Why is US phone coverage so expensive

[benrp]

I've noticed that Americans seem to pay a fortune for phone plans, particularly when they seem to pay less for everything else. I done a quick comparison by comparing the cost of a flagship Lumia on the largest carriers in Australia (my home country), the US and UK. Seems mad to me that Americans pay so much.
AUSTRALIA: Telstra: Lumia 920(no extra cost), unlimited text, $650 calls, 1gb data =$65/m (US$63.5, $1524 total)
US: Verizon: Lumia 928 ($99 up front), unlimited talk+text, 2 gb data=$100/m + $100= $104/m ($2499 total)
UK: EE: Lumia 920 (?42 up front), unlimited talk+text, 1 gb data=?41/m + ?30= ?42/m (US$65, $1560 total)
each of the above are 24 month contracts

 

[Laura Knotek]

We pay more for the plans because we get our devices subsidized when we take a 2-year contract. We might only pay $100 for the actual device, so the carrier needs to make up the difference through the cost of the plans.

That's different than in many countries where the customers pay full retail price for the unlocked devices and then they get cheaper plans without a contract.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

We pay more for the plans because we get our devices subsidized when we take a 2-year contract. We might only pay $100 for the actual device, so the carrier needs to make up the difference through the cost of the plans.

That's different than in many countries where the customers pay full retail price for the unlocked devices and then they get cheaper plans without a contract.

Pricing is still weird, though. I mean, the carrier I am on offers the Lumia 520 on a 30 month contract at...wait for it...less than $15 a month. That gives you unlimited texts, unlimited calls within the network, and ~$6 that you can use as if you were on prepaid. And, bear in mind that that $6 can last for a week of continuous internet access if you use it right.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Pricing is still weird, though. I mean, the carrier I am on offers the Lumia 520 on a 30 month contract at...wait for it...less than $15 a month. That gives you unlimited texts, unlimited calls within the network, and ~$6 that you can use as if you were on prepaid. And, bear in mind that that $6 can last for a week of continuous internet access if you use it right.

Wow, that's really cheap!

 

[ttsoldier]

You guys are luck. We have to pay the full price of the phone which is 600us+

Then we have to take out a plan. 500mins of local calls, 10gb data and 500 text only to the same network is roughly 50us per month.

Here is the best part, the phone is locked. And warranty generally does not exist

 

[benrp]

We pay more for the plans because we get our devices subsidized when we take a 2-year contract. We might only pay $100 for the actual device, so the carrier needs to make up the difference through the cost of the plans.

That's different than in many countries where the customers pay full retail price for the unlocked devices and then they get cheaper plans without a contract.

sure, but even so its incredibly expensive. I'm in Australia and didn't pay anything up front for my 920, and pay far less per month. Plus this is on the nations most expensive Telco with full 4g LTE.

 

[benrp]

You guys are luck. We have to pay the full price of the phone which is 600us+

Then we have to take out a plan. 500mins of local calls, 10gb data and 500 text only to the same network is roughly 50us per month.

Here is the best part, the phone is locked. And warranty generally does not exist

wow, 10gb of data is a lot.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Wow, that's really cheap!

It is. But, the worst part about this? You're stuck on a 3G network that maxes out at ~200 kbps if you're not surfing in the early morning. That, and I live in the Philippines, which means that everything is actually cheaper than they sound (i.e. that contract is aptly named Plan 600, or 600 pesos a month)

The bad part is, there's also a carrier *cough* SMART *cough* that offers the Lumia 710 at Unli Data Plan 1299 (that's ~$30). 30 month contract. Unlimited everything, though.

 

[Laura Knotek]

You guys are luck. We have to pay the full price of the phone which is 600us+

Then we have to take out a plan. 500mins of local calls, 10gb data and 500 text only to the same network is roughly 50us per month.

Here is the best part, the phone is locked. And warranty generally does not exist

Wow! That's really expensive. :unhappy:

 

[WanderingTraveler]

You guys are luck. We have to pay the full price of the phone which is 600us+

Then we have to take out a plan. 500mins of local calls, 10gb data and 500 text only to the same network is roughly 50us per month.

Here is the best part, the phone is locked. And warranty generally does not exist

Where are you from? Here in the Philippines, carriers are killing each other just to snatch some customers.
Also, nearly every brand that bothers to set up stores in the Philippines have customer service to some extent. There's the Nokia Care Center, the Samsung Care thingy, even the tiny "manufacturers" (i.e. the ones who just buy phones from Karbonn and slap some branding onto it) have their own service centers.

 

[ttsoldier]

Where are you from? Here in the Philippines, carriers are killing each other just to snatch some customers.
Also, nearly every brand that bothers to set up stores in the Philippines have customer service to some extent. There's the Nokia Care Center, the Samsung Care thingy, even the tiny "manufacturers" (i.e. the ones who just buy phones from Karbonn and slap some branding onto it) have their own service centers.

Trinidad and Tobago. We have nothing like a care center or anything remotely close. You get one year warranty with the carrier. Fine. Let's say I use my 920 for a few days and something goes wrong and need to get it replaced; if there is the SLIGHTEST recognition of physical damage on the phone (it could be a hairline scratch on the screen), they won't take it back. They will say the warranty is voided. I have seen this happen with so many phones.

It could be something totally unrelated to the problem with the phone. Like lets say my screen stopped working totally, but there is a scratch on the back of the phone. Yup. Warranty voided. It's pretty ridiculous. We have two carriers here and they both do the same thing. We have no other choice.

Let's say that your phone happens to be spotless and they do take it back for warranty exchange, you'll need to wait a ridiculous amount of time to get it repaired or get a new one. MINIMUM two weeks, guaranteed.

We need a third carrier to come and shake up the market down here. Our carriers have become too complacent . Funny enough, things were worse at one point in time because there was only one carrier. We had ZERO options. in 2006 I believe the second carrier came and the market became more competitive and rates/phone prices were reduced due to competition. .

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Trinidad and Tobago. We have nothing like a care center or anything remotely close. You get one year warranty with the carrier. Fine. Let's say I use my 920 for a few days and something goes wrong and need to get it replaced; if there is the SLIGHTEST recognition of physical damage on the phone (it could be a hairline scratch on the screen), they won't take it back. They will say the warranty is voided. I have seen this happen with so many phones.

It could be something totally unrelated to the problem with the phone. Like lets say my screen stopped working totally, but there is a scratch on the back of the phone. Yup. Warranty voided. It's pretty ridiculous. We have two carriers here and they both do the same thing. We have no other choice.

Let's say that your phone happens to be spotless and they do take it back for warranty exchange, you'll need to wait a ridiculous amount of time to get it repaired or get a new one. MINIMUM two weeks, guaranteed.

We need a third carrier to come and shake up the market down here. Our carriers have become too complacent . Funny enough, things were worse at one point in time because there was only one carrier. We had ZERO options. in 2006 I believe the second carrier came and the market became more competitive and rates/phone prices were reduced due to competition. .

The third carrier thing happened here in the Philippines around seven years ago. Before that, we were forced to pay a ton of money, even on prepaid.

 

[squire777]

The US is expensive relative to places in Europe or Asia, but just be glad it isn't like Canada. We have three year contracts, plus a relatively high cost for the phone. It's too bad that the big 3 telco companies here have the government in their back pockets so hardly anything ever changes. They just keep making excuses about how they need to keep costs high to pay for infrastructure and the lazy consumer base just keeps buying into it.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Just to point out something for the UK price. More often than not it's a subsidized price as well. You're typically stuck in a 2 year contract and pay upfront for the phone, usually around ?99. The network infrastructure is not that great. Only major cities have 4G and there are places all over the UK that have major blackspots of communication. I take the train to work, all of about 15mins, I hit a blacksport on the way to work, which means, no calls, no data, no texts for about 5mins. This keep in mind is just 40min outside London (by express train).

Also keep in mind that I'm bound to the UK, which is smaller than Texas. If I go abroad (trip to Paris 1hr flight) I pay hefty prices for data, texts and calls.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Just to point out something for the UK price. More often than not it's a subsidized price as well. You're typically stuck in a 2 year contract and pay upfront for the phone, usually around ?99. The network infrastructure is not that great. Only major cities have 4G and there are places all over the UK that have major blackspots of communication. I take the train to work, all of about 15mins, I hit a blacksport on the way to work, which means, no calls, no data, no texts for about 5mins. This keep in mind is just 40min outside London (by express train).

Also keep in mind that I'm bound to the UK, which is smaller than Texas. If I go abroad (trip to Paris 1hr flight) I pay hefty prices for data, texts and calls.

Are you able to easily get your device unlocked and use SIM cards from carriers in other countries when you travel?

I'm closer to Windsor, ON than you are to Paris, France; but due to laws people in US have to jump through hoops to get their devices unlocked if they want to travel to Canada and avoid international roaming by using Canadian carrier SIM.

 

[ttsoldier]

I told my friend that I envied that you guys can get a phone for like 99bucks. But what she told me is that in the US, you have to pay to receive calls too? Man that sucks. lol

 

[N_LaRUE]

Are you able to easily get your device unlocked and use SIM cards from carriers in other countries when you travel?

I'm closer to Windsor, ON than you are to Paris, France; but due to laws people in US have to jump through hoops to get their devices unlocked if they want to travel to Canada and avoid international roaming by using Canadian carrier SIM.

I thought that some carriers allowed for unlocking of phones? Like AT&T? There's a post on here somewhere stating that it's possible.

As for the UK you can unlock your phone after a period of time. I had the unfortunate issue of buying mine SIM free and it's locked to EE. I didn't use an EE SIM so now I can't just call and unlock it, I need to go to an unlocker. I was told it may void my warranty if I did that. There's a good unlocker online that works with phones all over the world.

Buying phones was possible unlocked but they were significantly more expensive to get one. Costing more than ?100 more than what I paid for mine.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I thought that some carriers allowed for unlocking of phones? Like AT&T? There's a post on here somewhere stating that it's possible.

As for the UK you can unlock your phone after a period of time. I had the unfortunate issue of buying mine SIM free and it's locked to EE. I didn't use an EE SIM so now I can't just call and unlock it, I need to go to an unlocker. I was told it may void my warranty if I did that. There's a good unlocker online that works with phones all over the world.

Buying phones was possible unlocked but they were significantly more expensive to get one. Costing more than ?100 more than what I paid for mine.

It's the same here. Exclusive devices won't be unlocked. Customers sometimes need to be out of contract. Unlocking is possible, but it's a cumbersome process dealing with carrier to get one.