Average Cell Phone Service Costs Dip 0.8% in November; Latest Econ One Survey Shows Decreases in 17 out of 25 Cities.Business Editors LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2002 The average cost of cell phone service in the U.S. dropped 0.8 percent in November, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Econ One, an economic research and consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a which studies costs of wireless services. The average monthly cost of service in 25 major cities, across four typical usage levels (30, 150, 300 and 600 minutes) was $37.08 in November, down 0.8 percent from October. Average costs decreased in 17 of the 25 cities surveyed; costs rose in eight cities, but the increases in seven of those cities were only about 0.2 percent. "The 0.8 percent drop in the cost index substantially mirrors the 0.9 percent drop we saw in November of last year," said Econ One Senior Economist Charles Mahla. "The carriers continue to jockey for position for new subscribers through plan offering changes that appeal to current and prospective users. The battle for subs is being waged on the margin," he said, meaning that small changes in plan offerings are being used to attract new subscribers or entice current users to change their carrier. Mahla said the major factors in November's price changes were a $25 service credit offered by Sprint for the first two months of service, which lowered the cost of Sprint calling plans in all 25 cities surveyed, and a new voice and text messaging Sending short messages to a smartphone, pager, PDA or other handheld device. Text messaging implies sending short messages generally no more than a couple of hundred characters in length. plan offered by VoiceStream, which lowered the price of some plans in several cities it serves. The greatest increase in November was in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , where the average cost rose 0.5 percent to $38.36. The largest decreases in November were in Chicago (-3.3 percent), Atlanta (-2.5 percent), Cincinnati (-2.2 percent), San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden (-1.7 percent) and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. (-1.4 percent). Mahla attributed the Chicago decrease to the Sprint service credit and also to an offer of 300 bonus "anytime" minutes by PrimeCo. In Cincinnati, Mahla said, a new calling plan by Cingular combined with the Sprint and VoiceStream promotions helped lower the overall average cost. In the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay , AT&T Wireless offered a $40 service credit and 1,250 bonus airtime air·time n. 1. The time during which a radio or television station is broadcasting. Also called airspace. 2. The time at which a radio or television program is broadcast. minutes to help drop average costs in that market. Even though Cincinnati had a significant decrease in average costs, it still topped the list, for the fourth month running, with an average cost of $38.40. It was followed by San Diego ($38.36) and three cities The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines. -- Boston, Philadelphia and Washington -- at $37.68. Chicago had the lowest average costs for the second month in a row -- $35.07 -- followed by Phoenix, Minneapolis, Sacramento and Detroit. Those who wish to see Econ One's survey in detail, or who would like to be notified by e-mail of future survey results, may visit Econ One's Web site: www.wirelesssurvey.com. About Econ One The Econ One Wireless Survey is published monthly by Econ One Research, Inc., an economic research and consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Houston. Econ One provides economic analysis and expert testimony Testimony about a scientific, technical, or professional issue given by a person qualified to testify because of familiarity with the subject or special training in the field. in many areas, including: antitrust Antitrust The antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every level of business, including manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and marketing. They prohibit a variety of practices that restrain trade. , contract disputes, intellectual property and patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. , regulation, and unfair competition. Industry specialties include telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. , energy, biotechnology, computer hardware and software, manufacturing, and financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. .
Average Monthly Charge for Wireless Service
Across 30, 150, 300, 600 Minutes of Use
November 2001
No. City Average Percent
Cost Chg. from
Nov. Oct.
1. Cincinnati $38.40 -2.2
2. San Diego 38.36 +0.5
3. Boston 37.68 +0.2
4. Philadelphia 37.68 +0.2
5. Washington, D.C. 37.68 +0.2
6. Los Angeles 37.63 -1.4
7. New York 37.60 +0.2
8. Pittsburgh 37.60 +0.2
9. Miami 37.49 +0.2
10. San Francisco 37.39 -1.7
11. Cleveland 37.08 -1.2
12. Tampa 37.07 +0.2
13. St. Louis 37.03 -1.4
14. Atlanta 36.97 -2.5
15. Houston 36.93 -1.2
16. Kansas City 36.80 -0.3
17. Seattle 36.78 -0.1
18. Denver 36.71 -1.2
19. Portland 36.71 -1.2
20. Dallas 36.68 -1.2
21. Detroit 36.59 -1.2
22. Sacramento 36.53 -0.6
23. Minneapolis 36.49 -1.2
24. Phoenix 36.00 -1.0
25. Chicago 35.07 -3.3
AVERAGE $37.08 -0.8
Source: Econ One Research, Inc. and providers' Web sites as of Nov. 2, 2001 |
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