Re:Another BoingBoing story... (Score 1)

I am in a job that provides us with phones, but they are pretty strict on usage. I have a personal account with the same provider, thinking I could get better deals/loyalty type benefits, but alas, I am still just a grain of salt in the ocean of humanity to them. Verizon, I understand, gives a $100 credit to your account every two years, supposedly to help cover the cost of a new phone. I believe most of these companies prey on the general public because the general public is unaware of what it actually costs the company to provide cell/internet service. Most of the big providers own their equipment and/or lines that provide the service. The only cost they would have is if they leased from another provider for bandwidth, or ran their repeaters on another carrier's tower. Even still, the more people that subscribe to the service, the less cost it should be to the customer because the company's cost is deferred through a higher number of customers paying that cost. I still think the internet/cell service industry will be making a turn for the better for the customer and will become more like the old Land Line phone companies are now. Standards will be adopted and coverage types and technologies used to provide that coverage will become the same across the board. I believe if the companies truly want to be marketable and reputable, they will have to come together and give the public what the public wants.