Well for the majority of GA VFR traffic those services are unobtainable for a variety of reasons. All they can get is a Basic and the only time any attention is paid to them is when the control kicks in and they are moved out the way of the big shiny machine.
DC the only time it has ever been given to me is when I have been in the works machine. And note the given I hadn't asked for it nor wanted it as it was CAVOK I had asked for a TS. But the 3 GA lights still got actively moved out the way even though I reported them in sight.
IFR in IMC more often than not only a basic service is available. Its only when you interfere with something else you will be upgrade moved and then dumped again. Unless you are a CAT arrival forget it. Which I why the airprox for DC have reduced in my opinion because no bugger ever gets it apart from a select few.
Regional airports are only interested in the inbound traffic if your anyone else, zero interest, zero service and radio 5 contains more SA.
Lest face it a traffic service is only an attempt at providing a radar service you still on your tod the same as basic.
But as been shown in this thread as soon as something goes wrong the bleating starts about how ATSOCAS ATCO has no responsibility and its up to the pilot to maintain separation and the pilot should do this and do that.
But god help that pilot if they refuse a suggestion under any of the services. Bad airmanship, danger to every air space user accusations will be pointed at the pilot. If the pilot is clued up enough to tell them to go poke it and quotes the regs. Then the wining starts about what the rules are and its the only way we can provide a safe expeditious service to CAT aircraft etc etc.
And them some units have the cheek to start quoting there MATZ part 2 as some sort of legal document that applys to pilots and it should be taken as some form of bylaws that apply to the airspace that the unit works.
The whole thing is a joke, and its interpretation between different units means that most pilots don't have a clue what they are going to get, it even depends which shift is on in a unit. What they are meant to do, if they are going to get into an argument when they want to just fly unmolested from A to B.
Radio 5 stops all this nonsense. You know exactly what service your getting. You know exactly what rules you are operating under. There is zero chance of having discussions and arguments. And you flight is an altogether more pleasant experience. And to boot the airpox data indicates you have less chance of having an airprox.
If CAT wants a controlled environment they can pay for it. Trying to turn uncontrolled airspace into pseudo controlled airspace is never going to work because of the basic rules of said airspace. Pilots have a right of veto from using the service and they are using it. Bullying them by using terms like bad airmanship etc isn't washing.
But no doubt it will take a flaming wreck of a 737 or A320 with a microlight sucked into one of the donk's before this ****e will get put to bed. The poor sods that were driving the CAT will go to their maker believing they had some form of protection in class G because they were on a Deconfliction service when that have sod all. The microlight won't have a clue as usual. And it will be 3-4 years of people arguing the toss about radar sensitivity's, what some RT manual says, and what good airmanship says the pilot should have be speaking to the approach controller. What ever happens its not going to make more pilots speak to a useless service.
You can bleat as much as you like and use "should" "airmanship" etc. If there is nothing in it for the pilot and getting a service is a huge ballache and you get nothing in return they won't use it as is their right in class G.