Good article on handset pricing.
http://wirelessweek.com/article/CA6425949.html »
Handset Price Upheaval Looming in Japan
By Eric M. Zeman
March 19, 2007
NEWS@2 DIRECT
An NTT DoCoMo board member has suggested that the current model of carrier-subsidized handsets is hurting carriers and handset manufacturers alike, and needs to be changed.
Noriaki Ito, head of strategy and NTT DoCoMo board member, says the incentive system for mobile handsets is too expensive for mobile operators as it exists today.
Before cell phones were so widely adopted, the carriers stepped up pricing competition by subsidizing the costs of handsets, which are recaptured, to some degree, during the life of the contracts. Because the Japanese market is fully saturated, though, ...
(continues)
Handset Price Upheaval Looming in Japan
By Eric M. Zeman
March 19, 2007
NEWS@2 DIRECT
An NTT DoCoMo board member has suggested that the current model of carrier-subsidized handsets is hurting carriers and handset manufacturers alike, and needs to be changed.
Noriaki Ito, head of strategy and NTT DoCoMo board member, says the incentive system for mobile handsets is too expensive for mobile operators as it exists today.
Before cell phones were so widely adopted, the carriers stepped up pricing competition by subsidizing the costs of handsets, which are recaptured, to some degree, during the life of the contracts. Because the Japanese market is fully saturated, though, ...
(continues)
...
so people are going to sign up for longer contracts or pay out the price of their equipment with monthly fees? People wouldn't be able to handle it. They can't take care of their phones for two years as it is, and equipment changes very quickly. If the Manufacturers would charge less for their devices, that's a maybe.
...
I wish we didn't even sell phones. I would be so much happier selling just the service. My day would be filled with 50% less BS. I love it when customers already have their own handsets.
...
Don't a lot of Euro carriers already do a hybrid. you can buy a subsidized handset with a contract or you can pay full or thier price and go month to month.. for any phone?
...
We can do that here. At least my carrier can. Hardly anyone does it, but the option is available.
...
I think in Australia, the cost of the customer's monthly service is dependant on the rate plan/features they choose + the charge of the phone (retail price divided by months in contract term). So a $240 MSRP phone over 24 months is $10 a month added to your bill. If you cancel before your contract is up, you pay your monthly bill to the remainder of contract (so if you pay $50/month on a 24 month contract, cancel 12 months in, your etf is $600). A friend of mine lived briefly in Melbourne and found this out when he tried to get a phone unlocked by the carrier when he left.
...
