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Source: Albuquerque Journal, N.迷你倉沙田M.Aug. 11--Cricket employee Pete Cordova said AT&T's planned acquisition of Cricket parent firm Leap Wireless International could help the low-cost carrier expand its services.AT&T announced its intention in mid-July to buy Leap Wireless in a $4 billion deal that would transfer all Cricket's assets and its estimated 5 million subscribers to the telecom giant. AT&T says the acquisition will allow it to "jump start" expansion into the prepaid wireless market that Cricket has helped pioneer since launching in the late 1990s.Cricket, based in San Diego, has carved a niche for itself in 35 states -- including New Mexico -- by offering an affordable, flat-rate wireless alternative for customers who pay upfront for unlimited anytime voice minutes and other mobile services.The trade-off is limited wireless access outside of urban areas like Albuquerque and fewer technology choices, said Cordova, a longtime Cricket subscriber who recently became a customer service representative at Cricket's Uptown corporate store near the Coronado Mall."I like it," Cordova said of the AT&T acquisition. "Hopefully, it will help with our coverage around the metro area and expand our coverage nationwide."That's one of the central selling points touted by AT&T as it seeks public support for the deal, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.AT&T spokesman Brad Burns said the combined company will have the scale and resources needed to better compete against other major national providers for consumers seeking low-cost, prepaid wireless plans."The result will be increased competition, better device choices, improved customer care and a significantly enhanced mobile Internet experience for consumers," Burns said in an email to the Journal .But industry analysts say it's just the latest in a steady stream of moves by large companies to acquire smaller competitors as they battle for control of the U.S. wireless market. Rather than increase competition, they say, such moves are further consolidating wireless services in the hands of just four companies -- AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint.The big four"This trend has been going on for several years, but now it's absolutely apparent that the U.S. market is consolidating into four major players and that everyone else will be snapped up by them at some point," said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at the international research firm Ovum."That means fewer options to choose from than previously, because until recently there were many smaller, regional carriers, some of which offered value and services that the big companies didn't."The four giants already control about 90 percent of the market, with the two top firms --Verizon Wireless and AT&T -- holding about 70 percent. Together, Verizon and AT&T have a little more than 200 million retail subscribers, although Verizon is slightly ahead of AT&T. Sprint trails in third place with 55 million subscribers, and T-Mobile in fourth with 43 million.Now, however, the 10 percent market share held by smaller regional carriers like Cricket is shrinking. That's because the big guys are buying them up to capture more subscribers in market segments that they ignored before, such as the prepaid arena, while in the process acquiring more spectrum -- the radio airwaves that connect mobile devices -- to add bandwidth for expansion and service improvement.Earlier this year, T-Mobile acquired Texas-based MetroPCS Communications for $1.5 billion. And in July, Sprint bought out Clearwire Corp. for $3.迷你倉價錢 billion.Dawson said the large companies are targeting the prepaid market now because it's the fastest-growing consumer segment. That's because the higher-end consumer base is fairly saturated, locking the giants into a competitive scramble to pull subscribers away from each other.But there's still room for expansion among lower-income groups and among consumers who prefer the flexibility of nocontract prepaid plans."The prepaid market used to be seen as the 'poor alternative' for people who couldn't get credit," Dawson said. "But now many consumers see it as a choice, because it offers the ability to change carriers or phones more quickly while providing greater spending flexibility up or down depending on monthly budgets. Some just see more value in it."Market growingThe prepaid segment grew from about 10 percent of the market a few years ago to 22 percent in 2012, and Ovum projects it will reach 29 percent by the end of 2017, Dawson said.But as the big players jockey for prepaid market share, the smaller companies don't have the resources to compete."The regional carriers grew by targeting that space when the larger players were not, but now with the industry consolidation that we're seeing, the major carriers are taking over both the pre- and postpaid segments of the market," Dawson said. "For regional carriers like Cricket, it's harder and harder to compete as large carriers invade their turf."Indeed, Cricket spokesman Greg Lund said the merger made sense for his company given AT&T's financial might.AT&T has said it will retain the Cricket brand name, continue to operate through Cricket's existing distribution channels and expand Cricket's presence to additional U.S. cities."This gives Cricket its best long-term opportunity for success," Lund said.On the other hand, market consolidation eventually could eclipse consumer benefits, since low-cost, prepaid services are less profitable for the big carriers than traditional contracts, said Toni Toikka, president of the Finnish mobile diagnostics firm Alekstra Inc.Over time, that could lead to upward pressure on prices and renewed efforts to push customers into contracts."I believe that could happen and customers will suffer," Toikka said.For now, robust competition among the four big players is still driving them to offer better devices with more flexible service plans and prices."It's still a very competitive market," said Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Jenny Weaver. "Customers still have a lot of choices and options, and we have to earn their business every day."But in good part, those dynamics are driven by competitive challenges from T-Mobile and Sprint, which are aggressively fighting for market share, something they may not be able to sustain in the long-term."Those companies are not as strong as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and I don't believe they can keep pushing prices down," Toikka said. "Eventually, I believe we'll see (the big carriers) move to more brandbased marketing that will be based less on competitive pricing and more on simply demonstrating distinctions in what they offer."In the meantime, however, the battle for market share is still raging among the big four."The smaller regional players like Cricket are steadily disappearing," Toikka said. "That's the trend, and it's an unfortunate development. But it's still a very competitive time in the wireless industry, and the market is benefitting."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at .abqjournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉庫