ALA CARTE OVERTURNS THE BUFFET. Usage based billing isn’t
only about volume but will increasingly be about quality, speed
and privacy. Voice telephony has historically been incredibly consistent
in terms of quality. We’ve not really had the need to think
of what level of quality we desired when making a voice call—they
were all essentially the same. The future will offer many new
choices for voice and data quality as systems will be increasingly
varied, each with it’s own particular application and price points.
Users needs are very diverse and willingness to pay is widely
varied. Similar versions of content are already billed differently
in media other than the Internet: One might pay $75 to
attend a concert in person, $40 for a pay-per-view showing on
TV, $30 for a recorded videotape, $20 for the CD, or choose to
listen to the same songs on the radio for free.
Although no one would argue that the concert is likely the
best quality, not all users are able or willing to attend. They can
still find value in alternative methods of accessing an artist’s
content. The same will be true in the Wireless Internet world.
Some will be willing to pay for multimedia news clips that show
full-motion video highlights of the news, sports, and weather.
Others may opt for a less expensive voice and still-image version
or a free simple text version. 185