This article is part one of what originally started as a very long article inspired by some stuff that really got under my skin. The original was too incoherent, so I broke it up into two chunks. Part two will be posted later on.
The wireless industry has never been the nicest to its clientele. It’s no secret that mobile providers (Verizon, AT&T et all) make a lot of money off screwing customers. I did an article a while back rebuking AT&T’s absolutely absurd claim that wireless costs are cheaper in the United States than anywhere else. The wireless industry’s next plan for crap treatment of consumers is to hire tons of lobbyists to fight against the US government’s surprisingly diligent attempts to combat industry behaviors. For example, the Obama administration itself is currently examining cell phone exclusivity deals, starting with Apple’s current contract with AT&T. In the first half of this year alone, Verizon and AT&T have spent almost $20 million on lobbyists.
Spending money on lobbyists is the way that big companies demonstrate just how unequal people can be in a democratic system. Essentially, because AT&T can send someone to Washington to have dinner with some people in congress, they can bend government action to their will. As an AT&T rep put it, the current argument is over whether or not “the public interest is being met by the free market.” Given that any modern-seeming phone has a $100 a month pricetag associated with it, which is far more expensive than in the rest of the world, it would seem to me that no, the free market is not working for the consumer good.
For the sake of driving my point home, I’ll drop some numbers I gave a while back. A two-year iPhone contract in the United States can run you around $85 a month, and that’s for reasonable use: unlimited data, 450 minutes of talk time, and 1500 text messages. A comparable plan from O2 over in the UK, which gives 600 minutes, 500 texts, and unlimited data goes for around $55 a month. That’s $1320 for two years outside the US versues $2040 here. So outside the United States, in a country with a similar standard of living, you can get the same plan for 65% of the price.
Unfortunately, we the people are not able to pay for lobbyists to go to Washington and serve our needs. Our best bet is to stay vigilant. When you hear about activity in congress which could work in you interest, call up your representative and try and get him to fight for you. My goal in writing this article is to hopefully illustrate just how obnoxious the mobile providers in the US really are. So keep your ear to the ground.
