LOS ANGELES-According to the latest survey by Econ One Research, the average price of monthly cell phone service dropped about 8 percent in the past six months.
The survey also showed that for January, the average price rose 1.4 percent from December. Econ One attributed the increase mostly to the end of pre-holiday promotions.
The survey of the 25 top markets in the United States averaged the prices of four usage-level plans from 30 minutes to 600 minutes per month.
Los Angeles’ average price for service fell 2.9 percent compared with December but remained the most expensive city in the survey, averaging $46.11 per month.
Cell phone users in Phoenix saw their rates rise 0.5 percent in January, with users seeing little to complain about since the city remained the least expensive in the survey at $36.98 per month.
St. Louis saw the biggest decrease in price, dropping 13.5 percent to $39.26 per month, followed by Sacramento, Calif., where average costs fell 8 percent to $37.15 per month.
Houston cell phone users felt the hardest tug on their wallets in January with service increasing 11.6 percent to $42.26 per month compared with December, followed closely by Tampa, Fla., where service prices jumped 11.3 percent to $41.76 per month.
During the six-month period from August to January, Phoenix saw the largest decrease in prices, falling 19.4 percent. Boston was close behind with average prices falling 15.8 percent to $41.44 during the six-month period.
Only three cities of the 25 surveyed saw cell phone rates increase over the six months, with Tampa and Atlanta rising 1.1 percent, followed by Cincinnati, climbing a mere 0.5 percent.
