Four. As in a European study, price competition requires four significant competitors.[1] This should be a basic rule of antitrust regulation.
[1] https://www.techdirt.com/2024/05/16/report-sprint-t-mobile-m...
Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
121–130 of 259 posts
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you using a Google Pixel 6/7/8 ? Its widely accepted that Google Pixel's radio is weaker than the competition. Google stopped using Qualcomm chipsets on Google Pixel 6. (Or the last time Google used a Qualcomm radio in its phones was in Pixel 5 generation). I'm sure Google is working on making its radio better, but it still a shame that of all the things they decided to cut to make it cheaper / hit the $600 price…
> Qualcomm is basically raising prices behind the scenes > it still a shame that of all the things they decided to cut to make it cheaper / hit the $600 pricepoint (instead of the $800+ flagship tier) is... the radio. If it's truly a shame that they went to a lower-performing competitor then maybe Qualcomm thinks that their modem is worth more than they were charging because they provide a superior product.
Bingo. They do. Apple bought Intel's modem unit but they still use Qualcomm modems.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883565/apple-5g-modem-f...
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I mean Sprint was strictly CDMA, so that would be an issue on it's own. How so? Sprint operated 4G LTE, which is a GSM technology (or alternatively, unified the two, depending on how you look at it).
I once got tossed out of a sprint store for pissing off a salesperson with this factoid.
This is a story that's just begging for more detail
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
T-Mobile was the worst, most incompetent company I have had the displeasure of working with in recent years. I fled to Mint. To say I’m chuffed by that acquisition is an understatement.
Wait so are you really happy they got acquired? Or does chuffed mean something else in the states?
I think it was sarcasm...or just the word being misused.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#125I will say, I'm not terribly fond of mergers on principle. However, based on my insight as a former customer and shareholder of the company, Sprint's goose was most definitely cooked to a crisp. If this merger had not happened, I could have seen Sprint file for bankruptcy, with Verizon and AT&T picking the carcass clean. I think folks forget how dire Sprint's straits were at the time, and this specific merger truly w…
Sprint was cooked for one specific reason: parent company QWEST refused to do the prism-split of fiber cables into secret NSA colocation rooms like AT&T did.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
The regulators could have forced the big four carriers (now three) into a common carrier model. In that setup, all cell providers would effectively be an MVNO, and the three (then, four) physical networks would be operated at arms length from the consumer facing side. Also, the four networks could be structured so that their financial incentives were to improve cell coverage and bandwidth instead of undermining each…
The best way to resolve these issues is never "force the bad guys to do good things" but rather destroy the walls which enable their rent seeking. Regulators can work to make it extremely simple for new techs in this space to come up so there is real competition for ATT etc.
The problem is that there is finite spectrum available. The upfront cost of building a national cellular network are also astronomical, regardless of regulatory hurdles.
The FCC was created to manage the scarcity inherent to the radio spectrum. It's not an area where regular free market economics apply. GP's proposal would actually make it easier for startups to horn in on the territory of the big established players, since the underlying infrastructure would effectively be socialized.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#127Meh. Go with Consumer Cellular or other discount MVNO. Plenty of competition at that strata.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
The regulators could have forced the big four carriers (now three) into a common carrier model. In that setup, all cell providers would effectively be an MVNO, and the three (then, four) physical networks would be operated at arms length from the consumer facing side. Also, the four networks could be structured so that their financial incentives were to improve cell coverage and bandwidth instead of undermining each…
The best way to resolve these issues is never "force the bad guys to do good things" but rather destroy the walls which enable their rent seeking. Regulators can work to make it extremely simple for new techs in this space to come up so there is real competition for ATT etc.
We the People should own infrastructure. Want to start a new shipping company to compete with UPS? You don't have to build roads, We the People provide those to you. So, do the same with wireless.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
I once got tossed out of a sprint store for pissing off a salesperson with this factoid.
This is a story that's just begging for more detail
Meh, I was a smart-alec kid there with my friend. The salesperson had to go get a sim card "for the LTE to work" and I said "oh right, because LTE is GSM and requires a sim". The salesman insisted Sprint didn't use GSM so I looked up the wikipedia page for LTE on one of their demo phones and started reading out loud "In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards."
That's when the salesman told me to leave.
Re: Sprint, T-Mobile Merger Killed Wireless Price Competition in U.S.
#130Did it kill price competition? My anecdotal observation is that there are more cheap phone plans now than, say, five years ago.
Same. I can get an unlimited prepaid plan at $25/mo on AT&T. I remember unlimited plans being like $70 when Sprint was around.