From: stephen@sprunk.org

On 23-Apr-15 14:12, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Stephen Sprunk  wrote:
>> On 23-Apr-15 11:42, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>> Cellular wasn't affordable without a business purpose.
>>
>> Yes, it was; I knew plenty of people who had cellular phones, even
>> back in the 1980s, for personal use.
>
> Plenty of lower middle class people, Stephen?

Yes; that's all I knew at the time.

_I_ had a mobile phone in high school.  I couldn't afford to use it much
at first since my only job was mowing lawns, but it bought me a lot more
freedom than my older siblings had since my parents could reach me at
any time.  I didn't have to ask for permission to go places, check in
every couple hours to see if plans changed, give them all my friends'
home numbers in case of emergency, etc.  That's why so many parents
bought phones for their kids as soon as it became economical.

(My parents didn't pay for my phone; they viewed the freedom I had as
payment enough, though they made their calls as quick--and as rare--as
feasible out of respect for my limited budget.  It was also my first
bill in my own name, which they saw as a valuable lesson; they had to
get me my first checking account just so I could pay it, and that led to
lessons about budgeting and such.)

>> That reduced the prices, which increased adoption, which improved
>> economies of scale, which reduced the prices further, etc. in a
>> virtuous cycle.
>
> How odd, given that anyone dialing INTO a cell phone doesn't
> benefit.

They benefit if they want a mobile phone too, which most do based on
adoption numbers: as of 2014, there are ~95 mobile phones for every 100
humans, according to the ITU.  There is no other product, aside from
obvious ones like food and water, with an adoption rate like that.  And
GSM was a _major_ factor in that growth.

> It's beyond idiotic to exclaim that economy of scale is of any
> benefit with significant cost shifting and cross subsidy involved.

Economy of scale is still a benefit because it drives down true costs,
either lessening the need for or magnifying the effect of subsidies.

> I'm deleting the rest unread.

If you don't want to see bad arguments refuted, quit making them.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking

--- SoupGate/W32 v1.03
 * Origin: LiveWire BBS -=*=- UseNet FTN Gateway (1:2320/1)