In my last post, I detailed a handful of examples from just the last year of the increasing competition we’ve witnessed in the US wireless ecosystem. From pre-paid to 4G announcements, the rapid evolution in the wireless market is bringing consumers new choices and features we only dreamed of a few years ago.
Since then, the FCC issued a report on the wireless industry’s competitiveness, and it’s chock-full of data pointing to its robust competition and the benefits enjoyed by today’s wireless users.
The FCC remained silent, however, on a conclusion as to whether the market is “effectively competitive” (which it had reached the last six years). The FCC’s silence left some with the impression that the wireless industry wasn’t viewed, inside the Beltway at least, as competitive; it also leaves the door open to some wireless players to ask Washington to tip the marketplace’s scales in one direction or another. Interrupting this delicate balance would threaten the wireless ecosystem which today is entirely focused and responsive to meeting and exceeding the requirements of today’s consumer.
Competition is in the DNA of the wireless industry. It was there in the beginning and is more robust today than ever. So while some may lament the FCC’s choice to leave this door open and NOT say something, it’s merely a distraction to get too exercised about it. It is the experience of the consumer that really counts.
That experience is measured in nano-seconds and doesn’t wait on NPRM comments or NOI ex parte filings. It is judged each time your call connects, a new handset is offered, or a next generation network is launched.
Competition itself demands our industry’s eye be focused on the consumer ball. What kind of service plans do they want, which handsets meet their multi-tasking needs, how can tomorrow’s demands for bandwidth be prepared for today?
As I noted in my last post, the marketplace has seen dramatic advances toward new and more robust competition in just the last year – with pre-paid phone use surging, new mobile operating systems competing, and 4G networks going live…. It’s a bold new world in 2010, and we haven't seen anything yet!
And consider this, I asked for announcements made in the mobile industry in just the week since the FCC’s report was released, to illustrate the pace of change in this ecosystem.
Well, be careful what you wish for.
I received a nearly 100 page document filled with examples in 10 point type of wireless competition. All these announcements, all these innovations are generating verdicts that do count. Case in point, just last week the American Customer Satisfaction Index showed that consumer satisfaction with the wireless marketplace was increasing in 2008 – and has grown more since then.
While it matters what policymakers in DC think of our performance, we shouldn’t lose sight of the need to constantly innovate, invest in networks, develop new handsets, and take the heat of competition in stride.
When industry players run to Washington and ask the government referees to call a time out from the heat of competition it sets the stage for some to question whether the industry is competitive. Fortunately, there is enough data in the FCC’s report to answer any doubts about competition in this industry. It’s robust, vibrant, and growing.