Re: [PLUG] [OT] NYTimes article: What Carriers Arent Eager to Tell You About Texting

[Art Clemons <artclemons@aol.com>]

> And I hate this notion of there being no competition in telecom. Telecom 
> is one of the most competitive markets. There are plenty of other 
> providers out there, you just haven't heard of them. But they are there, 
> they are making money, and they have a base of satisfied customers. The 
> big 3 or 4 are convenient, and get the most attention. Heck, in PA alone, 
> there are over 120 registered CLECs with the PUC. 


There is not sufficient competition in the wireless phone industry.
Comparing CLECs with wireless capability is sort of pointless, since the
two are not the same.  Unfortunately there are presently four wireless
phone services with relatively unlimited coverage and the others bluntly
either buy their service from one of the big four or alternatively offer
limited coverage.  I thus would not suggest that someone who travels
have a MetroPCS plan, a plan that might make sense in the Philadelphia
Metro region.  There is not enough in the way of coverage to get a
lowering in the SMS rate from larger providers, the same folks who
provide most of the service to the folk who text.

What am I missing?  The competition you refer to is for phone service,
not for SMS service, and while one can usually send a text message from
an internet connected computer, that same text might cost the recipient
money to receive.
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