Broadband data expiration: ISPA considers the CPA issue

Eveybody knows exactly what consumers want for "roll overs". To try and draw analagies with parking garages is stupid - it's a physical space.

The bottom line is if I purchase a certain amount of data let me use it as I think fit.
 
ISPA are becoming the new Telkom. Its so ironic.

Bandwidth is not something physical that can go stale or expire. Bandwidth that expires is like daylight robbery.
 
I'd be happy with just 1month rollover. FIFO of course.

I'm on uncapped though as I can't predict how much bandwidth I'll consume. 1month rollover might make me consider capped again.
 
“For example, could a consumer who paid for parking in advance roll over the days she did not use the parking bay in one month into the following month?” ISPA asks.
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Worst Analogy ever. of course it should roll over, its not physical.
 
answer:NO it's like Qwikslver said, i am also uncapped one month i used 2 gigs the next i used 10gigs.
 
The difference between broadband data bundles and other items is that the provider does not accumulate unused data on their side. If bandwidth is not used, it is lost. They buy bandwidth in Mbps and they actually also sell it in Mbps (doesn't seem like that but 1 GB / 30 days = 0.003 Mbps on average).

On the one hand: Data bundles is just a way to control network use. I am sure everybody can make a big stink about roll-overs, but then it will just mean that they will have to re-adjust their prices to take it into account. +1 point for having time limits then.

But on the other: Roll-over is more fair to users that don't use a lot of bandwidth. I pay 50 c / MB on my phone just because I don't use more than 100 MB a month 3G on it so I have to buy small expensive bundles. So the issue is that networks (especially cellular networks) charge users a disproportionate amount for small bundles. So -1000 points for time for having time limits on bundles because small bundles are ripping of the consumer.

Hopefully the discussion will be irrelevant in a bit due to availability of cheap uncapped/high-capped products.
 
Tpex said:
Worst Analogy ever. of course it should roll over, its not physical.
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Actually, it's a very good analogy.

A parking lot has a fixed capacity, it can only take so many cars at a time. Then you chop it up into smaller spaces and sell those on a time basis.

Networks are also physical with a fixed capacity.

The authors point is valid. What would happen if half the people did not use their parking and then all show up the next month, claiming their space? There won't be enough space for all of them.

You can't 'store' unused parking space. Just like you can't store unused data.
 
That parking analogy is terrible.

Anyway, in general most users would use up their data within 3 months (I think). So make the window 6 months! The airtime window used to be very small too, but now it's basically unlimited. I wonder what the operators gave as reason back then. The fact that some of us still find ourselves paying R2/Mb every other month means the data does get used up. Don't make consumers plan their lives around bundle time windows, we'd like not to have to worry about expiring data or out of bundle rates.
 
inferno said:
ISPA are becoming the new Telkom. Its so ironic.
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Sorry inferno, not picking on you directly, but it's a convenient quote. The business model of all ISPs rely on people not using their entire cap. It's like a bank. No bank in the world can pay all its account holders all the money each one has in the bank. The bank uses a big central pool of money (the reserve) and people can use that money to make withdrawals, but not all at the same time. In the banking world that's called leveraging.

The ISPs do the same. It's a form of overselling, sure, but it helps keep prices down. Everybody knows that bandwidth is contended at ratios of, for example 1:15, 1:20, etc. Really expensive links have ratios of 1:4. If you use exactly what you pay for, you're effectively using a 1:1 contention ratio and you'll soon find yourself paying astronomical amounts for data caps.

--deckert
 
jannievanzyl said:
Actually, it's a very good analogy.

A parking lot has a fixed capacity, it can only take so many cars at a time. Then you chop it up into smaller spaces and sell those on a time basis.

Networks are also physical with a fixed capacity.

The authors point is valid. What would happen if half the people did not use their parking and then all show up the next month, claiming their space? There won't be enough space for all of them.

You can't 'store' unused parking space. Just like you can't store unused data.
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If you said anything else you may loose your job so your comment was expected
 
selling bandwidth <> selling timeshare
If you pay for 10GB (or whatever) upfront then technically you 'own' that bandwidth, yes? ...or are you paying upfront to use it when your supplier sees fit :wtf:
 
Deckert said:
Sorry inferno, not picking on you directly, but it's a convenient quote. The business model of all ISPs rely on people not using their entire cap. It's like a bank. No bank in the world can pay all its account holders all the money each one has in the bank. The bank uses a big central pool of money (the reserve) and people can use that money to make withdrawals, but not all at the same time. In the banking world that's called leveraging.
--deckert
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Difference is the banks guarantee that your money is there and you/everyone can demand their money anytime

Perhaps the ISP's should be demanding the rollover from their supplier - not my fault thats how they purchased it
 
Has anyone tried selling the data like uncapped? They buy transfer rate, so sell transfer rate.
 
I guess another question is why unused free minutes in your cellphone contract expire as well. Shouldn't they just continue accumulating?
 
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You can't 'store' unused parking space. Just like you can't store unused data.
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:facepalm: of course you cant store unused data, you cant store something that doesnt exist

when you pre pay parking you are essentially hiring the bay, you can choose to park in it or not. they dont hire them out in batches of "30 parks", but rather days.

crap analogy
 
jannievanzyl said:
Actually, it's a very good analogy.
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This coming from a rep who's company gives me 3 months (if I'm not mistaken) rollover on my data bundles?

Others have already offered valid arguments to your post.
 
Stalker said:
Difference is the banks guarantee that your money is there and you/everyone can demand their money anytime
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I'm sorry to hear you believe that, but it is not the case. It is how Saambou failed and also how Lehman Brothers failed - too many people were withdrawing their money from the bank (which kicked off the 2008 recession in the US). Both banks had too much leveraging going on. No bank can guarantee your money with 100% certainty.

Although I suspect that if a very large bank (such as ABSA) were to fail, the reserve bank would step in to provide extra liquidity to the bank in exchange for long term collateral. That is what they call a bail-out. :)

--deckert
 
I don't mind bandwidth expiring, the problem is that if we use too much too soon we get caught in the trap set out - the OOB rates. So we try and balance it out and there is no sweet spot for the consumer.
 
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