11-02-2012, 05:38 AM
Pete,
I don't think maintenance of the towers is the main reason why cellular broadband is so much more expensive - it's more of an issue of the limited capacity of the technology. Before LTE was installed, I recall hearing that 3 or 4 customers using a Slingbox video streamer could overwhelm the capacity of an entire cell tower, and with everyone and their brother wanting to stream more and more videos on more and more mobile and tethered devices, I can see capacity again being a concern. Cellular broadband is primarily marketed as a convenience, allowing access to the internet while on the go. We in Puna only consider it as a primary broadband option because in many cases it's our only option. I agree that the service is expensive and I will drop Verizon Cellular MiFi the minute a more robust and efficient competitor comes along, but until then I'm not inclined to bash companies like Verizon and AT&T that do invest to serve my neighborhood when other, locally regulated players like Hawaiian Tel and Time Warner apparently couldn't care less about our needs.
Disclaimer: I retired after a 26 year career with Verizon
I don't think maintenance of the towers is the main reason why cellular broadband is so much more expensive - it's more of an issue of the limited capacity of the technology. Before LTE was installed, I recall hearing that 3 or 4 customers using a Slingbox video streamer could overwhelm the capacity of an entire cell tower, and with everyone and their brother wanting to stream more and more videos on more and more mobile and tethered devices, I can see capacity again being a concern. Cellular broadband is primarily marketed as a convenience, allowing access to the internet while on the go. We in Puna only consider it as a primary broadband option because in many cases it's our only option. I agree that the service is expensive and I will drop Verizon Cellular MiFi the minute a more robust and efficient competitor comes along, but until then I'm not inclined to bash companies like Verizon and AT&T that do invest to serve my neighborhood when other, locally regulated players like Hawaiian Tel and Time Warner apparently couldn't care less about our needs.
Disclaimer: I retired after a 26 year career with Verizon