AFR
http://www.afr.com.au/content/981009/inform/inform2.html
AOL pricing not seen as a world beta
By John Davidson
Early testers of the AOL Australia service have been up in arms
about the pricing schemes announced on Wednesday, promising not to
take up the service unless lower prices are offered for heavy users.
"With these prices, continuing is not an option for me . . .
completely impossible," said one tester in a message titled
Disappointed and not alone.
"It's a pity. Despite the cynics we really did form a small
community."
AOL said it was the 631st internet service provider to launch in
Australia when it did so on Wednesday, but it threatens to quickly
enter the top tier of ISPs, alongside OzEmail and Telstra.
Since April it has had a beta testing program, where it got
experienced computer users to try out the service free of charge,
and on the basis of the 5,000 beta testers alone it has already
crept in as Australia's 25th-largest ISP.
But many of those users are now threatening to quit the service,
after no pricing schemes were announced to suit heavy users.
Many of the testers are experienced internet users, and not quite
the non-expert user the product has initially been aimed at.
Nevertheless, AOL's bulletin board for beta testers was jam-packed
yesterday with testers complaining about pricing.
Many users said the prices - $9.95 a month for three hours access,
or $29.95 for 15 hours - must be a practical joke they were so far
from expectations, or that AOL must have meant 15 hours a day.
"Well, either it was a joke or a very bad mistake - I didn't find it
very funny," complained one tester.
Another said: "Fifteen hours is what you need to delete all the spam
[junk e-mail] out of your in-box a month. How will the three-hour
users cope? Don't be silly, AOL - is this the way you won't become
like your AmericanMother (engaged lines, disconnections etc etc), by
offering such a high rate that nobody will join so your lines will
be free."
In an interview with The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday,
AOL was unrepentant about its pricing policy - in particular the
lack of the much anticipated "flat rate", where users would get
unlimited monthly hours - saying the initial prices were meant to
offer an opportunity to let people try the internet without huge
expense, and offered other benefits such as five free e-mail
accounts per user.
In any event, said AOL Australia CEO Mr John Cookson, the company
would roll out other prices as the service established itself,
depending on user demand.
AOL's $9.95 for three hours is only 5¢ more expensive than Telstra's
similar offering, while OzEmail charges casual users $5 an hour
between 7am and midnight, and $2.50 from midnight till 7am. But both
Telstra and OzEmail offer a host of other pricing schemes, ranging
up to $225 a month for 150 hours access on OzEmail. It also offers a
flat rate of $44.95 a month for unlimited access on a lower-grade
network.
"I think AOL should employ the services of a professional marketing
manager," a tester said.
"Their current choice of pricing plans is both insulting and
inflexible. I think it would be safe to assume that AOL was
expecting a large percentage of its beta testers to remain with
them, but this seems unlikely."
"Better plans . . . or we are out . . . I speak for most beta
testers," said another.
AOL users can see the messages by typing "Oz Beta" as a keyword.
-- In a navigation-data-dominated cyberspace environment, for example, one might cruise through electric grids and matrices in an infinite night, behold clouds of marvelous tinsel, fly over blossoming geometric solids, spin down spiral vortexes of color ...without learning, knowing, doing anything.By contrast, one might stare at an old monitor, studying 23 lines of amber text with nothing navigational to do but scroll forward or quit.
And the second may well be the more meaningful experience! -- Benedikt.
Regards brd
Bernard Robertson-Dunn Canberra Australia brd@dynamite.com.au