History of the U.S. Mobile Marketplace

As a followup to Ewan’s ranting, I wanted to offer up a bit of history on the U.S. mobile marketplace. I got my first mobile phone with Sprint PCS 9 years ago, and switched to SouthwesternBellWireless (now AT&T) a year later. Over the past decade (nearly), I’ve watched the mobile industry consolidate from nearly a dozen smaller carriers into 4.5 huge ones, and also watched as it slowly but surely removes the consumer from the focal point.

The first step away from the consumer happened with rate plans. Before, SouthwesternBellWireless used to allow me to change my rate plan anytime I wanted, and *by default* would make the rate plan change at the beginning of my next billing cycle, so that I wouldn’t have any pro-rated confusion to deal with. It also never once renewed my contract for making such a change. I literally changed my rate plan every single month, with absolutely zero hassle. Currently, when you call to change your rate plan with the ‘Big Four’, you’re typically informed that it will renew your contract, and they set it to change immediately, unless otherwise specified. This aspect is actually beginning to turn back around, but it’s still a hassle with a few of the carriers.

Immediate rate plan changes are only good for the carrier, because they confuse the heck out of the consumer. Basically, let’s say I’m on a 700 anytime minute plan. If I change my plan on the 8th day of my billing cycle to the 1000 minute plan, they divide both by 30 days, then multiply the 700 minute rate by 8, and the 1000 minute plan by 22, to see how many minutes I should have left/used, and the same with the rates. Confused? Me too.

The second consumer-friendly policy, at least with SouthwesternBellWireless, was their ability (and willingness) to back-date changes. Thus, if I knew I had 1500 SMS available, and on the 20th day, I’d used up 1600 of them (leaving me with another 10 days before my new billing cycle), I could call them up and switch up to the 3000 SMS plan, and they would set it so that it was as if I’d been on it since the beginning of the month. Wow, thanks guys. I’m likely to go ahead and stay at the 3000 SMS plan now. Currently, in the same situation, they would say, “Oh, I’m sorry. You’ll still have overages this month. Next month, I would suggest keeping a closer eye on your usage, or opting for a more expensive plan. Obviously this could be abused, but led to a positive customer experience with SMS, as opposed to simply saying, ‘sorry you enjoyed the feature so much, here’s your huge bill of overages.’

The third major step away from consumer-focused practices was the removal of in-store technicians. SWBwireless (I’m abbreviating that) used to have in-store technicians who actually knew how to WORK on the phones. They prevented hundreds of insurance claims with the ability to replace a broken LCD, fried motherboard, or whatever else you happened to do to your handset. Of course, not all repairs were free, so it’s not like it was a complete money pit. I wonder how much more it costs to send out a replacement by 2nd day Fedex, without checking that it’s a legitimate defect? They also used to process insurance claims in store.

Sure, we have more minutes for less money, and more freedom with what we can do with those minutes, but the overall level of service and existence of consumer-friendly policies has dropped considerably. Have you ever actually read the contract you sign with a U.S. carrier? It basically says that you promise to keep giving them money, and they’re not really required to give you anything in return. Try walking inside any mobile store nowadays and closely observe how they sell you a phone. They’re no longer concerned with how you might use the phone and asking questions of the sort, but instead they have specific phones they’ll push on you regardless. It’s extremely evident when you enter an AT&T store currently. You’re asked to sign in on a clipboard, and they go down the list till your name is called. You then go sit across from the agent, who looks up your account and tells you what you are and aren’t allowed to do currently, and shows you the latest RAZR. It feels very much like renewing your drivers license. Take a number, follow the path, don’t deviate from what we tell you to do.

Makes you wonder what would happen if the consumer started ignoring the carrier, in turn, and buying unlocked handsets straight from the manufacturer, only to pick up a pre-paid plan from the carrier?