Should AT&T Be Worried?
My belief is that AT&T should be worried on two fronts:
Angering their customer base and losing those customers to alternative Voice-Over-IP (VOiP) services.
And with increasing free hot-spots for data and VOiP, who really needs cell towers?
When I was in Europe, I left my cell phone at home and used my WI-FI Only iPad 2 (no phone on it mind you) and downloaded Skype to call home to the United Stated and make calls for hours all over Europe. Cost was under $10.
Angering their customer base and losing those customers to alternative Voice-Over-IP (VOiP) services.
And with increasing free hot-spots for data and VOiP, who really needs cell towers?
When I was in Europe, I left my cell phone at home and used my WI-FI Only iPad 2 (no phone on it mind you) and downloaded Skype to call home to the United Stated and make calls for hours all over Europe. Cost was under $10.
Comments
AT&T won't ever stop existing unless the government breaks them up again.
You're talking about Europe and then AT&T? You made calls from your car, from the wilderness, from in a park, from five feet outside a city or town?
You can't do that here. VoIP will never supplant cellular telephony.
VoIP will never supplant cellular telephony.
While I agree with your sentiment... "never" isn't the right word to use.
I use my cellular data frequently ... unless you never leave the heart of a major city, there just is NOT WiFi covereage (free OR paid.) So for the near future, cellular is here to stay ...
But LONG TERM... yes, AT&T should be worried about their current mode of doing business... as soon as a better alternative becomes available, their customers will flock to it. (And I don't mean VZ or Sprint ... they are not a BETTER alternative, just another version of the same thing... they're in the same boat when the "next great thing" comes along.)