Opinionated comments on mobile phone industry news
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All entries are written by Anders Borg, CEO and Consultant of Abiro, that has a long experience in strategic planning, developing embedded and Java software, usability aspects, and the mobile phone industry in general. You can also read the latest Mobile News entries on your phone via wap.abiro.com, and we provide many News Feeds from popular news services. For advertising and contribution queries, please use the feedback form. News feed (local) FeedBurner Feed
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Anecdote: Cutting the cord...
I've dropped my landline subscription and will from now on only use mobile and broadband VoIP. It took a long time to make the decision, but now I wonder why I didn't do it a long time ago. The comfort level has increased substantially.
Some rationale:
* A landline is shared, but a mobile phone is individual and always with me, and free for inbound and outbound calls (unless I'm myself on the phone already, duh). In other words: Landline = stone age. Mobile = contemporary. Also try doing SMS via a landline phone. All newer DECT phones support SMS, but few operators do for landline.
* I have a fiber/100baseT-based broadband connection, so obviously I don't need the landline for that. Not even VDSL beats this, and definitely not from a stability perspective. As I'm responsible for the broadband sub in my area I also have a chance to renegotiate to get even better conditions, price and/or services.
* I very seldomly send and receive faxes, and if I need to I can do it via my mobile or an Internet service. I wish Skype could do faxes via Skype Out. Theoretically it's possible to write a plugin for this (emulating the fax signalling). Maybe something for e.g. USRobotics to do, now when async modems don't generate revenue.
* The cost for the landline was high, and the mobile subscription is needed anyway, so why have both? Sure, calls are more expensive on mobile, but when summing up all other household and business costs, telephony is a very small item. Mileage may vary.
* Calls, SMSs and MMSs within the mobile operator's network are completely free (using 3Bomben Friends), yet of course not to other networks, but the cost is still relatively low. Not as low as landline though, but most calls are actually inbound.
The main issue I've noted is that as all calls go to the same phone it's somewhat harder to separate private and work calls, and I do get work calls also in the late evening. To compensate for that I save all numbers, including from telemarketers, to the phone book. In the latter case so I know when I shouldn't answer. And in the general case ... sometimes for the same reason :).
What I want now is a subscription with flatrate data, as data is actually the biggest item on my phone bill. I guess I'm not that talkative.
Some rationale:
* A landline is shared, but a mobile phone is individual and always with me, and free for inbound and outbound calls (unless I'm myself on the phone already, duh). In other words: Landline = stone age. Mobile = contemporary. Also try doing SMS via a landline phone. All newer DECT phones support SMS, but few operators do for landline.
* I have a fiber/100baseT-based broadband connection, so obviously I don't need the landline for that. Not even VDSL beats this, and definitely not from a stability perspective. As I'm responsible for the broadband sub in my area I also have a chance to renegotiate to get even better conditions, price and/or services.
* I very seldomly send and receive faxes, and if I need to I can do it via my mobile or an Internet service. I wish Skype could do faxes via Skype Out. Theoretically it's possible to write a plugin for this (emulating the fax signalling). Maybe something for e.g. USRobotics to do, now when async modems don't generate revenue.
* The cost for the landline was high, and the mobile subscription is needed anyway, so why have both? Sure, calls are more expensive on mobile, but when summing up all other household and business costs, telephony is a very small item. Mileage may vary.
* Calls, SMSs and MMSs within the mobile operator's network are completely free (using 3Bomben Friends), yet of course not to other networks, but the cost is still relatively low. Not as low as landline though, but most calls are actually inbound.
The main issue I've noted is that as all calls go to the same phone it's somewhat harder to separate private and work calls, and I do get work calls also in the late evening. To compensate for that I save all numbers, including from telemarketers, to the phone book. In the latter case so I know when I shouldn't answer. And in the general case ... sometimes for the same reason :).
What I want now is a subscription with flatrate data, as data is actually the biggest item on my phone bill. I guess I'm not that talkative.
