Wireless Greed

Tonight I am going to complain about the way in which wireless carriers are getting greedy.  I don't think there is much more of a lead in than that.

So I made a comment on a post on Google+ regarding Google Wallet and the fact that it isn't available on Verizon's network.  My comments almost became an argument with another poster as my opinion is that Verizon isn't allowing it because they aren't getting a piece of the pie.  Their argument was that Verizon isn't allowing it because Verizon is creating a payment system of their own.  What they apparently didn't realize was that Verizon started creating their system after Google already had theirs in testing.  Once I pointed that out it ended the disagreement.  I get the fact that Verizon is creating their own system but the reason they are is because Google wasn't going to give them a cut.

And that is my point with this post.  The wireless carriers in the United States are completely out of control.  They install apps on every phone, why?  To cut the cost of the phone.  The thing that makes it worse is that if you uninstall one of those apps you will no longer receive updates.  They prevent you from using all of the features built into the smartphones, why?  To make you pay for the additional features.  Purchase an app (legitimately) that bypasses one of these features and they can end your contract.  I haven't heard of them actually doing that but I believe it is buried deep in the contract.  And all of this is to get you to pay them more.

So to put another topper on all of that, they are now implementing a new upgrade fee.  Their claim for the need for this is to offset the costs associated with the services that you "require" for training on the use of the new phone.  They post a bunch of documents, provided by the phone manufacturer, and videos on how to use each phone they offer.  The problem is, how many of us actually use them?  And how much do they really pay an employee to record those 3-5 minute videos?  I am going to guess that it is a lot less than the profits they will make off you paying the monthly fee for the 2 years after your purchase.  And they have even given a bit of proof with regards to that, they have shown that their profit margin is up.

This is just another example of how the American consumer is being completely taken advantage of by a industry consortium.  Just like the MPAA and the RIAA, they are price fixing in a legal way.  As a group they have a virtual monopoly but since it is virtual the government can't do anything about it.