LOS ANGELES—The latest Econ One survey showed that costs of cell-phone service in the United States dropped greatly during 2001, especially in those cities that traditionally offer the highest prices and in calling plans that offer the most airtime.
The average cost of monthly service in December 2001 across 25 major cities was $36.70, down 7.3 percent from a year ago. Costs for the year went down in every city surveyed, ranging from San Francisco’s 22.2-percent drop to Kansas City’s 0.2 percent drop. In fact, California’s four major markets, including San Francisco, Los Angeles (down 16.9 percent), San Diego (down 15 percent) and Sacramento (down 14.2 percent) represented the greatest cost reductions for the past year.
For December, San Diego, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., saw the biggest drops in costs. Only Chicago showed an increase, yet it remained the least expensive city for the third month in a row.
“Clearly, competition for the cellular consumer’s dollar continues to work in the markets we survey, particularly in the higher-end plans,” said Charles Mahla, senior economist with Econ One. “The best news comes from our California markets, which have shown the greatest drop in costs. While they continue to be in the upper third in terms of our cost index, it is no longer automatic to have a California market be the most expensive in the country.”
