AT&T Mimics Verizon, Pushes Upgrades to 24 Months
Monkey see, Monkey do
I really wish Sprint and T-mobile could get some more subscribers, wider coverage, and faster network speeds (I'm looking at you Sprint and your 3G network), so that either I can finally switch to one of them (I'm in an AT&T only area which sucks because when **** like this happens I can't switch) or AT&T and Verizon have to start lower prices, give us our unlimited data back and let us upgrade in 18 months again.
And while I do not have any evidence, many times, I honestly wonder if ATT and Verizon are engaged into attempted price fixing, because of how they always mirror each other.
The natural competition of the market tends to make prices even naturally....
I mean....you can look at Sprint and T-Mobile as examples of what NOT to do...sure their prices are much lower, but they are finally struggling to keep a profit even as their subscriber base increases precisely BECAUSE their prices are so long they can barely make a profit....'the race to the bottom' in pricing is not the path to prosperity...but rather the reverse.
As I said before, while I do not have evidence that it is the case, many times I do wonder if ATT and Verizon attempt to engage in price fixing. They have, by far, the majority of the postpaid customer base, and they constantly raise their prices almost at the same time, to a point to where they almost exactly mirror each other. Below is the definition of price fixing, and at least, you should understand why I wonder if they are trying to engage in it...
Price fixing is an agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fix...
(continues)
T Bone said:
notice how a Playstation 3 costs roughly the same as an X BOX 360,
Actually, you're wrong. I'm a die hard PS>XBOX person and Sony has went on record in saying they have no interest into getting into a price war with Microsoft. Over time, yes the cost will go down because the device is older and they are getting ready to release PS4 hopefully by the end of the year. But if Sony and Microsoft were to release their new consoles at the same time, Sony wouldn't start matching Xbox prices. Sony also told consumers if they didn't like it, then they could buy and Xbox.
T Bone said:
'the race to the bottom' in pricing is not the path to prosperity...but rather the reverse.
This is so true in many industries. You used the fast food restaurant example...every time one starts a coupon/discount dollar menu war, others follow suit. Later when quarterly results are announced. The bottom line is hurt every time.
They do this over and over again to bring foot traffic through the door in hopes that they stay.
So a lower priced carrier has to be more efficient and at least equal to its higher priced competition in order to make good profits. Are they? I doubt it.
This forum is closed.