AT&T CFO Sees Tiered Pricing Future for Carriers

Considering LTE offers as many as 10x the data sessions per 10mhz of bandwidth versus hsdpa this argument is actually moot. As we move towards true IP based WWAN networks, IPv6 not withstanding, these arguments hold less and less water.

It would be more accurate to say that the corporate CFO is betting we'll pay more just because he says so. Unfortunately americans have thus far told the big 4 wireless providers in the US that it is OK to do so. Contracts with high (even teired) ETF fees are OK, we want our $800 phones for free, and we'll then pay anything to keep them on the air.

Such a dumb model, I wish we'd become more like Europe, where most pay full price for their phones, and there are enough competitors that true unlimited offerings and state of the art networks are the only way to stand out, not by the devices the carrier is giving away for free, locked to their own network.