On Feb. 19th Verizon Wireless shook up the cellphone industry by offering unlimited calling for $100 per month. Verizon's offer was immediately matched by AT&t Mobility(T) and T-Mobile U.S.A. Up to 15% of the customers of these three of the four largest US cellphone companies stand to benefit by this move.High daytime users may end up saving from 25% to 40% of their monthly bills.Concerns over a price war in the industry sent cellphone stocks lower on Wall Street.
Many analysts however consider it to be a smart move.Dismissing fears of lower revenues they pointed out that cellphone companies would in fact benefit from such a move as they will tempt people to shift away from landlines.Cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner's cable division may be hit particularly hard.A wireless plan that gives unlimited calling for a fixed price is very attractive indeed.A service that can be used on the go can't be matched by anybody else.
The only concern is whether the networks of the cellphone providers will be able to handle the additional traffic generated by this plan.If they have done their homework properly, they should be in a happy position.