Wireless carriers openly considering charging per service

[yizuman]

That slide above is no joke -- it comes from a marketing webinar put on by two companies that count Verizon, AT&T and Vodafone as clients, and it describes a system that identifies customer internet activity and charges a different rate for using Facebook than watching YouTube, while allowing access to Vodafone services for free. Yes, that's basically the nightmare scenario for net neutrality advocates. The two companies behind the slide are Allot Communications and Openet, which sell subscriber-management tools to carriers around the world -- tools that Allot's director of marketing says can scan even encrypted packets to determine what service customers are using and charge accordingly. We're not making this up -- here's the direct quote from the webinar:

[We use] a number of different methods to accurately identify the application -- methods like heuristic analysis, behavioral and historical analysis, deep packet inspection, and a number of other techniques. What's key is that we have the best application identification available on the market, which means that even applications that are encrypted or use other methods to evade detection will be correctly identified and classified... We essentially feed this real-time information about traffic and application usage into the policy and charging system. Each subscriber has a particular service plan that they sign up for, and they're as generic or as personalized as the operator wants.​

Yeah, that's not how anyone actually wants the internet to work -- except carriers, who've been saying increasingly insane things about charging even smartphone manufacturers for customer data usage lately. What's more, it's rumored that the FCC will cave to Verizon and AT&T and exempt wireless internet service from major parts of net neutrality regulation it's expected to pass next week, so this nonsense could very well hit the US sooner rather than later. We'll be keeping a close eye on things -- we'll let you know. Meanwhile, listen to the webinar yourself immediately below.

Source: Wireless carriers openly considering charging per service (update: audio) -- Engadget

Well, that's stupid. Dang greedy corporate companies....

Yiz

 

[Foxrac]

Fuck to fucking greedy corporation.

If att does then I'm consider to switch to different carriers like Sprint. :roll:

 

[Dixie]

If the carriers are smart enough they will not use this type of usage charge as people will quit purchasing smartphones and revert back to simple cell phones that can only send/receive voice and text messages, no data. Users will just see that they can access the exact same stuff online at home for free from their computers.

 

[Foxrac]

If the carriers are smart enough they will not use this type of usage charge as people will quit purchasing smartphones and revert back to simple cell phones that can only send/receive voice and text messages, no data. Users will just see that they can access the exact same stuff online at home for free from their computers.

or terminate the service and switch to different carriers that where extra charges aren't apply.

 

[Dixie]

or terminate the service and switch to different carriers that where extra charges aren't apply.

Why bother moving to a carrier that has crappy coverage at best? What is the point of these fancy apps if you can't get a signal out anyways?

 

[Foxrac]

Why bother moving to a carrier that has crappy coverage at best? What is the point of these fancy apps if you can't get a signal out anyways?

Well, it is mixed of pros and cons.

If I want change the service from att to Sprint so it is good due Sprint has better coverage than att does.

No way that I can use phone without data because I need Facebook and AIM on mobile.

 

[Dixie]

Well, it is mixed of pros and cons.

If I want change the service from att to Sprint so it is good due Sprint has better coverage than att does.

No way that I can use phone without data because I need Facebook and AIM on mobile.

Correction: You WANT to use a data phone because you WANT to use Facebook and AIM on mobile. You do not necessarily need these to facilitate mobile communication. Text messaging could and should suffice.

There are differences between needs and wants.

Sprint does not have good coverage here at all, so Sprint is useless to me. It was designed more for urban areas.

 

[Foxrac]

Correction: You WANT to use a data phone because you WANT to use Facebook and AIM on mobile. You do not necessarily need these to facilitate mobile communication. Text messaging could and should suffice.

There are differences between needs and wants.

Sprint does not have good coverage here at all, so Sprint is useless to me. It was designed more for urban areas.

No, Facebook and AIM are MUST for me to communicate and I don't use text so much.

Also, you still have to pay fee to use text too so no difference.

Oh really, Sprint has great 3G coverage in Alabama since att is more limited to city and surrounding of suburbs since small town, isolated cities and rural are limited to EDGE/GPRS or no service at all.

 

[Chevy57]

THIS IS BUL...T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Allot Communications and Openet are crooks!!! I remembered that Post Office service wanted to be charging email service for internet customers but Congress said NO...

 

[Dixie]

I still don't think it will go through.