Many in our industry argue that there exists a wireless duopoly. A contributing factor to the size of the major two carriers is the number of cell sites they have. Obviously the more sites, the better your network. However, in my opinion, that is not why the big two are so big. A wireless network only got them so far. The top got to the top because they have the ability to provide voice, internet, cable and other cool stuff, and I am not just talking about the latest and greatest gadgets. The big guys also bundle services, the smaller carriers do not. This would make me think that if the smaller carriers wanted to be competitive, they would need to bring something new to the table.
This brings me to mergers. I like mergers and they can be a fantastic vehicle through which a small company can grow. If precedent is any indicator, in our industry when carriers merge the tower count looks great. However, as we have seen time and time again, sites are eventually decommissioned because of duplication. I don’t gamble but wireless merging with more wireless is doubling up on the same bet. You better have a winning hand. Then again, wireless plus cable or internet, and who knows what the possibilities may be. You will certainly be able to have wireless, VoIP, cable, internet and maybe original content, something the big carriers definitely don’t have. When you provide consumers something original that is innovation. And that can propel a small company into being an industry leader. I think that may finally give the bigger carriers a run for their wireless.
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