more on Locked In a Cell: How Cell Phone Early Terminati on Fees Hurt Consumers

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Shoch <shoch () alloyventures com>
Date: October 11, 2005 9:09:09 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: John Shoch <shoch () alloyventures com>
Subject: RE: [IP] more on Locked In a Cell: How Cell Phone Early  
Terminati on Fees Hurt Consumers


Dave,

It is hard to deciper the approach to pricing used by the large  
cellular carriers, and we all have stories of insane behavior.  Some  
of this is a hold-over from the time when your carrier could hold  
your phone number hostage, and not give very good discounts on a  
renewal.  My recent experience:

1.  Had an old AT&T TDMA phone, which got lost.  Tried to replace it  
at Cingular, but they no longer sell TDMA phones [you can buy a used  
one on eBay].  I could buy a new GSM phone, but that requires a new  
plan.

2.  So, since I was interested in a new phone, I went on-line and  
found some great specials.  BUT, I was then ineligible for them  
because I was trying to go from a Cingular account to Cingualar, and  
the bargain deals don't apply.  The deals are only provided to the re- 
sellers from bringing in a new customer.

3.  Cingular just says, "no free phone."  When you point out you can  
go to another carrier and now take your number with (!), they just  
shrug.

4.  But in this process I did discover some great deals on-line:  you  
can actually get a free phone plus a REFUND/REBATE of $100-150  
dollars if you sign up for a new phone and plan on a different carrier.
   http://www.intelenetwireless.com/
   http://www.cellularchoices.net/carrier/cingular/phones/
   http://www4.letstalk.com/landing/vsearch2.htm?landId=1&mulService=1

5.  Given this insane behavior, the only thing that makes sense is to  
shift to a new carrier every 2 years, get a new phone, throw out the  
old one, bring your number over, and pocket $100-150 cash each time.....

How did we ever end up here?

John Shoch
Alloy Ventures

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 4:02 PM
To: Ip Ip
Subject: [IP] more on Locked In a Cell: How Cell Phone Early Terminati
on Fees Hurt Consumers


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