LOS ANGELES-Cellular phone service prices dropped an average of 4 percent nationwide in June to $40.64, according to a survey by Econ One, a research and consulting firm examining prices in the wireless industry.
Econ One said the decrease, averaged across rate plans of 30, 150, 300 and 600 minutes, was the largest one-month change since the firm began surveying prices in 25 cities last October.
“In the year Econ One has been surveying cellular plans, never have prices gone down so much in so many places,” said Charles Mahla, senior economist for Econ One. “Of the 25 major cities we survey every month, only one-Washington, D.C.-increased in June, and that wasn’t by much.”
Mahla noted that strong downward pricing pressure came from nationwide carriers AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp., with average AT&T prices falling from $45.82 in May to $39.57 in June, and Sprint average prices dropping from $45.60 in May to $43.17 in June.
Cleveland saw the largest decrease in prices, falling 10.4 percent to $40.16 in June. Denver witnessed the next-largest decrease, with an 8.2-percent drop in average prices to $38.46, followed by a 7.9-percent decrease in Portland, Ore., to $38.46.
Washington, D.C., was the only city surveyed posting an increase in prices, rising 1.7 percent in June to $41.37.
Even with a 4-percent drop in cellular phone service plan prices, Los Angeles was the most expensive city in the survey, with an average price of $44.07. San Francisco, reporting a 6.2-percent decrease in average prices, was close behind its West Coast neighbor at $44.02. Cincinnati rounded out the top three with an average price of $43.48, a decrease of 1.4 percent compared with May.
While California’s big cities posted the most expensive prices, the state’s capital, Sacramento, reported the least-expensive price for cellular service of the 25 cities surveyed at $37.38, a decrease of 3.6 percent compared with May. Seattle was the next least expensive at $37.61, a 4.9-percent decrease, followed by Phoenix at $37.65, a 1.4-percent decrease.
