Shocker: T-Mobile Competition is Lowering Wireless Prices Competition from T-Mobile has resulted in notably lower prices over the last year. Earlier this year, companies like AT&T and Verizon were forced to bring back unlimited wireless data offers after T-Mobile had been hoovering up their frustrated customers at an alarming rate. Overall, the Wall Street Journal notes that Labor Department data indicates that the consumer-price index for wireless phone service -- an indicator of current offers from cellphone service providers -- dropped 12.5% in May from a year ago.

It's a notable reversal from most of the last decade, where wireless providers engaged in more theatrical, non-price competition. The bump in actual competition this last year hasn't gone unnoticed by Wall Street analysts. Many of them have been engaged in some notable hand-wringing lately over the return to unlimited data, noting that wireless sector revenues dipped slightly in the first quarter for the first time in seventeen years. Verizon, it should be noted, suffered its first-ever quarterly subscriber loss during the first quarter of this year. That said, all of these companies are certainly still turning a handsome profit, since even with the recent dip in pricing, US cellular data prices are among the highest across all developed nations. There's also nothing guaranteeing that these price savings stick around. Sprint and T-Mobile have been Sprint and T-Mobile have been talking merger , which would eliminate one of the four major wireless carriers in the nation. While T-Mobile and Sprint insist that eliminating a major competitor will help them compete more intently with Verizon and AT&T -- it usually doesn't work that way. The reduced competition means less pressure to keep prices low, and the consolidation could just-as-quickly erode any wireless market pricing improvements consumers have seen over the last year.







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Most recommended from 20 comments



camper

just visiting this planet

Premium Member

join:2010-03-21

Bethel, CT 19 recommendations camper Premium Member Competition has that effect

Probably why Comcast and other cable companies fight so hard via lobbying and other means to prevent competition in its footprint.



T-Mobile shows what competition can do for the consumer. thxultra

join:2015-04-14

Aurora, IL 16 recommendations thxultra Member This is why we can't have a merger Competition is good. merging with sprint is going to ruin competition. Scared of what is going to happen with this administration because they are so pro big business and don't care about consumers.

camper

just visiting this planet

Premium Member

join:2010-03-21

Bethel, CT 9 recommendations camper Premium Member Over a year ago, I switched from Verizon to Cricket Wireless. Yes, I know AT&T owns Cricket Wireless..



But my point is that I still get snail mail from Verizon asking me to come back, offering me hundreds of dollars towards a phone.



The only problem is that the monthly charge at Verizon would still be more than twice what I am currently paying at Cricket Wireless, and the AT&T network has better coverage in the areas I need.



Verizon has the problem that they became a bloated corporation, and now are unable to support their expense structure in a competitive market.

CosmicDebri

Still looking for intelligent life

join:2001-09-01

Lake City, FL 4 recommendations CosmicDebri Member Unsustainable Awww... let's cry for the Mega Corps that can't sustain a 'growth' in profits every quarter forever. That's just impossible to keep up. They've been sort of doing it for years, but when you cut services, layoff workers and off shore customer service to increase the profits, that isn't really growth is it?



You need to increase customers to have real growth. Milking your existing customers for tons of upsells they don't need or sometimes don't even ask for doesn't count. Neither do all those below the line bogus fees. For too long the Corps have said screw you to the customer, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. Well, looks like they finally hit the wall, and consumers are FINALLY saying, no, screw you! We WILL go somewhere else. As long as there is some competition and we have somewhere else to go..... SArcanine

join:2009-11-09

New York 3 recommendations SArcanine Member Sprint?



»www.sprint.com/content/s ··· ted.html Are we sure that it is T-Mobile and not Sprint? They are the ones that have a free plan: