Cost per day to use laptop in room?

[genegri]

Yep, the internet is expensive. I hope in near future it will come down in prices but I am not holding my breath.

 

Internet package is about the only thing I really buy while I am on board. Not everyone understands but I need to be connected to work even when I am on vacation. Yes, I AM that vital and that important. :p;):D

[che5904]

Why can't you just let me have my opinion?

 

Go for it! :rolleyes:

[che5904]

Because I run a Sports media biz., even though I have good people working with me, I needed my E-mail every day, esp. since I was monitoring the pace of 2 major projects we're doing with partner companies. I did Bring my 13" core i5 Macbook Pro w/LaCie 500GB "rugged" tri-Interface back up drive. DW had her iPad & I had my iPod Touch.

Some of us certainly have to use the internet on a cruise with no choice. I have not had a paid vacation in 11 years. When I am out of my office, I have to be in touch. Like the previous poster said, I have to put a roof over my head. To me the benefits of working for myself far out weigh the slight negatives of having to use a computer while on vacation.

I am probably in the 1% here in terms of spending and being connected to my business. I don't need to justify it to anybody but apparently some people feel that their version of what a vacation and what one spends it on is the "correct" way ? please. . ..

Yes. Instances we've had to be on the internet at sea:

1) Work project needs completion and it was either cancel the cruise or spend some time on email passing documents, etc.

That makes sense, you aren't an IT consultant with over web servers around the world that *need* to stay up so your clients websites don't go down.

We all can't just set up Outlook Auto-Responsers and let go for a week - I take working vacations, so I can respond to issues with servers if they arise, or a law statute changes and needs to be reflected on numerous websites.

Work as an web / IT consultant for a lawyer and an large eCommerce operation and you'll "see why".

Not everyone is working in an environment where they are just another brick in the wall, and have the rest support their duties while gone. It's called empathy, try it out sometime

Internet package is about the only thing I really buy while I am on board. Not everyone understands but I need to be connected to work even when I am on vacation. Yes, I AM that vital and that important.

Thank you to the above posters. Sometimes when 90% of the country that work get paid, carefree, no worry vacations, it makes me wonder why I support my DH in his choice of self employment. Although I know it makes him super happy to go to work each day, it has made it so we’ve had to make some harsh decisions such as unpaid vacations and lots of risks of losing money while we were away or pay the piper and vacation complete with connection to the outside world and dragging work along. Thanks to all of you I don’t feel so alone in these decisions.

[cpq]

One day they'll get smart and charge by bandwidth, not time.

 

If someone streams Hulu or utilizes the entire 256kbps uplink, they pay for the same time that someone just checks their email pays.

 

You should be able to be connected via a messaging service, reload a small webpage (server status report, or email from the office) and not pay hundreds of dollars.

 

You should be at least able to purchase a 'tiered' package perhaps, 50% of the 256kbps uplink, and 50% of the price. Reading email and SSH / Terminal access. That's all some of us web guys need.

 

Thanks for understanding :rolleyes:

[anthem]

One day they'll get smart and charge by bandwidth, not time.

 

If someone streams Hulu or utilizes the entire 256kbps uplink, they pay for the same time that someone just checks their email pays.

 

You should be able to be connected via a messaging service, reload a small webpage (server status report, or email from the office) and not pay hundreds of dollars.

 

You should be at least able to purchase a 'tiered' package perhaps, 50% of the 256kbps uplink, and 50% of the price. Reading email and SSH / Terminal access. That's all some of us web guys need.

 

Thanks for understanding :rolleyes:

 

Actually they are quite smart. You go to bandwidth when you need to compete. Since they have a captive audience, the best method for them is to charge by time. The people who will use it will pay for it. The time option forces a large group of people who don't know how to compose their items offline and only use the online time for transferring data to be paying for that time. So, in reality its quite smart.

 

The only real alternative is satellite data. And yes, I've used that as well. It's about 2-3k/month for a decent package. Works out to about $7-$10/megabyte worth of data. Pretty fast access at 256kb-512 via satellite (at about 800-1200ms latency for those that understand) on a ship anywhere in the world. Not normally that portable but many are installed on ships. My guess is that the cruise ships use something very similar to fleetbroadband out there.

[che5904]

Actually they are quite smart. You go to bandwidth when you need to compete. Since they have a captive audience, the best method for them is to charge by time. The people who will use it will pay for it. The time option forces a large group of people who don't know how to compose their items offline and only use the online time for transferring data to be paying for that time. So, in reality its quite smart.

 

The only real alternative is satellite data. And yes, I've used that as well. It's about 2-3k/month for a decent package. Works out to about $7-$10/megabyte worth of data. Pretty fast access at 256kb-512 via satellite (at about 800-1200ms latency for those that understand) on a ship anywhere in the world. Not normally that portable but many are installed on ships. My guess is that the cruise ships use something very similar to fleetbroadband out there.

 

It's also a lot easier for the average non-techy internet user to understand. I will charge you so much for being online for so long. Pretty simple for just about anyone to understand.

 

For example I compose an email offline, connect send, I am on for so many minutes, easy to figure out how much that will cost me or how long I have left on my package. Charging by bandwidth the average Joe would not know how much they used or how much they could actually do for a certain budgetted cost.

[swedish weave]

Re above discussions ----- which is the better alternative ?

 

Hire and train a competent assistant --- or --- Remain a slave to your business ?

[garycarla]

Re above discussions ----- which is the better alternative ?

 

Hire and train a competent assistant --- or --- Remain a slave to your business ?

 

That is making a big assumption. I have checked in with our business often. Not a slave, and we had very competent assistants. Some people just run their business different than others.

 

Accept it.

[SeaShark]

That makes sense, you aren't an IT consultant with over web servers around the world that *need* to stay up so your clients websites don't go down.

 

We all can't just set up Outlook Auto-Responsers and let go for a week - I take working vacations, so I can respond to issues with servers if they arise, or a law statute changes and needs to be reflected on numerous websites.

 

Work as an web / IT consultant for a lawyer and an large eCommerce operation and you'll "see why".

 

Not everyone is working in an environment where they are just another brick in the wall, and have the rest support their duties while gone. It's called empathy, try it out sometime :rolleyes:

 

Very nice...you are most certainly welcome to your opinion, as I hope I am as well. I just don't understand why you need to address this to me by quoting...you could have just posted it outright.

 

FWIW...try not to project your anger without knowing where it is going. I do happen to be an IT professional and I work with systems that MUST be up at all times. So I really do understand the "need" for systems.

 

I have yet to be on a ship and come up with a reason for even 1 minute of Internet time. I choose the ship specifically for this reason...to totally disconnect. The world will not stop because I am not on the Internet...nor will it stop if you, or anyone else here, is also not online. Apple continues without Steve Jobs and I still see nothing on the Internet that justifies paying those rates for service.

 

I sincerely believe if you had to pay those rates for land-based Internet, you would "find" that you can live without it as well. Do the math: $0.40 per minute x 60 min per hour x 24 hours per day x 30 days per month = $_____ per month for Internet....now tell me you're willing to pay that amount for Internet.

 

Internet time on the ship is charged at a rate that is more than 410 TIMES what I pay at home. I understand the need for markup and profit, but there is NO WAY you justify something being jacked up that much!

[DrFootball]

Re above discussions ----- which is the better alternative ?

 

Hire and train a competent assistant --- or --- Remain a slave to your business ?

 

If you understood the complexity of my business you'd see that has nothing to do with it!

 

Ex: Several Former NY Giants Players from the SB 21 & SB 25 teams are putting together a "fans" weekend(which was just moved BTW to accomodate the possibility of a SECOND Giants Game being moved into the 8:20 Sunday night timeslot!) of which we're DEEPLY involved in the Planning & Promotion of said Weekend. SO Do you Think former SB 21 Team Captain & Hall of Famer HARRY CARSON wants to talk to one of my "reporter/writers" about moving the weekend to the week before this Years SB In Indy? no,..he WANTS to talk to me about it(since i was oneof the ppl. pushing to get his # retired), even though i'm on a cruise in the middle of the Central N. Atlantic on a Tuesday night..

 

Does that make me a slave to my business? Then so be it...the conversation was a grand total of 10 mins. out of my vacation time.

 

SO it's clear you don't understand to be able to make a blanket comment such as that.

 

Bill(DrFootball)

"We Stomped you OUT"-Michael Strahan at the Giants Victory parade after SB 42…

Bill's Brainiac Random Quote Generator V0.95 final beta for Mac

[swedish weave]

That is making a big assumption. I have checked in with our business often. Not a slave, and we had very competent assistants. Some people just run their business different than others.

 

Accept it.

 

No assumptions from me !! I asked a question. Accept it..

[genegri]

Re above discussions ----- which is the better alternative ?

 

Hire and train a competent assistant --- or --- Remain a slave to your business ?

 

To me, neither! The best alternative is to buy some internet minutes while on ship! :D

[swedish weave]

If you understood the complexity of my business you'd see that has nothing to do with it!

 

Ex: Several Former NY Giants Players from the SB 21 & SB 25 teams are putting together a "fans" weekend(which was just moved BTW to accomodate the possibility of a SECOND Giants Game being moved into the 8:20 Sunday night timeslot!) of which we're DEEPLY involved in the Planning & Promotion of said Weekend. SO Do you Think former SB 21 Team Captain & Hall of Famer HARRY CARSON wants to talk to one of my "reporter/writers" about moving the weekend to the week before this Years SB In Indy? no,..he WANTS to talk to me about it(since i was oneof the ppl. pushing to get his # retired), even though i'm on a cruise in the middle of the Central N. Atlantic on a Tuesday night..

 

Does that make me a slave to my business? Then so be it...the conversation was a grand total of 10 mins. out of my vacation time.

 

SO it's clear you don't understand to be able to make a blanket comment such as that.

 

Bill(DrFootball)

"We Stomped you OUT"-Michael Strahan at the Giants Victory parade after SB 42…

Bill's Brainiac Random Quote Generator V0.95 final beta for Mac

 

You are misinterpreting my post. I asked a question.

 

All businesses can be complex, but with proper training and the right people, the business will operate fine if one person is absent. I never felt the business needed me 24/7 in order to function properly. AND It didn't.

[DrFootball]

You are misinterpreting my post. I asked a question.

 

All businesses can be complex, but with proper training and the right people, the business will operate fine if one person is absent.

 

If one of your clients "HAS to SPEAK to the Person Incharge ASAP" are they told your out of the country and un-available? Or do you put Int'l roaming & Cruise Ship Roaming on your cell phone(and Sat. Internet for your trip) so you can take the persopn's concerned call at 9pm on a Tuesday night. FWIW: when Mr. Carson Discovered I was actually on my way to Bermuda he was overly apologetic...if you want it any simpler then that, all I can say is "this is how I run my Business" You do yours Your way...i'll do mine my way...

 

Bill(DrFootball)

"I wanted a Mission, any Mission. And for my sins, they gave me one"-Martin Sheen as Capt. Ben Willard in Apocalypse Now

Bill's Brainiac Random Quote Generator V0.95 final beta for Mac

[swedish weave]

If one of your clients "HAS to SPEAK to the Person Incharge ASAP" are they told your out of the country and un-available? Or do you put Int'l roaming & Cruise Ship Roaming on your cell phone(and Sat. Internet for your trip) so you can take the persopn's concerned call at 9pm on a Tuesday night. FWIW: when Mr. Carson Discovered I was actually on my way to Bermuda he was overly apologetic...if you want it any simpler then that, all I can say is "this is how I run my Business" You do yours Your way...i'll do mine my way...

 

Bill(DrFootball)

"I wanted a Mission, any Mission. And for my sins, they gave me one"-Martin Sheen as Capt. Ben Willard in Apocalypse Now

Bill's Brainiac Random Quote Generator V0.95 final beta for Mac

 

At least he apologized. My assistants had the authority to make any necessary decisions in my absence. And they did. I was never bothered when on vacation. That is the difference in how businesses operate.

[anthem]

FWIW...try not to project your anger without knowing where it is going. I do happen to be an IT professional and I work with systems that MUST be up at all times. So I really do understand the "need" for systems.

 

I have yet to be on a ship and come up with a reason for even 1 minute of Internet time. I choose the ship specifically for this reason...to totally disconnect. The world will not stop because I am not on the Internet...nor will it stop if you, or anyone else here, is also not online. Apple continues without Steve Jobs and I still see nothing on the Internet that justifies paying those rates for service.

 

I sincerely believe if you had to pay those rates for land-based Internet, you would "find" that you can live without it as well. Do the math: $0.40 per minute x 60 min per hour x 24 hours per day x 30 days per month = $_____ per month for Internet....now tell me you're willing to pay that amount for Internet.

 

Internet time on the ship is charged at a rate that is more than 410 TIMES what I pay at home. I understand the need for markup and profit, but there is NO WAY you justify something being jacked up that much!

 

Actually if you were/are an IT professional you should understand differences in prices between different categories of service. Just because you aren't willing to pay for them doesn't mean others aren't. Perhaps some people value that particular connection and are willing to pay for it. Using your example of Steve Jobs, I'm absolutely certain he had satellite internet on his GV. That service is almost minimum of $1500/month for a few hundred kilobytes of bandwidth at any given time. I have personally paid over $2200/month for DS-1 service back in the day for high speed internet. I also personally know of at least 3 people who's internet bill is easily 3-5K/month on their yachts which is in ADDITION to their $40/month home internet bill. . I also know people who have internet on their jets who easily exceed a couple k a month as well, with a 50K install job as well. My point being just as I said earlier - just because you can't justify it doesn't mean others can't.

 

Now, in terms of markup/profit - I think you're way off base. You figure out a way to provide internet on a ship and figure out how much it costs. You're talking satellite into space and the opportunity cost of using that for data service vs something else.. . FleetBroadband which is a huge satellite internet essentially runs several dollars a megabyte. They reverse that model to time because its easier to charge - I seriously doubt the internet is considered a huge markup and profit. I'd be willing to bet that they make more money on alcohol, casino, shore excursions, etc than their internet service. Do you partake in any of those services/activities with such high markups ?

[swedish weave]

Actually if you were/are an IT professional you should understand differences in prices between different categories of service. Just because you aren't willing to pay for them doesn't mean others aren't. Perhaps some people value that particular connection and are willing to pay for it. Using your example of Steve Jobs, I'm absolutely certain he had satellite internet on his GV. That service is almost minimum of $1500/month for a few hundred kilobytes of bandwidth at any given time. I have personally paid over $2200/month for DS-1 service back in the day for high speed internet. I also personally know of at least 3 people who's internet bill is easily 3-5K/month on their yachts which is in ADDITION to their $40/month home internet bill. . I also know people who have internet on their jets who easily exceed a couple k a month as well, with a 50K install job as well. My point being just as I said earlier - just because you can't justify it doesn't mean others can't.

 

Now, in terms of markup/profit - I think you're way off base. You figure out a way to provide internet on a ship and figure out how much it costs. You're talking satellite into space and the opportunity cost of using that for data service vs something else.. . FleetBroadband which is a huge satellite internet essentially runs several dollars a megabyte. They reverse that model to time because its easier to charge - I seriously doubt the internet is considered a huge markup and profit. I'd be willing to bet that they make more money on alcohol, casino, shore excursions, etc than their internet service. Do you partake in any of those services/activities with such high markups ?

 

I have some comments ....... Steve Jobs doesn't have internet, now.

 

GPS technology provides satellite access FREE and Verizon provides data access at a fair price internationally and on cruise ships.

 

The prices are very high because people are willing to pay. Same as many other overpriced services and goods that are overpriced in certain areas of the world and very reasonable in others. Wake up Americans...

[garycarla]

...I sincerely believe if you had to pay those rates for land-based Internet, you would "find" that you can live without it as well. Do the math: $0.40 per minute x 60 min per hour x 24 hours per day x 30 days per month = $_____ per month for Internet....now tell me you're willing to pay that amount for Internet. ..

 

I do not understand this rationale at all. Most "business" users are only looking for a few minutes, not hours or 24/7 service.

 

Sure, spending $100 on a trip for very little internet is expensive, or $2.49 a minute for a phone call, but for some of us, it is no big deal. And it makes us feel good.

[che5904]

I do not understand this rationale at all. Most "business" users are only looking for a few minutes, not hours or 24/7 service.

 

Sure, spending $100 on a trip for very little internet is expensive, or $2.49 a minute for a phone call, but for some of us, it is no big deal. And it makes us feel good.

 

What he/she also fails to understand, is depending on your type of business, you may be able to live without internet on land, we could. At home we have telephone, cell phone, vehicle, person to person. The only reason we use it on the ship is because we are physically away from our business. LOL and the commute from the ship is murder :D. The availability, at a cost which I am more than willing to spend to be able to vacation, allows us to do so.

 

This all started when I simply answered a question the poster had asked :eek:. Which was "Honestly, is it so hard to just stay off the Internet for a week?" To why some may want, wish or need it, or why it might be important to some.

[anthem]

I have some comments ....... Steve Jobs doesn't have internet, now.

 

GPS technology provides satellite access FREE and Verizon provides data access at a fair price internationally and on cruise ships.

 

The prices are very high because people are willing to pay. Same as many other overpriced services and goods that are overpriced in certain areas of the world and very reasonable in others. Wake up Americans...

 

 

Jobs doesn't have internet now because he's no longer here isn't relevant to the discussion. It was a case in point that I'm sure his data connection needs/wants far surpassed this discussion of a few dollars here and there.

 

Your example of GPS technology shows your lack of understanding of GPS technology. You have NO access whatsoever to that GPS satellite. GPS satellites send out signals that are time synchronized to atomic clocks and your ability to receive multiple GPS satellite signals (and calculate the amount of time difference between the geosynchronous satellites) gives you the ability to determine where you are. You are sending NO data whatsoever back to that satellite. Same with satellite TV - its a one directional feed of you receiving satellite tv data with you not sending anything back. If you notice - anything sending anything back with any sort of data is quite costly.

 

To give you an idea - annual lease rates for transponders (each satellite has anywhere from 16-32 transponders, and different types of transponders like ku/C/etc) - is around 1.5M per year for US. I think Europe is like 4x higher so (6m/year). Other parts of the world usually fall in between but some remote areas of the world are even higher. And thats a business that I would definitely not want to be in - Yeah, you have a potential revenue of 20-30m per year if its fully leased out, but you're also talking satellite cost of 200-300M to launch along with all the other associated risks. So figure out how many satellites you need to cover the world and you have a whopping 25megabytes of bandwidth on the transponder per satellite. And you start to realize that after you carve everything up - so called satellite internet gets very expensive very fast.

 

Prices are high because people are willing to pay. yes, but its also related to the actual cost of the item. People unfortunately think its this cheap at home, so it must carry over and I'm telling you - the numbers and equation just isn't there. There isn't an easy way to put cellular towers in the water for coverage everywhere. Associating low cost at home via one technology doesn't mean it carries over to another. By that definition why does it cost $30 for bag of Doritos in Antartica when its only $2 here in the US ?

[swedish weave]

Jobs doesn't have internet now because he's no longer here isn't relevant to the discussion. It was a case in point that I'm sure his data connection needs/wants far surpassed this discussion of a few dollars here and there.

 

Your example of GPS technology shows your lack of understanding of GPS technology. You have NO access whatsoever to that GPS satellite. GPS satellites send out signals that are time synchronized to atomic clocks and your ability to receive multiple GPS satellite signals (and calculate the amount of time difference between the geosynchronous satellites) gives you the ability to determine where you are. You are sending NO data whatsoever back to that satellite. Same with satellite TV - its a one directional feed of you receiving satellite tv data with you not sending anything back. If you notice - anything sending anything back with any sort of data is quite costly.

 

To give you an idea - annual lease rates for transponders (each satellite has anywhere from 16-32 transponders, and different types of transponders like ku/C/etc) - is around 1.5M per year for US. I think Europe is like 4x higher so (6m/year). Other parts of the world usually fall in between but some remote areas of the world are even higher. And thats a business that I would definitely not want to be in - Yeah, you have a potential revenue of 20-30m per year if its fully leased out, but you're also talking satellite cost of 200-300M to launch along with all the other associated risks. So figure out how many satellites you need to cover the world and you have a whopping 25megabytes of bandwidth on the transponder per satellite. And you start to realize that after you carve everything up - so called satellite internet gets very expensive very fast.

 

Prices are high because people are willing to pay. yes, but its also related to the actual cost of the item. People unfortunately think its this cheap at home, so it must carry over and I'm telling you - the numbers and equation just isn't there. There isn't an easy way to put cellular towers in the water for coverage everywhere. Associating low cost at home via one technology doesn't mean it carries over to another. By that definition why does it cost $30 for bag of Doritos in Antartica when its only $2 here in the US ?

 

You have skirted the comment I made about Verizon. How do they do it ?

 

Also -- If GPS doesn't access the satellites, why do you have to be in an area that has a clear view of the sky. I know is a one way feed, but that is not the question.

[che5904]

Re above discussions ----- which is the better alternative ?

 

Hire and train a competent assistant --- or --- Remain a slave to your business ?

 

This is why we (DH and myself) don't follow your suggestion above.

 

For one thing DH is getting up in years. We've had employees for many of our 30 years in business, and as he puts it "I don't any longer need the hassles". As well as the old saying goes if you wish something done right, do it yourself.

 

The second thing is why would he want to hire someone for 40 hours a week x $$$$ x 52 weeks a year, to do what he can do quite effectively by himself when he is here and would only cost $200 for a working vacation.(which by the way he isn't complaining about).

 

As for "remaining a slave to your business". Some may view it as that, but my DH and from what I'm reading from other business owners on this thread, it is strictly by choice (therefore not a slave).

 

I think where I take the issue with this whole thing is statements like yours which come across as very judgemental, when no one is complaining about the cost that is using it for what we deem as a need.

 

As stated earlier, I could understand this debate if I had come on and said "gee I think it is so high and I have to use it and I'm so angry about it, NCL sucks etc etc". But none of us are. Therefore "slave to your business", "hire someone", "smart business person", "take a land vacation", doesn't make any sense. No one on here said they felt trapped or like they didn't have other choices. I'm sure there are thousands of options but this is the option we wish to take. So sorry but I'm really not seeing where all the hoopla is coming from.

[anthem]

You have skirted the comment I made about Verizon. How do they do it ?

 

Also -- If GPS doesn't access the satellites, why do you have to be in an area that has a clear view of the sky. I know is a one way feed, but that is not the question.

 

What ? Verizon offering their intl data plans at $30/50mb, $75/150mb, and $125/300mb ? They have determined to price their to include any outside data coverage that they have a relationship with. Others choose not to. The ironic thing is that what you're not realizing is that Verizon's data via cell phones is via the same internet connection. Verizon is offering it at a fixed transfer and the ship is offering it at a fixed time. Different methods of billing. Verizon gives you a better rate because you are a verizon long term customer (with an annual contract). Maybe not on that particular rate plan but they aren't penalizing you for it.

 

In terms of GPS - you are NOT accessing the GPS in any way. It has a clear view of the sky to RECEIVE the constant signals that identify that satellite. Your GPS RECEIVES those signals and based on its clock and the signals it receives from multiple satellites and the differences in timing that it takes to receive a signal from satellite A vs B vs C, determines your coordinates on this earth. The difference in times from those signals from each satellite (it takes longer time the further you are from a satellite) allows the GPS unti to triangulate your position. I don't see how your understanding of clear view of the sky or not determines whether you are "communicating" with the satellite. .. .

[swedish weave]

This is why we (DH and myself) don't follow your suggestion above.

 

For one thing DH is getting up in years. We've had employees for many of our 30 years in business, and as he puts it "I don't any longer need the hassles". As well as the old saying goes if you wish something done right, do it yourself.

 

The second thing is why would he want to hire someone for 40 hours a week x $$$$ x 52 weeks a year, to do what he can do quite effectively by himself when he is here and would only cost $200 for a working vacation.(which by the way he isn't complaining about).

 

As for "remaining a slave to your business". Some may view it as that, but my DH and from what I'm reading from other business owners on this thread, it is strictly by choice (therefore not a slave).

 

I think where I take the issue with this whole thing is statements like yours which come across as very judgemental, when no one is complaining about the cost that is using it for what we deem as a need.

 

As stated earlier, I could understand this debate if I had come on and said "gee I think it is so high and I have to use it and I'm so angry about it, NCL sucks etc etc". But none of us are. Therefore "slave to your business", "hire someone", "smart business person", "take a land vacation", doesn't make any sense. No one on here said they felt trapped or like they didn't have other choices. I'm sure there are thousands of options but this is the option we wish to take. So sorry but I'm really not seeing where all the hoopla is coming from.

 

Please re-read my post !! I DID NOT MAKE A STATEMENT. I ASKED A QUESTION !!!

 

You do not need to attack nor defend your decision or stance on this subject.

[swedish weave]

What ? Verizon offering their intl data plans at $30/50mb, $75/150mb, and $125/300mb ? They have determined to price their to include any outside data coverage that they have a relationship with. Others choose not to. The ironic thing is that what you're not realizing is that Verizon's data via cell phones is via the same internet connection. Verizon is offering it at a fixed transfer and the ship is offering it at a fixed time. Different methods of billing. Verizon gives you a better rate because you are a verizon long term customer (with an annual contract). Maybe not on that particular rate plan but they aren't penalizing you for it.

 

In terms of GPS - you are NOT accessing the GPS in any way. It has a clear view of the sky to RECEIVE the constant signals that identify that satellite. Your GPS RECEIVES those signals and based on its clock and the signals it receives from multiple satellites and the differences in timing that it takes to receive a signal from satellite A vs B vs C, determines your coordinates on this earth. The difference in times from those signals from each satellite (it takes longer time the further you are from a satellite) allows the GPS unti to triangulate your position. I don't see how your understanding of clear view of the sky or not determines whether you are "communicating" with the satellite. .. .

 

Two final comments on this subject.

 

Verizon costs to me are not near what you state.

 

GPS is FREE.

 

A lot of smoke, but no fire !!!