Assessing Competition in U.S. Wireless Markets

Assessing Competition in U.S. Wireless Markets
Author: Gerald R. Faulhaber
Publisher:
Total Pages: 55
Release: 2014
Genre:
ISBN:

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Last year's Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Mobile Wireless broke new ground by not concluding, as had prior reports, that the wireless services market was “effectively competitive.” This year's report did the same. The 14th and 15th reports review a wide variety of evidence, both direct (how firms and customers behave) and indirect (industry concentration measures) in making its competitive assessment. The reports are silent on how to interpret this evidence. In contrast, modern antitrust analysis relies far more on direct evidence. In failing to put more weight on the relevant direct market evidence to reach an informed competitive assessment, the 14th and 15th reports invite erroneous conclusions about the real state of competition in wireless markets. We are concerned that these erroneous conclusions eventually could adversely influence regulatory policy in wireless markets. Before economists came to rely on direct measures of market power, they relied on indirect measures, such as market share in the relevant markets, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), and market definitions. The 14th and 15th reports downplayed direct evidence of competition - namely, aggressive pricing behavior, robust entry, and continued long-term reductions in price, all of which strongly support a conclusion of “effective competition.” Instead, the FCC focuses on inferences of market power based on market shares. For example, the FCC makes much of the combined share of the top four wireless providers generally, and of the top two wireless providers, AT&T and Verizon, in particular. To test the FCC's presumed relationship between market structure and prices in the wireless industry, we analyze the TNS Telecoms database of cellular telephone bills. We find no statistically significant relationship between a household's monthly wireless bill and the HHI of the economic area in which the household resides. Thus, market concentration does not appear to have an impact on what the customer actually pays. This finding, along with the fact that wireless prices have declined over time as industry concentration has increased, undermines the structure-conduct hypothesis that undergirds the FCC's market-share analysis. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our findings for handset exclusivity and spectrum allocation.

Telecommunications: Enhanced Data Collection Could Help FCC Better Monitor Competition in the Wireless Industry

Telecommunications: Enhanced Data Collection Could Help FCC Better Monitor Competition in the Wireless Industry
Author: Mark Goldstein
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2011-05
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1437938442

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Americans increasingly rely on wireless phones, with nearly 40% of households now using them primarily or solely. Under federal law, the FCC is responsible for fostering a competitive wireless marketplace while ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful practices. This report discusses changes in the wireless industry since 2000, stakeholders' perceptions of regulatory policies and industry practices, and the strategies FCC uses to monitor competition. To conduct this work, the report conducted case studies in both rural and urban areas of four states; and interviewed stakeholders representing consumers, local and state agencies and officials, and various segments of the industry. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

FCC Record

FCC Record
Author: United States. Federal Communications Commission
Publisher:
Total Pages: 986
Release: 2017
Genre: Telecommunication
ISBN:

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Telecommunications

Telecommunications
Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2000
Genre: Competition
ISBN:

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Crafting a Successful Incentive Auction

Crafting a Successful Incentive Auction
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Publisher:
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2014
Genre: Broadband communication systems
ISBN:

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The US Wireless Industry in 2005

The US Wireless Industry in 2005
Author: Chinmoy Kumar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre:
ISBN:

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The wireless industry was among the most competitive industries in US. There were scores of players all across the country that competed on poor margins. The market had reached a level of saturation from whereon it had become difficult for operators to grow further. In the new business scenario, mergers and acquisitions had emerged as potential alternatives that ensured, for the carriers a better market share. While some pro-consumer groups were apprehensive of the effects of consolidation, many industry observers found it a scope to accelerate technological advances by giving companies the resources to deploy high-speed networks. However, there was also a simmering fear that too much consolidation could choke off the competition that had made wireless the most dynamic of all sectors. This case provides the readers with a broad understanding of the US wireless market, the competitive scenario therein, technological regulations, the standards and the market trends.

Wireless

Wireless
Author: Brian J.W. Regli
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2020-07-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000149269

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The revolution of wireless communications has only just begun to transform the telecommunications industry worldwide. This book offers insight into the possible options for corporate strategists and government policymakers as they look to harness the expansion of wireless communications to meet the goals of sustainable telecommunications development. Using a multidisciplinary approach which combines policy research, legal analysis, business economics, and models of sustainability from the environmental sciences, the book compares the development of wireless communications in four countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Brazil. The comparative analysis points to common themes and opportunities, including: * breaking down the barriers between wireless and wireline access by changing the regulatory design which constrains service providers; * targeting the development potential of wireless access through the utilization of new technologies and service models; and * using wireless access as the basis for full facilities-based competition in both developing and developed world markets. No other book today offers this broad a context for a discussion of wireless communications and its potential impact on the evolution of the telecommunications industry.

Assessing the Communications Marketplace

Assessing the Communications Marketplace
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Publisher:
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2012
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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