Wired and Wonderful

Ah, the good old days of telecommunications. Remember Ma Bell? Even after the historic break up of AT&T, everyday life was pretty simple for the phone consumer.

Your RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company) provided local service and AT&T "long lines" provided long distance service. Sure, wired technology was basic. And, the monopoly structure meant you paid too much. But in the words of one tech guru, "every time you picked up the phone receiver, you heard a crystal clear dial tone." Telecommunications became the ultimate standard for tech reliability.

Deregulation of service brought more choice and keener price competition. You could shift from AT&T to MCI and buy your phones from Panasonic at Wal-Mart. And, wireless technology ushered in a whole new era of communication convenience and value added services. But life today is a lot more complex, confusing and downright frustrating from a consumer experience standpoint.

The rapid change of mobile technology coupled with the variety of service providers competing for your business should translate into great value and service. Yet, it is not. Instead, consumers are faced with an array of confusing monthly pricing plans, steep fees for value-added services and multi-year subscription commitments. It doesn't have to be this way.

I lived in London for several years and loved my BT service and my G3 Motorola phone, which worked without interruption almost everywhere in the world. I don't recall ever having a problem with service interruption. The pricing plan was relatively simple.

How do we make the wireless experience as satisfying in the U.S.? I have two recommendations. First, de-couple phone marketing from service plans. There is absolutely no economic benefit for consumers in packaging phones and service plans. The economics are entirely in favor of the wireless provider even after considering phone rebates. Consumers ought to be able to buy any phone when and where they choose. Second, offer month-to-month service contracts; add a reasonable cancellation fee such as one month notice. These two changes alone would revolutionize the U.S. wireless market. It might actually drive growth and reward those companies which provide the best phones and the best service.

Today, wireless companies act like they have the old AT&T monopoly behind them. Too bad, they don't offer the same value, service and reliability.