Like Netflix? T-Mobile Is Giving it Away For Free (cnet.com) 105
Roger Cheng, writing for CNET: T-Mobile and Netflix are new BFFs. The primary beneficiaries of this new friendship will be subscribers to T-Mobile's "One" unlimited data plans, many of whom will get access to Netflix for free, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said on an "Un-carrier Next" webcast video on Wednesday. But the freebie only works if you have at least two T-Mobile One unlimited data plans (single line customers are out of luck). The free Netflix access arrives on Sept. 12. The alliance is just the latest proof that the worlds of video and mobile are colliding. AT&T is in the process of buying Time Warner -- home of "Game of Thrones" and Batman -- so it can own more of the content you watch, and has bundled HBO for free to some of its higher end wireless customers. Verizon has invested in creating short-form video geared towards younger audiences and a mobile video service called Go90.The offer is for the T-Mobile ONE plan with 2+ lines. You can compare T-Mobile plans here.
Why not pay less in bulk? (Score:1)
It's a simple fact of life that anything done in bulk costs you less. Why do you want to ignore this fundamental economic fact?
It's not as if single people are being PUNISHED, it's that people who purchase in bulk are being REWARDED for more purchases. Why do you choose to look at this in a negative light?
Also of course, if you feel the benefit is so massive there's nothing stopping you from buying two lines for just yourself.
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That's actually quite a different case, because there they are giving people a discount for action on your part, not for amount of services purchased.
But it's still not punishment, and thinking that it is will literally poison your entire life until there is nothing left but a shrieking shell of hatred.
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Hey, some people can't find spouses and don't have kids. Why should they pay more for phones and phones service?
It's because as the number of lines goes up, the amount used per line tends to drop. Families tend to have one or two heavy users. That's the reason that many carriers tend to make the 3rd and 4th line almost free. They know that those lines are likely going to be used considerably less. Also plans are tailored to the heaviest user. The heaviest user needs unlimited so everyone is on unlimited. If all lines were the same price then only the heavy user would choose the unlimited plan and the rest would
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Joke's on them. My youngest daughter uses more data than my other three lines combined...and hers is the fourth line! Take that Verizon!
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It's because as the number of lines goes up, the amount used per line tends to drop.
I think that's the rhetoric, but I don't believe that's the reason... it doesn't make sense as a reason. Those other lines are not just extra lines the same person is (not) using, they're other people. They'll average the same amount of usage as single customers would average.
Regardless of how much they use, IMO it's more about customer retention. I'm fairly certain that customer turn over is the more expensive part, and the more folks you can get them to add in on the same plan, the less chance anyone in t
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and the more folks you can get them to add in on the same plan, the less chance anyone in that group will be able to convince everyone else to go to a new carrier (which usually means new device as well, which means moving all contacts/apps/etc, and the cost to move, and the headache, and coordinating a date when everyone can make that move... it's just not going to happen).
Most multiline plans are designed around a family and many have restrictions like shared data, shared billing, being able to see the location of everyone, etc.. in order to discourage roommates, etc.. from using a multiline plan. This means that in general, there is very little "convincing" or coordination dates needed. Mom, Dad, etc.. just changes everyone. I think the main advantage they get with multiline accounts is that they know that parents are likely not going to shell out $50+ a month for a line
Re: You ever notice carriers treat their single-li (Score:1)
Network neutrality worst-case scenario (Score:5, Insightful)
The worst-case scenario of not having network neutrality is ISPs altering or blocking content. The second worst-case scenario is ISPs partnering with web sites and offering their content for free. Amazon and Hulu should compete on product, not on having special deals with local monopolies. Can you imagine the outcry if your local power company gave free power to Kitchenaid appliances but not Whirlpool appliances, or to the PlayStation 4 but not the XBox? That would be such a clear abuse of monopoly power that we would never stand for it. We need to stop this from happening on the internet.
Re: Network neutrality worst-case scenario (Score:2)
And yet again, another example of how absolutely no-one understands what Net Neutrality is, nor what existing Net Neutrality laws even do.
REAL Net Neutrality in no way would block deals such as these, nor should it. What you want is some kind of horrid dystopia.
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I'm unaware of the definition of "preferring" that requires "manipulate the transmission". Indeed, manipulating pricing would be something I would tend to describe as "preferential treatment", which pretty much has "preferring" in the name...
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Preferential treatment is "fine" in terms of promotional pricing or joint advertising.
"Real" net neutrality would prohibit giving preferential treatment to (or against) Netflix data traversing t-mobile's network compared to any other data traversing t-mobiles network. So they can definitely cut a deal to sell both products together under a single price, but they can't prefer data from Netflix over other data while transmitting it through t-mobile's network. The most they can do to improve Netflix bandwidth
horrendously ignorant (Score:2)
Really for someone who claims to possess the one-true-net-neutral theory you shure sound like a shill for t-mobile. You are utterly wrong in your analogy even though your first sentence is correct. No preference for transmission within a class of data. Delivering netflix for free means that people are paying more for all other classes.
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Okay, I suppose you are right in a way that this isn't necessarily a network neutrality issue. It's just a general anticompetitive issue. I would not want my local power company offering "promos" for certain companies products. Or municipal water supplies to offer bundled discounts on Aquafina water. Monopolies shouldn't be skewing the markets like that. But I can see how you and SuperKendall say that this isn't network neutrality per se since they aren't altering the traffic, except for changing the p
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You're right about that - T-Mobile and Netflix would always (and should always) be free to bundle their services. This isn't strictly the issue, though. I believe the implication is that without net neutrality, an additional "feature" of a deal such as the one announced today would be increased bandwidth or data limits for Netflix over T-Mobile's network. To me, this deal today is a lure, something that in the long-term will be recognizable as a step in a greater bait-and-switch, which is ultimately what net neutrality opponents argue. Connectivity providers today argue that consumers should trust them to only use the monopoly power (resultant from infrastructural realities like spectrum and cabling) to benefit the consumer, to provide a wider range of better options - "Look what we want to do for you: free Netflix! Why won't you let us do this for you??" The countervailing point would be that in the end, what we'll see are more scenarios with particular companies teaming up to force consumers into particular courses of action - you know, like every scenario where personal motive comes into play. Free Netflix will of course turn into connectivity-provider exclusive content, or even network-exclusive access. Ohh, the internet... you seemed so good and empowering, how come the big content providers are trying to take you all for their selves? Oh wait... I can see why.
Valid points. Is allowing NF content for free and not counting against data caps considered different treatment? It is essentially a subsidization of NF video by the ISP in terms of access. Theoretically wireless ISPs could all do similar NF deals, then raise their rates so you are essentially paying more for all other streaming services.
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REAL Net Neutrality in no way would block deals such as these, nor should it.
We've seen what happens when a product's viability is determined not by the quality of the product, but rather by what partnerships the company can strike with the gatekeepers. It's not pretty. How would the next streaming-video company compete if it has to require customers to pay for bandwidth while entrenched players like Netflix can give them for "free"?
What you want is some kind of horrid dystopia.
Hyperbole, eh? Is our current electric grid a horrid dystopia because the electric company is not allowed to give free unlimited power to people as l
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How would the next streaming-video company compete if it has to require customers to pay for bandwidth while entrenched players like Netflix can give them for "free"?
What you are effectively arguing is that no company may ever give away its product for free, because that would give it a competitive advantage over any new competition. Do you really wish to have that kind of legislative control over private contracts?
Is our current electric grid a horrid dystopia because the electric company is not allowed to give free unlimited power to people as long as it is used on co-branded appliances? I don't think so.
The difference is, T-Mobile is not a monopoly. Even the "electric company" can no longer be considered a monopoly, at least in places where you can buy your electricity from more than one company. I have a choice of four, if I recall correctly, electricity su
NFL ST (NFL verizon local games) CSN Philly (past) (Score:2)
NFL ST (NFL verizon local games) CSN Philly (past) are the more locked in site of things.
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I agree that it is NOT a good thing for consumers if we allow local monopolies to work out exclusivity agreements with other services or products, but T-Mobile is hardly a monopoly by any stretch of the imagination, local or otherwise. In about 99% of the places they are, so too are Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint.
I'd be right there with you if this was Comcast or Cox or Suddenlink doing similarly, simply because of the way that they've all managed to carve out regional monopolies in which they're largely unc
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I get your point, but T-Mobile is a monopoly. They have exclusive rights to certain frequencies, granted to them by the US government. But even if that were not the case, having 4 companies control wireless telephone system over the entire United States, and absurdly high barriers of entry, is enough to make them a monopoly IMHO.
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having 4 companies control wireless telephone system over the entire United States, and absurdly high barriers of entry, is enough to make them a monopoly IMHO.
I'll disagree with your take on this, and I mean this in the kindest of ways, but your use of "monopoly" makes me question whether you know what it means. Yes, they're huge, yes, they're dug in, and yes, I wish there was more competition, but, monopolies are defined by their exclusive (or near-exclusive) control over a market [investopedia.com], so none of those factors means these companies are monopolies. It just means that the market has high barriers to entry and that the current players are entrenched. If anything, the f
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I enjoyed this discussion. Thank you.
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I'd be delighted at any discount my local utility offered. Free power for Kitchenaid appliances? FANTASTIC
Who is being abused when someone offers a discount or benefit? You aren't abused because you have Whirlpool and not Kitchenaid, you just didn't get a freebie someone else got.
T-Mobile offers free Netflix, FANTASTIC. Abuse me some more and offer me free Hulu next. Or go all out and offer me a free Tesla Model S. That would be some seriously outrageous abuse of T-Mobile customers.
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Whirlpool is now facing a non-level playing field. This does not seem to meet the usual definitions of a free or fair market.
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Whirlpool is now facing a non-level playing field.
By that definition, there is never a "level playing field". Each provider of a service makes choices about price/quality/features, all of which attempt to tip the "playing field" in their own favor. The fact that Hershy chocolate is waxy and unappealing but costs a lot less than Lindt or Ghiardelli tips the playing field in favor ofHershy in some markets, the others in others.
You are perhaps confusing equality of opportunity with equality of outcome -- a common mistake in today's politically correct, hyper
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Holy Batman!
Whirlpool has an uneven playing field because Kitchenaid struck a promotional deal with a local utility?
You do realize companies do promotional deals with other companies ever single day? Ever wonder why McDonald's doesn't sell Coke and Pepsi?
I don't know what kind of playing field you imagine the business world to be but I can assure you to isn't anything like you imagine.
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the carrier is not bundling a service. This is more like Netflix selling a service wholesale to reach millions of customers without paying money to apple or google for the billing or cc fees or spending money on advertising to retain customers
some of you people should think about these things from the business perspective of netflix
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Well, one would HOPE t-mobile wouldn't traffic-shape non-Netflix video services
We shall see, eh? They already price-shaped them. So someone explain to me: why is not okay for T-Mobile to charge *more* for some service (that wouldn't be neutral), but it is okay for T-Mobile to charge *less* for another service? Isn't that the same thing? That's like those laws that forbid a surcharge for using credit cards, but permit cash discounts.
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Real net neutrality is a dumb pipe. It doesn't block or prohibit anything.
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So, does net neutrality say anything about price? Is it okay to say that a certain site costs more? Or that a site costs less?
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The price is to be set by the sites, not the service provider.
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Not in this case. T-Mobile is setting the price at 0.
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No problem if that is their price for all sites, not just a select few.
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Try to cancel WSJ and get Amazon Prime for free... (Score:2)
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Try getting your news from outside the USA then. The USA has a huge conservative bias.
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Re-arranging your budget? You mean going broke?
When I added a $10 item to my budget, I had to reduce $10 elsewhere to balance my budget.
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Good to see you back on your meds, Chris, hopefully this time it will work for you!
You're confusing me with someone else.
Millennial Math (Score:1)
"...the freebie only works if you have at least two T-Mobile One unlimited data plans..."
Gee, I only have to spend an obscene amount of money per month on a cell plan in order to get this "freebie".
Fuck common sense budgeting and financial planning...who needs that shit when you have millennial math and YOLO.
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YEAH!!!! And another thing: these millennials are ALWAYS on my lawn! I tell them to quit it, and then, next thing you know, they're right back on there, with their hashtags and their YOLOs.
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FreedomPop's plans are only cheap if you essentially don't use data. Using 10GB on their best phone plan in a month would cost $125 ($35 4GB plan + 6x $15/GB).
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Talk to me when livable houses are available for under $300k and a decent new car is under $30k.
My 2000sq ft house was under 200k 2 years ago (although now worth well over 200k), and my 2014 Focus only cost $15k. You must be doing it wrong.
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Wait. $60 a month is too expensive for a cell phone plan?
Since it takes a minimum of two unlimited lines to get "free" Netflix, the actual cost is $120 a month.
Ironically, this is also a perfect example of Millennial Math...
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It is free if you were already paying for those things.
Att has FREE HBO* with some planes (Score:2)
But it's not HBO NOW it's HBO GO/ HBO Main feed and you need to buy an basic tv package to get it.
Of course it is "free" (Score:2)
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Just sue them if they don't offer the same plan without it at a cheaper price.
Sue them for what? Are they beholden to offer you every possible combination of their services?
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