Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rphroy!caen!uwm.edu!lll-winken!telecom-request From: sichermn@beach.csulb.edu (Jeff Sicherman) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: How is the Cost of Features Calculated? Message-ID: Date: 5 May 91 20:14:58 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: Cal State Long Beach Lines: 13 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 334, Message 5 of 11 Is it just my paranoid, conspiracy-seeking mind or do the RBOC's always seem to introduce all these new, fancy services with a monthly price tag of between $3 and $8. I was under the impression that these are all tariffed and that revenue must reflect cost with a standard profit allowance. It seems an incredible coincidence that they *all* would turn out to lie (sic) in such a commonly narrow cost range unless phone company overhead was a major factor in the cost of every service. My suspicious mind would suspect they have found there is a magic range of acceptibility of price beyond which customers more critically examine the cost/benefits of services and the companies seek to keep offerings within this safe range.