In this holiday season we reflect on what we want, and what we're thankful for. What we want is more coverage. To that end, many people have looked forward to their local wireless carrier being taken over by the likes of AT&T, Verizon Wireless and a few others. Now we are faced with not only a dominant "Big 4", but the prospects of maybe only a "Big 2"! This is not good.
We truly feel there will come a time where the Big 2 (Verizon and AT&T) will have no competition. The small carriers will depend on the Big 2 for roaming service outside their home areas and with the demise of Alltel, we expect those roaming fees to eventually not only rise, but rise significantly.
So let us give thanks for the smaller carriers who remain independent and maybe give them a serious look when our current plans expire. Like Verizon and T-Mobile, foreign investors may be the key to maintaining our cellular choices. Latin American companies already have a presence in our market and would love to have more. These are immigrants we should welcome. In the meantime, I keep doing the math on whether I can port one of our main accounts to T-Mobile and doing our part. And just for fun, we're asking Santa for a Cricket Wireless phone. They might end up being part of the Big 3.
1 comment:
Bill, the threat of a lack of meaningful competition between the major wireless providers is definitely something for the consumer to be conscious of. There is, however, a sort of third-way solution that an increasing number of cell phone subscribers are taking to slash their bills. In particular, people with plans by Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular are seeing substantial savings achieved through a company called Validas.
While in the middle of dealing with my own cell bills, I found out about Validas and the name of their website, http://www.fixmycellbill.com, gives a good idea of what they do. Validas analyzes your online cell bill and calculates how much money you could be saving on your plan. In my case, Validas saved me over 19 bucks every month on my Verizon plan–or over 230 dollars per year. For me, that almost works out to getting a free month of my plan every year! Apparently the average Validas user saves over 21 percent on their cell bill. If you choose, for a nominal fee of $5, Validas will provide your personalized cell bill adjustment report that is emailed to your wireless provider in industry specific format so you can actually implement these cash saving changes. If Validas can save you more than $5 on your bill, this obviously provides a very cost effective solution. I was personally so impressed with the company’s operations and the cell savings Validas got for me that I jumped at the chance to work for Validas when the opportunity presented itself. It's a great company that is rapidly becoming considered an advocate for the wireless customer. Any cell subscriber who wants to cut costs should check out this service. It’s free to consult and you only stand to save.
Post a Comment