Pay-As-You-Go Rural Wireless Broadband
A new wireless broadband company in the UK is using a slightly different business model than most similar companies. Instead of charging by the connection rate, they’re charging by the data throughput. The more data you send and receive, the more you pay. They say that this is a “fairer” way to charge that makes more sense. That’s true… if you’re the provider. It doesn’t make as much sense for the customer. This seems to be the opposite direction that many wireless carriers are going in when it comes to data to mobile devices. The fact is, customers don’t like uncertainty, and prefer flat-rate plans where they know what they get. When you start charging by how much bandwidth you use, it’s like a tollbooth, where suddenly the users need to think about “how much bandwidth will this streaming radio cost me?”. It acts as disincentive to actually use the service. People are usually willing to pay a premium for a flat-rate service where they know what to expect in their bill each month, and they don’t need to worry about their usage, or what happens if someone sends them a huge file.
