MELVILLE, N.Y.-A new study from pulver.com finds wireless revenues will exceed wireline revenues by as early as 2003, pointing to the quickly falling costs of wireless services-and rising wireline costs due to inflation-as evidence.
According to the study, “Telephony unplugged: Wireless achieves price parity with wireline,” the cost of wireless services have fallen 92 percent since the Federal Communications Commission issued its first cellular license 16 years ago. Conversely, the cost of local calling rose 72 percent along with inflation.
“The wireless industry has erased the 20-fold wireline price advantage that existed in 1984, completely changing the business case for who represents a potential wireless customer,” said Jeff Pulver, the company’s chief executive officer.
According to the study, if 25 percent of residential customers convert to wireless services as the cheapest alternative during the next three years, the move would yield an additional 26 million customers and $14 billion in revenues for the wireless industry. This, the study says, would be enough to push wireless revenues to $91 billion in 2003, just past wireline profits of $90 billion.
