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How long can Verizon stay out of the AT&T-T-Mobile price war?

Published Feb 4th, 2014 11:34AM EST
Verizon Price Cuts Unlikely

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Verizon has no interest in getting into a price war with AT&T and T-Mobile. If you want evidence, just ask Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who last year flat-out stated that “we never have and never will lead on price.” But given that AT&T and T-Mobile are now getting much more aggressive with their family plan offers, could Verizon be forced to make similar offers just to keep up its subscriber growth? Don’t count on it: ComputerWorld this week reached out to Verizon for comment on the AT&T-T-Mobile price war and the carrier once again said that it won’t go down the price-cut rabbit hole.

“Verizon customers come to us and stay with us because of the many great options we have to fit the way they use all of their wireless devices — including smartphones, tablets and more — all on a 4G LTE network that is the largest and most reliable in the country,” a company spokesperson told ComputerWorld.

The big advantage that Verizon has is that its coverage is so good that customers might be reluctant to switch to T-Mobile even if it means paying significantly higher monthly prices. Gartner analyst Bill Menezes tells ComputerWorld that “price is important, but nothing sends [customers] fleeing from a carrier faster than poor or inconsistent connectivity, especially when it’s voice.” Essentially, then, Verizon doesn’t have too much to fear from T-Mobile until T-Mobile can significantly improve the quality of its wireless network.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.