When we pay (say) £10 for 1GB data, why should this expire after 30 days? After all we have paid and if we have 250MB left after 30 days, we should be allowed to use it. It is legalised theft by the Mobile providers. Come on UK iPad users - let's make a noise and get this sharp practice stopped!!!

I have some sympathy with your view and I'd certainly like to see this changed. However, I have a colleague who's in the mobile 'phone business and he puts this perspective on it.

His view is that the operator has to provide the necessary very expensive infrastructure to support the transmission of data whether you use it or not. There's the cost of the equipment, basestations, cabling, rental of space to place basestations, administration, command and control, personnel etc etc.

He likens it to renting a car - if you rent a car from a rental company for a month but only drive it for two days, would you reasonably expect to be able to extend the time period of your rental beyond that month because you'd only actually driven the car for a couple of days. Of course not. OK - he agrees the analogy has many flaws but he's trying to make the point that it costs real money just to keep the network up and running irrespective of whether anyone is actually using it.

But I agree with you and I'd like to see this changed too!!

Tim

Thanks for the reply Tim.
A hire car can be passed on to another user after it is handed back. Not quite sure what the mobile providers do with our unused data allocations.
The fact is that many people only want to have access to 3G in order to obtain Internet access when they can't get a wifi signal. Hence they want some standby data allocation on hand for use "as and when" required. I'm sure that mobile providers know their overheads, their costs and can predict their income so it wouldn't be rocket science to calculate tariffs that permit non expiry of unused data - I for one would be prepared to pay (say) £12 for 1GB if I could use all.

Norrie

Yes - that's an interesting suggestion - a slightly more expensive, non-expiring tariff!! Great idea! I'll suggest that to my colleague - you never know....

Tim