transparency and decency" means "my bills don't seem inflated" it's a bit more compelling to the general public.