Mobile Broadband Industry Competition Thriving with New Challengers
Boston, MA - December 12, 2011 - Strategy Analytics recommends rethinking the structure of US Mobile Broadband competition, in a new report, “
It's all about Spectrum - AT&T T-Mobile Bandwidth matched by Verizon and Sprint.” Verizon is acquiring spectrum from SpectrumCo and Sprint is now controlling Clearwire spectrum. This allows these two large operators to expand capacity into every small city and rural area in the US. The report analyzes recent deals and the resulting spectrum that will be controlled by AT&T T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.
“Three strong national competitors create significant Mobile Broadband competition in many European countries,” noted Phil Kendall, Director Wireless Operator Strategies. “In the US, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T will compete to offer users more bandwidth on this additional spectrum to satisfy the dramatic growth in demand described in the Strategy Analytics report, “
Smartphone Penetration Doubles, Driving Non-SMS Data Growth.”
“In addition, the deployment of LTE across this spectrum creates an ‘All-IP’ Mobile Broadband network to virtually eliminate local boundaries. It enables even the smallest regional competitor to offer a national brand and range of services over a mobile version of the public Internet. This changes the very definition of ‘Relevant Geographic Market,’” noted Sue Rudd, Director, Service Provider Analysis for Strategy Analytics. “Even smaller regional operators, like MetroPCS, Leap Wireless and US Cellular, can develop seamless IP-based services and strong brands to match AT&T and Verizon in their targeted footprint. Spectrum availability will soon be the principal barrier to entry and growth.”