Cell Phone Companies

All About Today's Cell Phone Companies

Competition is fierce among cell phone companies trying to land your business. It used to be a major decision to change providers, but now that cell phone numbers in the US belong to us for life, we no longer have to consider that inconvenience. For instance, in the recent past if you originally signed up with brand X, and then decided to go with someone else, you'd have to notify all of your callers that you had a new number. Now if you want to change to brand Y, your number goes with you. This of course only made the competition hotter than ever. Each company is trying to offer the best phones for the least money and the most minutes. To add to the confusion, some cell phone providers are merging with other ones, making it even harder to sort them out.

Mergers

Cingular and AT&T recently merged to create the largest of all US cellular phone companies. Meanwhile Sprint and Nextel plan to join forces making them yet another huge conglomerate, and the word is that Verizon will buy MCI. These mergers may increase calling areas and available services, but as competition decreases, prices often increase. It's assumed that in time we will replace our wired telephone service in favor of the more convenient wireless. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is already a reality for some, and we may end up making many of our calls through our computers. The one thing we can be sure of is that technology will continue to change our communication world.

Cell Phone Problems

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with our cell phones. We love the convenience of having a phone always available but we hate many things about our cellular phone companies. Common complaints are about dropped calls, poor customer service, and billing issues. Visit here to read some horror stories. Because these companies rank somewhere down there with the used car business, they are aware that to be competitive they must improve their images. Top providers at least claim to be working on doing a better job for their customers. It's hard to imagine how customer relations will improve with all the mergers and the ensuing layoffs. These companies may have good intentions, but it's only logical to assume there will be some adjustment periods before subscribers reap any benefits.