Broadband cost 'too high'

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#757033 7-Feb-2013 17:21

DarthKermit:
johnr: Ask anyone if they think they are paying too much for " insert anything in here " they will say yes

Yes you're right; ask a loaded question like that and you'll get the answers you expect to get.

This is what passes for journalism nowadays.

*waits for front page article in tonight's paper: Tiddles the cat being rescued from huge tree*

...and next weeks question will be "are you being paid enough for what you do?"

Lazarui

136 posts

Master Geek

#757040 7-Feb-2013 17:26

surfisup1000:
RunningMan:
johnr: Ask anyone if they think they are paying too much for " insert anything in here " they will say yes

+1.

It's a loaded question, of course people will say yes.

Not all people would say that. I'd have thought most people would recognise companies need to turn a profit.

On a relative basis I'm happy with the BB pricing and the direction it is going.

On a comparative basis I'm a little unhappy that our prices are higher than some other countries. But, lots of things are more expensive in NZ. Our exchange rate is at record highs so we look expensive for pretty much everything.

It's a difficult question and ultimately you need to ask if the ISP's are earning excessive returns on capital over and above average returns for this industry.

I think most people just look at a Dollar for Dollar rating, which would be fine if you are buying a bushel of wheat.

We're not talking about straightup comodities here though, if the dollar gets stronger the company you buy your service off costs don't lower.

Also the idea that other countries pay 'less' for broadband isnt really correct either, I have never seen a proper cost price anaylist of broadband here compared to other countries, when most people 'compare' the prices they go hey, its $x in Y country converted that $10.00's less than we pay here, but theres no one looking into the cost of infustructure/GDP and average living costs in general would be needed to be taken into account.

stuzzo

534 posts

Ultimate Geek

#759059 10-Feb-2013 17:06

NonprayingMantis:In terms of value for money, broadband is one of the best things you will ever spend money on in my opinion. For around 80 to 100 bucks you get access to basically the entirety of information known to man, accessing exactly what you want, when you want it. How can that not be good value for money? Trillions of words, billions of videos and audio clips, games, news, education resources, not to mention funny pictures of cats, all available at the click of a button within a few seconds.

That is true but the telcos did not creat that resource, users did eg Wikipedia. They only provide the links to it.

As long as prices fairly reflect the cost of providing the services I'm not too bothered, however, not all of those services are in a truly competitive environment and one suspects practises like revaluing assets which may not reflect historical investment costs, such as occurs in the power industry, have happened.

Also there is the fact that the standard telephone service is largely a dinosaur, like mail, but is still more or less incorporated in the pricing.

Jaxar

383 posts

Ultimate Geek

#759382 11-Feb-2013 11:37

stuzzo:
Also there is the fact that the standard telephone service is largely a dinosaur, like mail, but is still more or less incorporated in the pricing.

Just on the telephone side remember that even if you remove the phone capability on ADSL you still actually need the phone line cable. I suspect the maintenance costs of the equipment that allows you to make phone calls pales in comparison to the costs of maintaining the cabling.

Actually it is more like the savings of using an existing copper cable that people already have for their telephone is built into the cost of broadband.

Please note: I have a professional bias towards Vodafone.

freitasm

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#759391 11-Feb-2013 11:48

Replace "rent" with "broadband":

"The rent is too damn high..."

Jaxar

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#759402 11-Feb-2013 12:03

freitasm: Replace "rent" with "broadband":

"The rent is too damn high..."

Yeah he wouldn't get my political vote. Now if he were campaigning for best Mo in Movember that would be a different story.

Please note: I have a professional bias towards Vodafone.

TwoSeven

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#759630 11-Feb-2013 16:58

My feeling is that before one can ask someone if they are getting good value for their money, one needs to first determine their perceived value proposition.

Software Engineer
(the practice of real science, engineering and management)
A.I. (Automation rebranded)
Gender Neutral
(a person who believes in equality and who does not believe in/use stereotypes. Examples such as gender, binary, nonbinary, male/female etc.)

...they/their/them...

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matisyahu

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#767377 22-Feb-2013 05:29

For me I'm pretty happy with things; $65 per month for 110GB on a naked broadband plan. The biggest issues these days are the lack of services like Netflix willing to service NZ and thus if there were such services then I think those surveyed would find value in paying the price that is being offered today by ISPs.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

Oriphix

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Ultimate Geek

#767386 22-Feb-2013 07:01

I think the amount we pay for broadband is fair. I pay $99 for DSL+Phone+200GB p/m

People that complain should go back to dial up. Its internet, cheap & Unlimited data HA!

TwoSeven

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#767418 22-Feb-2013 09:06

I have never been sure that the "it is fine for me, therefore it must be fine for everyone else" argument really holds up these days.

...they/their/them...

Oriphix

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#767447 22-Feb-2013 09:52

TwoSeven: I have never been sure that the "it is fine for me, therefore it must be fine for everyone else" argument really holds up these days.

Sadly that's the sort of country or world we live in. Someone sets the price and you can do 1 of three things.

1. Pay for that service and use it
2. Try to find a cheaper alternative
3. Go with out it

Hardly there is a chance where the people will change prices because people complain about it because it would mean they are not making as much money as they can. Sort of becomes a numbers game then. if 80% can pay the price why lower it for the other 20%

Sorry about the rant just my view :)

Goosey

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#767458 22-Feb-2013 10:16

Petrol, Bread, Milk, Cheese and Water anyone??

How much does that cost you per month.

stuzzo

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#767471 22-Feb-2013 10:36

Gooseybhai: Petrol, Bread, Milk, Cheese and Water anyone??

How much does that cost you per month.

Petrol $25
Bread $25
Cheese $20
Water $0 (own bore)

Broadband/phone. $90 (Rural)

Oriphix

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Ultimate Geek

#767479 22-Feb-2013 10:42

Gooseybhai: Petrol, Bread, Milk, Cheese and Water anyone??

How much does that cost you per month.

Petrol - $200
Bread - $20
Milk - $25
Cheese - $5-10 (don't eat a lot of cheese tbh)
Water - $10-20 (depends if the wife wants spring water otherwise tap water)

Costs per month. North Shore.

Not sure how this is in relation to this thread though..

Goosey

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#767492 22-Feb-2013 10:54

Just pointing out what else we all spend money on.
Anyway back to the topic... as im not wanting to be a high jacker !

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