Competition Keeps Nudging Down Wireless Service Prices; Latest Econ One Survey Shows Newer 'PCS' Providers, on Average, Undercut Old Cellular Companies.LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1999-- The price of wireless service continues to fall across the U.S. as competition among long established cellular companies and newer companies offering "PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. " (Personal Communications Services See PCS. ) services intensifies, 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. the latest survey by Econ One Research, Inc. The Los Angeles-based 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 tracks wireless service prices each month, found that the average monthly price for four different levels of use -- 30, 150, 300 and 600 minutes per month -- was $44.46 in August, down 1.6 percent from July's average of $45.20. Econ One examined prices in 14 major U.S. metro areas This article is about the music production team. For the article about population centers, see metropolitan area. Metro Area are a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. . 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. once again had the highest wireless prices of the cities surveyed, with an average monthly price of $50.17, slightly higher than last month's average of $50.04. Philadelphia had the lowest average prices -- $40.44 -- down 3.5 percent from last month's average of $41.89. Boston showed the greatest price decrease, with the average price falling nearly 14 percent from $48.62 in July to $41.86 in August. Dallas had the greatest increase, with the average price rising more than 4 percent from $45.86 in July to $47.81 in August. "Prices fell in Boston because several of the providers, notably Cellular One and Omnipoint, introduced substantial promotions in August," said Econ One senior economist Charles Mahla. "In Dallas, prices rose because a number of promotions run in July appear to have come to an end." This month's survey by Econ One Research took an in-depth look at the prices among service providers offering different types of wireless services. On average, newer "PCS" services were nearly 3 percent cheaper than conventional "cellular" service, the August survey showed. "In all 14 markets, except Boston and Washington, D.C., the average charge for 'cellular' service is greater than for 'PCS' services," said Eric Fruits, an Econ One economist. "Since 1996, when new PCS providers introduced service to the market, the price of cellular and PCS service has dropped about 20 percent," Mahla said. "Competition from PCS providers isn't the only factor pushing prices down, but it is a significant factor. Consumers in most cities now can choose from four, five or even six wireless companies, instead of the two cellular companies they had prior to 1996." (Econ One defines "PCS" as a purely digital service using the 1.9 gigahertz One billion cycles per second. See GHz. (unit) GigaHertz - (GHz) Billions of cycles per second. The unit of frequency used to measure the clock rate of modern digital logic, including microprocessors. radio band; PCS was introduced in the U.S. in 1995. "Cellular" service, which was introduced in 1984, uses the 800 megahertz One million cycles per second. See MHz. MegaHertz - (MHz) Millions of cycles per second. The unit of frequency used to measure the clock rate of modern digital logic, including microprocessors. radio band and can be digital or analog. The distinction can be confusing because some providers call their service "digital PCS" even though it is traditional cellular with some digital features and functionality added.) Econ One based its findings on information gathered from wireless providers' web sites. The web sites may not include all plans offered by providers. Econ One determined the lowest priced plan offered by each wireless provider in four basic categories and provided a cost comparison. Detailed results of the survey are on the Econ One web site (www.econone.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 and Sacramento. 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, 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. . -0-
Average Monthly Charge for Typical Wireless Users
Across 30, 150, 300 and 600 Minute Plans
August 1999
1. Los Angeles $50.17
2. Dallas $47.81
3. San Francisco $47.31
4. Detroit $46.94
5. San Diego $46.86
6. Houston $44.76
7. Chicago $44.76
8. New York $44.75
9. Miami $42.85
10. Washington, D.C. $42.27
11. Boston $41.86
12. Sacramento $41.10
13. Atlanta $40.61
14. Philadelphia $40.44
National Average $44.46
|
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion