What's the Story? Wireless price hikes don't deter customers

While the rate of new wireless customers is slowing down, increased prices don't appear to be scaring off existing customers.

Kelsey Ziser, Mike Dano

January 22, 2024

At a Glance

  • Why wireless prices are increasing in the US (01:18)
  • T-Mobile plans to raise prices on its fixed wireless access (FWA) service (05:23)
  • Class action lawsuit against Verizon for its Administrative and Telco Recovery charge (05:41)

No expense is safe from inflation at the moment and wireless prices are no exception. Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss why wireless prices are going up as US carriers increase fees. While the rate of new wireless customers is slowing down, increased prices don't appear to be scaring off existing customers.

We also discuss why Verizon Wireless customers could get $100 each. Verizon was recently hit with a $100 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit due to the service provider's "Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge." However, it's not stopping Verizon from continuing to charge customers the extra fee moving forward.

For lightly edited transcript, please click the caption button in the video toolbar.

Here are a few topics we covered:

  • Why wireless prices are increasing in the US (01:18)

  • Wireless carriers are seeking ROI from their 5G deployments (03:46)

  • T-Mobile plans to raise prices on its fixed wireless access (FWA) service (05:23)

  • Class action lawsuit against Verizon for its Administrative and Telco Recovery charge (05:41)

  • What rising wireless prices mean for smaller competitors such as Mint Mobile (07:24)

  • At what point will consumers seek out less expensive wireless plans? (08:53)

Read more about:

What's the Story

About the Author(s)

Kelsey Ziser

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Kelsey is a senior editor at Light Reading, co-host of the Light Reading podcast, and host of the "What's the story?" podcast.

Her interest in the telecom world started with a PR position at Connect2 Communications, which led to a communications role at the FREEDM Systems Center, a smart grid research lab at N.C. State University. There, she orchestrated their webinar program across college campuses and covered research projects such as the center's smart solid-state transformer.

Kelsey enjoys reading four (or 12) books at once, watching movies about space travel, crafting and (hoarding) houseplants.

Kelsey is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Mike Dano

Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading

Mike Dano is Light Reading's Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies. Mike can be reached at [email protected], @mikeddano or on LinkedIn.

Based in Denver, Mike has covered the wireless industry as a journalist for almost two decades, first at RCR Wireless News and then at FierceWireless and recalls once writing a story about the transition from black and white to color screens on cell phones.

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