More wireless users consider ‘cutting the
cord'
By Kristen Beckman
NEW ORLEANS—Calling wireless the poster child for competitive
telecommunications, Tom Wheeler, head of the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association, said today's wireless industry
will serve as a model for competitive telecommunications in the future.
‘‘Three years ago today, President Clinton signed the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 that said, ‘We want you to become competitive.' Wireless is
the first segment to become competitive,'' said Wheeler Feb. 8 at
Wireless '99. ‘‘If you want to see what competitive telecommunications
will look like tomorrow, look at the wireless industry today.''
Wireless customers overwhelmingly agreed the wireless industry is at its
most competitive level ever, according to a nationwide survey of 803
wireless users conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates last
month.
Three out of four wireless users said there is significant competition in the
wireless marketplace, and only 20 percent of respondents indicated they
perceived some or very little competition. CTIA noted 48 percent of the
U.S. population can choose from five carriers, and another 10 percent can
choose from 6 carriers.
About 60 percent of wireless subscribers said they considered multiple
service providers before selecting a carrier, and about one-third
considered at least three different service providers. Only about
one-fourth of subscribers surveyed this year said they considered only one
carrier, compared with 37 percent last year.
Young consumers, heavy users, business users and those planning to
spend more than $50 per month on wireless service were the most likely
to consider more than one carrier, said the report.
Wireless carriers also are expected to increasingly compete with wireline
carriers for minutes of use. In all, 38 percent of consumers in the Peter D.
Hart survey indicated they had either some or a lot of interest in replacing
their home telephone with a wireless phone.
Most likely to consider ‘‘cutting the cord'' are men, members of
upper-income households and heavy users, and three out of every four of
those respondents said they might be interested in switching to wireless
within the next three years.
More than half of the respondents said they would be very or fairly
comfortable relying on their wireless phone for a week if their home phone
was out of service, signalling a growing acceptance of wireless as a
primary source for communications.
Cost was the biggest concern respondents expressed about replacing their
wireline phone with wireless. Respondents also said features such as a
long-life battery, answering machine or voice messaging system and
automatic shut-off would make their wireless phone seem more like their
home phone.
While the wireless industry has demonstrated competition, the government
now must take steps to make sure that competition thrives, said Wheeler.
CTIA devised four cornerstones of competitive telecommunications
regulation, including the realization that the competitive market is different
and should be regulated differently than it has in the past; the notion that
‘‘regulatory parity'' is inherently anti-competitive; the idea that the
government has a responsibility to promote competition and not just
proclaim it; and the responsibility to assume carriers are acting in good
faith until proven otherwise.
In addition, CTIA reported nearly 100,000 emergency 911 calls were
made from wireless phones each day last year for a total of nearly 36
million wireless 911 calls throughout the year. |
