Wireless Wave - Spring 2008 - (Page 34)

wireless providers, a figure that compares favorably with a lot of other countries. Indeed, as the FCC notes, using its traditional county-level standard, “98 percent of the total U.S. population lives in counties with a minimum of three different mobile operators, the same as the maximum number of national mobile providers in a number of Western European markets.” The FCC’s report finds that not only do consumers have multiple choices in wireless service providers, but that the pool of those providers continues to grow. This is directly attributable to the FCC’s spectrum policies and auction process, by which new providers enter the marketplace. In the FCC’s 2006 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction alone, one new entrant acquired a near-nationwide footprint covering around 275 million people. Two other regional companies, Leap Wireless and MetroPCS, added spectrum licenses covering 76 and 82 million people to their existing holdings, increasing their potential service footprints in significant ways. It is also significant to note that the market share of the two largest carriers in the United States remains well below that of the two top carriers in almost every other developed country. In 2006, the two largest carriers in the U.S. had a combined 51.5 percent share of the market. By comparison, the two top competitors in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands had about 72 percent of their markets, and in France and Finland the two top operators had about 82 percent of their markets. In fact, the FCC pointed out that the total market concentration in the U.S. wireless industry is less than that in France, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. Value and Use use, and the range of devices and services from which they might choose. As the report notes, analysts regard “revenue per minute” as a good proxy for mobile pricing. Indeed, the FCC notes that analysts argue that the intensity of competition in the U.S. has been responsible for driving mobile prices in the U.S. to a historic low, through bucket plans and promotions. And while it is popular in some quarters to draw comparisons between the U.S. and international markets, quite often the contentions that supposedly demonstrate an inferior American model are wildly inaccurate. For example, the FCC reports that by using “revenue per minute” as its measure, mobile calls are significantly less expensive on a per minute basis in the U.S. than in Western Europe and Japan. The FCC also maintains that the existence of competing network technologies is an “important dimension of non-price rivalry in the U.S. mobile telecom market,” and that competition among carriers deploying different technologies benefits consumers in numerous substantial ways including greater product variety and differentiation of services, and more technological competition. There’s no question there are differences between U.S. and international markets, but as the FCC points out, American consumers are ultimately paying less than their European and Japanese counterparts, using more minutes, and enjoy unique service offerings because of competition in the United States. Wireless Internet Access and Mobile Broadband saging has increased – and the FCC found that over the past year providers have introduced new mobile data offerings, including the AT&T MobilityeMusic new music download service and Verizon Wireless’ live V CAST Mobile TV service. Consumers have increasing wireless access to the internet, with 99.6% of Americans living in a census block with “NexGen” wireless coverage. In fact, the report finds that Americans’ appetite to access the internet ‘on the move,’ whether for professional or personal use, is being satisfied by an everincreasing field of wireless competitors offering a wide range of mobile broadband services. Using data from American Roamer, the FCC calculated that 82 percent of the U.S. population lives in census blocks with one or more mobile broadband providers, 64 percent with two or more, and 41 percent with three or more broadband providers. Again, this is clear-cut proof of the competition that exists in the wireless space, and is a resounding affirmation of market-driven public policy. Competition Means Consumers Win In addition to a plethora of choices of service providers, the fruits of competition are also apparent in how much consumers are paying for their wireless W ir e l e s s W a v e The FCC’s report also notes that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mobile wireless devices in use capable of accessing the Internet at broadband speeds. Between 2005 and 2006, the numbers grew from 3.1 million to 21.9 million. At the same time, the use of other non-voice services such as text, photo and video mes34 The findings of the FCC report vividly illustrate the consumer benefits that inevitably result when competition is fostered through public policy, and government regulation is only utilized to establish broad parameters for telecom companies. Lower prices, increasingly more choices in products, services, and providers, and greater wireless connectivity and coverage are well-documented in the agency’s annual report. As a stand-alone set of facts, each is impressive; but in total, the data reported on by the FCC depicts an impressively healthy marketplace that continues to provide tremendous opportunities for all Americans to communicate and access information in an affordable manner, and in a way that best suits their personal choice and need.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Wireless Wave - Spring 2008

Wireless Wave - Spring 2008 Contents A Letter from Our Chairman A Letter from Our President Pryor Approval The Promise of M-commerce Moving Targets Foreign Service Multiple Choice Legs, Regs, and Wireless Wireless News The Supplier’s Voice CTIA Welcomes New Members Index of Advertisers Roaming with….

Wireless Wave - Spring 2008

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