Carrier Access Fees Are Absurd and Need to Stop (Op-Ed)

[Guest]

The access fees that some carriers attach to your cell phone bill are a remnant of subsidized phone pricing. Carriers should follow T-Mobile's lead with more straightforward billing.

Carrier Access Fees Are Absurd and Need to Stop (Op-Ed) : Read more

 

[gopher1369]

I live in the UK and keep seeing articles like this. I feel so, so sorry for you guys in the US. This is roughly how it works here in the UK, simplifying, but it's pretty much like this:

Want just a SIM with mins/texts/data? £15 a month
Want a SIM + an older phone, say an LG G3, £25 a month
Want a newer phone, say an LG G4, £35 a month

You pay nothing additional for the phone, it's all incorporated into the monthly line rental. There are no additional charges, no fees, nothing to pay up front, that's it, just one fixed monthly amount for 2 years.

I completely fail to understand why the US market works in the way it does when all you have to do is look at the UK market and copy that, it's just so, so much simpler.

 

[nukemaster]

I live in the UK and keep seeing articles like this. I feel so, so sorry for you guys in the US. This is roughly how it works here in the UK, simplifying, but it's pretty much like this:

Want just a SIM with mins/texts/data? £15 a month
Want a SIM + an older phone, say an LG G3, £25 a month
Want a newer phone, say an LG G4, £35 a month

You pay nothing additional for the phone, it's all incorporated into the monthly line rental. There are no additional charges, no fees, nothing to pay up front, that's it, just one fixed monthly amount for 2 years.

I completely fail to understand why the US market works in the way it does when all you have to do is look at the UK market and copy that, it's just so, so much simpler.

Greed.

 

[gopher1369]

But surely if just a single company came along and offered deals that, well, weren't shit, wouldn't everyone jump on that immediately and force all of the other cell companies to follow suit?