UCSD Study Sees Highly Competitive Telecom Marketplace in California
06/23/2005
Erik Pisor,
The Daily Transcript
California's communications marketplace is increasingly competitive, according to a study prepared by Michael Kleeman, director of cyber infrastructure policy research at the University of California San Diego.
The study, "Not Your Father's Competition", found that the majority of communications end-users have the opportunity to choose from multiple service providers -- such as SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC), Cox Communications or Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) in the San Diego area -- that are competing on price, technology, features and service quality from various industry sectors.
Kleeman noted that when competition in telecommunications was discussed in the past, it had largely been evaluated from the providers' perspective. Today, the industry distinctions like incumbent local carriers or long-distance carriers are less relevant.
He also evaluated the impact of the proposed merger between SBC and AT&T (NYSE: T) on California consumers. "If this proposed merger were to have been considered 10 or even five years ago, the consumer impact might have been considerable," he said. "Today, there is little expected impact on consumer competitive choice."
