Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

One of the reasons the US telcoms rape and pillage its customers is because the customers do not question the policies and ask for more.

I have never heard any customer bringing their old phone and DEMANDING that he /she gets a rebate on the service. When I asked a AT&T manager as to why if I get a subsidized phone I get $X / month but if I get my old phone I cant get any lesser price - and he didn't even understand the math of it. He acted incredulous that I even was asking for such a lesser price.

This is the big issue. Unless customers stand demanding a service, these companies will not even consider it. We have to force them to open up.

Of course this will not stop me from asking for a better price on service only deal than the phone+service deal when I get bring my own unlocked N900 to them again. I know what I will get for an answer - but at least the manager will be a little less incredulous on hearing about it again.

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

The only problem, nilchak, is that change of that magnitude requires CLASS action. The telcos are counting on us acting as individuals and they can counter us easily that way. Of course there are many variables such as customer attitude, representative attitude, weather of the day, whose sports team won or lost...

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

God I'm happy I live in Sweden after reading this thread. :D

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

and thats why i really really hate how thinking these days is all about right wing individualism, and how the individual is then suddenly more enpowered and free...

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

hell, consider this, while motorola and at&t bickered over who had the right to build a cell phone network (after motorola came up with the concept, but at&t wanted to build it as "the" US phone company), the nordic nations took the concept and deployed NMT ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Mobile_Telephone

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

Thats very true - a CLASS action suite is the only thing which will make them wake up. Or else the FCC should take a stance on such issues. But we all know what the FCC is really capable of.

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

Good discussion, now back to my original question :P

How does this community commnuicate the value of the open nature of Maemo to carriers and groups that have all of this POTS/legacy infrastructure?

If you cannot tell them why what you do is valuable, why then should they support your type of business model/usage?

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

The last time I renewed my Vodafone UK contract I was negotiating for the best deal (already had a decent enough phone, only needed a couple of hundred minutes of cross-network minutes & SMSes). I got down to 14ukp per month with a new phone (SE W890i - nice non-smart phone).

If I'd kept my existing phone, it'd've dropped to 12ukp per month. However, over the lifetime of an 18 month contract, I took the new phone (and sold my old one on eBay for fifty quid)

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

I presume you're asking about the US only, because in the UK it's normal to get a better rate if you're not getting a bundled phone.

Re: Maemo, What's the Carrier's Argument?
 

I was referring to the US.