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So Is The Wireless Sector Competitive Or Not?
As with all network access, it depends where you live...
The FCC recently issued a report on wireless industry competition that for the first time in seven years did not declare the sector to be competitive. That of course led to feigned indignation by carriers, who obviously declare every market they service to be a competitive Utopia of the highest order. Of course the reality is that you can't just count the number of carriers and declare a market competitive, and with all broadband -- the level of competition differs drastically depending on urban or rural environments.
quote:
In a lot of regions, large wireless operators say the number of providers present is proof of competition, but users tell a different story, saying there is often only one viable option. As a result, the prices are high, the service poor, and connections fail, depending on the time of day. There may be options for service –- a duopoly at best, Settles says -- but whether it satisfies consumer or business needs is a totally different story.
According to FCC data, 900,000 rural residents have no wireless access, and 2.5 million only have the choice of one wireless provider. 39% of rural customers can choose from all four of the major operators (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint). Fortunately, prepaid operators are starting to make things at least relatively interesting in the sector.
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spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA

spewak

Premium Member

Photo to the right of article

I was always wondering who that crazy looking dude was in that photo next to the Wireless articles. I watched 60 Minutes this past week and found out who he actually is.
Gami00
join:2010-03-11
Mississauga, ON

Gami00

Member

Re: Photo to the right of article

So... who is he?

acadiel
Press fire to begin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-22
Atlanta

acadiel

Premium Member

Re: Photo to the right of article

»inventors.about.com/cs/i ··· oper.htm


Camaro
Question everything
Premium Member
join:2008-04-05
Westfield, MA

Camaro

Premium Member

It's old i know

But another example of cherry picking looking at it from a bigger picture.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin

Member

Not Competitive

Even 4 is not competitive. You need at least 6 to truly have competition. The fact that only 39% of rural folks have 4 is quite sad. The pre-paid companies are not capable of acting as substitutes due to their lack of national coverage, or their dependence on a national carrier's network.
pkust
join:2001-08-09
Houston, TX

pkust

Member

Re: Not Competitive

said by sonicmerlin:

Even 4 is not competitive. You need at least 6 to truly have competition. The fact that only 39% of rural folks have 4 is quite sad. The pre-paid companies are not capable of acting as substitutes due to their lack of national coverage, or their dependence on a national carrier's network.
Whether a market is "competitive" depends on one simple test: If you were of a mind, could you and would you enter that market?

If there are businesses who desire to enter a market but find the costs of entry too high for the anticipated return, that market is not competitive. If there are no businesses that desire to enter a market, the market is either stagnant or highly competitive.

Overall, the FCC does a horrid job of both encouraging new businesses to enter telecommunications markets and lowering the barriers to entry so as to make entry into new markets more attractive.
duranr
join:2006-10-14
Leonia, NJ

duranr

Member

I don't think it is.

As long as they:

1. Collude on Txt messaging, data Pricing, and ETF's.
2. Use incompatible network technologies (CDMA vs.HSPA, vs. Wimax vs LTE)
3. Continue to have handset exclusivity deals.
4. Do not offer a lower monthly rate if you BYOD.

There will never be true competition.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

1 edit

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: I don't think it is.

1. Do you know what collusion is? Their pricing is inline with pricing around the world (save for the EXTREMELY competitive UK market - which is an outlier).
2. Actually, as LTE is rolled out, it will be the clear-cut standard in the United States and the world. There's no longer any real debate on this. Clear - one of the largest WiMax pushers - is open to moving to LTE. VZW is going LTE. MetroPCS is going LTE. TMO and ATT as well.
3. This won't be an issue when LTE is nearly ubiquitous. For example, over a million people have brought iPhones to T-Mobile because of the GSM compatibility. Exclusivity deals are pretty useless in the face of compatible network technologies.
4. T-Mobile offers this. It's called EM+. No contract. Save from $10-$20/mo over their contract plans.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to duranr

Premium Member

to duranr
said by duranr:

As long as they:

1. Collude on Txt messaging, data Pricing, and ETF's.
quote:
There is zero proof any collusion is going on. Similar actions in the face of the same market conditions is NOT collusion.

2. Use incompatible network technologies (CDMA vs.HSPA, vs. Wimax vs LTE)
quote:
and the solution is what? Collusion to follow 1 std? Or gov't mandate that everyone use 1 std.? That just kills innovation

3. Continue to have handset exclusivity deals.
quote:
This is mostly the decision of the phone builders and not the carriers. They get a lot of free advertising for their phone and allows them to sell more phones at a lower price.

4. Do not offer a lower monthly rate if you BYOD.

There will never be true competition.
quote:
And your solution is ...? Gov't mandating everything.? If that happens, their will be MUCH less competition than there is now.


asdfghjklzx5
Premium Member
join:2004-05-03

asdfghjklzx5

Premium Member

Re: I don't think it is.

said by FFH5:

and the solution is what? Collusion to follow 1 std? Or gov't mandate that everyone use 1 std.? That just kills innovation
What kind of innovation is killed by forcing carriers to use compatible networks?

thender
Screen tycoon
Premium Member
join:2009-01-01
Brooklyn, NY

thender

Premium Member

Re: I don't think it is.

said by asdfghjklzx5:
said by FFH5:

and the solution is what? Collusion to follow 1 std? Or gov't mandate that everyone use 1 std.? That just kills innovation
What kind of innovation is killed by forcing carriers to use compatible networks?
I agree.
quote:
me: I need a landline phone for my home.

salesman: What carrier do you use?

me: Why does it matter?

salesman: Well, call waiting will only work on phones specified for the carrier, and some phones won't work on AT&T that work on Verizon, and vice versa.

me: ....

You'd think you were in the bizarro world if you had to worry about this with landlines, right?
duranr
join:2006-10-14
Leonia, NJ

1 recommendation

duranr to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
1. I'm citing the rate hikes at pretty much the same time for the carriers as my proof. You can dismiss it as result of market conditions if you want, but you can't show me proof that it's not happening either, so draw your own conclusion.

2. Govt mandate works for the UK... Plus, explain to me how this would hamper "innovation" if we all went with one standard? In what way have the carriers innovated the past that would've been prevented if the US Govt (FCC) said "you need to deploy GSM"?

3. The carriers throw money at the handset makers for this arrangement. (so both are to blame, I guess.)

4. No, that's your solution. I'm of the mind that the govt could "nudge" them the general direction that creates value for the tax payers (a.k.a. Me). I don't advocate that they step in an tell them what to do in every aspect.

Paladin
Sage of the light
join:2001-08-17
Chester, IL

Paladin to duranr

Member

to duranr
1. Collude on TXT, data, and ETF? In most European countries the tariffs for those are higher. I'd like to see you claim the Euro carriers are colluding?

2. Incompatible network technologies... if not for those "incompatible technologies" you wouldn't have the 3G standard for GSM, which is incidentally called WCDMA. It draws on a lot of what CDMA200 does and took a lot of help from Qualcomm to get running. If CDMA sucked so bad why is GSM running on it for 3G?

3. That's as much the headset manufacturers as the carriers. Blame those who are really responsible.

4. That's the only point I will agree on but the market isn't really demanding it either. Most people have cell service now and some are doing this to replace landlines. Given that, people don't care about signing contracts because it gets them cheap phones. Google tried selling the unsubsidized phones. The market rejected it. I would love to get a cheaper rate for unsubsidized service but only T-Mobile is doing it. I don't see AT&T and Verizon doing it, but even if they did I can't see many people jumping on it.

I'm not saying all places in America have competition, but I'd say our rural areas have more choice than rural areas in most developed nations. Compare oranges to oranges, please.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Prepaid interesting?

sure. when they stop making you feed the device whether it needs it or not[expiring unused minutes]