re new encryption in article apr magic mcc com croley magic mcc com david croley wrote it would seem that the one fact that the government has overlooked in this whole fiasco is the economic standpoint as others have mentioned the most difficulty the clipper chip faces is an economic one let s face it the average consumer doesn t care or know that the clipper is a bad idea if there is a perceived need for cellular encryption then the companies will provide one most likely a standard will emerge but if the clipper is too expensive and a chip is way too much then they will develope their own or buy a cheaper one this is an interesting point as a very coarse rule of thumb you can figure that the final price of a product is to times the cost of goods the exact multiplier depends largely on economies of scale products that sell tens of millions of units year will be at the low end those that sell thousands of units year will be at the high end i suspect cellular phones are in the middle this implies that adding a chip would increase the cost of the phone by approx or about i don t think you ll get a lot of consumer support for this tony usual disclaimer
