At 23 Jan 2007 03:56:39 +0000 jeremy wrote:

> What is so bad with $25.00/month?

Nothing per se, but that's at the high end of unlimted VoIP. Others do
it for $15 or $20, and many offer pay as you go, which is a bargain for
those who use VoIP primarily for international calls (which typically
fall outside the unlimited US/Canada plans.)

> Vonage's customers leave, according to
> industry reports, because they are unhappy with the call quality, not
> because of price.

But the two are related: perceptions of "quality" are colored by value.
People might expect less "quality" from Vonage for $15 than $25, much
like the quality expectation of a $1 McDonald's hamburger is less than a
$10 burger at the Hard Rock.

No offense to Vonage, but my landline service is only $25 (without LD, of
course.) For $25/month I'd expect the Vonage experience to be very close
to landline in quality and uptime, whereas for $10 or $15/month, I'd cut
them a lot more slack.


> Does Cingular price their wireless service to be competitive?

Of course. Their rates are almost in lockstep with Verizon's, despite
higher costs, higher churn, etc. Remember, "competitive" doesn't mean
"cheapest," just in the ballpark, with reasonable justifications for
higher prices! Verizon commands relatively higher prices because the
public's perception of quality ("the network") allows it. Cingular can
offer fewer minutes than others for the same monthly rate as others
because they give you "rollover," etc.