Network Wars – Are Customers to Suffer?

It's part of business strategy. Communications networks are fighting each other to get a big share of the market and most of the time, at the expense of their subscribers.

When I first arrive here in America, I spent my first pay check on a cell phone using Cingular network. I subscribed to it because this was one of the two networks that used the GSM (Global Systems for Mobile communications) platform which is the same thing used in my home country, the Philippines. I did my homework at that time, researching online about reviews on their services and I found it appropriate for my needs. I had my mobile phone for several years until another giant network AT&T bought Cingular. We instantly became AT&T customers and eventually my phone service became poor and erratic. I couldn't get a signal inside my room and in any other parts of our house. Even outside and surrounding our house signal was very low. Then I decided to change my network to T-Mobile, another network that uses GSM platform. I didn't have any problems at all with my signal and I even observed that the signal inside our house was much better than my previous Cingular service. I can make and receive calls even when I'm lying on my bed. Then with the rise of smart phones and the popularity of social networking, the need for unlimited internet data connection was undeniable. I upgraded my subscription plan that will cater to unlimited internet data connection with T-Mobile.

Introducing the iPhone: exclusive only at AT&T. Then came the android phones together with Google powered phones and Windows phones. But most of the customers were attracted more to the iPhone and its apps and features. There were several reports and is now a known fact that iPhone users always suffered problems on connectivity like dropped calls. I have a number of friends that complained about this problem with their iPhones. Still reports came out that a big percentage of T-Mobile costumers switched to AT&T because of the iPhone. Verizon Wireless, a network that uses CDMA platform now offers iPhone so customers wanting this phone have another choice. This scenario brings T-Mobile's market share into jeopardy and just yesterday, reports came out that AT&T is going to buy T-Mobile. This would leave AT&T as the main GSM network in the USA. It was known that T-Mobile had been working on expanding their latest technology to 4G, and with this merger, I just hope that AT&T will use this to improve their sloppy service.

Millions of dollars will be paid out to T-Mobile and for sure AT&T customers, now including me, will carry the brunt through our phone bills. Maybe we may not feel the effects now pending the approval of the merger but nowadays prices have nowhere to go but up.