sometimes i wonder about M1 or the marketing strategy of the
other telcos...
the USB stick thing has conked out... replacement would be $100
for a no-name generico thingy, and about $220 for the vodaphone
one...
the lady at the M1 shop suggested that since the contract runs
out on 24 Jan, i should let it run out and then sign up a new
contract and i'll get a new USB stick thingy free and better rates
now...
uhhh... hmm.. not that i am complaining but how do they make
money throwing expensive hardware our way? especially when the
subscriptions are so low?
Simple.... it just goes to show how much it really costs to
manufacture the USB devices. Even giving away the devices FOC, they
can still make a good profit from the sales of the
replacements.
M1 and Vodaphone would almost certainly have an arrangement:
distribute the devices FOC for new contract signings while charging
the moon for replacement devices. Then Vodaphone would make a good
profit from the replacement sticks and may even share some of the
bounty with M1.
Of course, that may not be exactly what's going on, but it makes
sense when you think about it.
