Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1862 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 ) In the Matter of ) ) Implementation of Section 6002(b) of the ) WT Docket No. 13-135 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 ) ) Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive ) Market Conditions With Respect to Mobile ) Wireless, Including Commercial Mobile Services ) SEVENTEENTH REPORT Adopted: December 18, 2014 Released: December 18, 2014 By the Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: TABLE OF CONTENTS Heading Paragraph # I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 II. COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY ................................................................ 10 A. Service Providers ............................................................................................................................ 11 1. Facilities-Based Providers ....................................................................................................... 11 2. Resale and MVNO Providers ................................................................................................... 15 3. Other Providers ........................................................................................................................ 17 B. Connections, Net Additions, Churn ................................................................................................ 19 1. Subscribers and Total Connections, and Net Additions .......................................................... 19 2. Subscribers and Net Additions ................................................................................................. 23 3. Churn ....................................................................................................................................... 26 C. Market Shares and Concentration .................................................................................................. 29 D. Financial Indicators ........................................................................................................................ 34 1. Revenue and ARPU ................................................................................................................. 34 2. Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) by Provider ..................................................................... 38 3. Wireless Telephone Services CPI ............................................................................................ 40 4. Profitability Metrics ................................................................................................................. 42 III. OVERALL MOBILE WIRELESS INDUSTRY METRICS ................................................................ 44 A. Network Coverage .......................................................................................................................... 45 1. Overall Network Coverage ...................................................................................................... 46 2. Network Coverage and Roaming ............................................................................................. 57 3. Network Coverage by Technology .......................................................................................... 58 4. Network Coverage by Income Levels ...................................................................................... 60 5. Commission Actions Related to Coverage, Technology and Roaming ................................... 61 B. Connections and Subscribers .......................................................................................................... 66 1. Connections and Subscribers by Geography ........................................................................... 66 1 Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1862 2. Connections and Subscribers by Demographics ...................................................................... 67 C. Consumers and Mobile Wireless .................................................................................................... 69 1. Usage ....................................................................................................................................... 70 2. Handsets ................................................................................................................................... 75 3. Mobile Applications................................................................................................................. 77 4. Consumer Access to Information ............................................................................................. 82 5. Intermodal Developments ........................................................................................................ 86 IV. INPUT MARKETS ............................................................................................................................... 87 A. Spectrum ......................................................................................................................................... 88 1. Importance of Spectrum for the Provision of Mobile Wireless Services ................................. 89 2. Facilitating Access to Spectrum ............................................................................................... 93 3. Analysis of Spectrum Holdings ............................................................................................. 104 B. Non-Spectrum Input Segments..................................................................................................... 108 1. Wireless Infrastructure ........................................................................................................... 108 2. Backhaul ................................................................................................................................ 116 C. Downstream Mobile Wireless Ecosystem .................................................................................... 120 V. PRICING LEVELS AND TRENDS................................................................................................... 126 A. Postpaid Service ........................................................................................................................... 128 1. Equipment Installment Plans ................................................................................................. 129 2. Changes in Monthly Pricing of Postpaid Plans ...................................................................... 135 3. Impact of EIPs on Consumer Costs ....................................................................................... 140 4. Promotions and Incentives ..................................................................................................... 144 5. Evolution of Data Pricing Models ......................................................................................... 147 6. Other Developments .............................................................................................................. 152 B. Prepaid Service ............................................................................................................................. 154 1. Prepaid Plan Choices ............................................................................................................. 159 2. Availability of Handsets ........................................................................................................ 162 3. Service Coverage ................................................................................................................... 163 4. Data Speeds and Data Allowances ........................................................................................ 164 C. Price Indicators for Mobile Data .................................................................................................. 165 1. Postpaid Smartphone Data Price ............................................................................................ 166 2. Prepaid Smartphone Data Price ............................................................................................. 167 VI. NON-PRICE RIVALRY .................................................................................................................... 168 A. Investment .................................................................................................................................... 169 B. Network Coverage and Technology Upgrades ............................................................................. 173 1. Current Coverage by Provider ............................................................................................... 174 2. Coverage and Roaming .......................................................................................................... 180 3. Service Provider Network Deployments................................................................................ 182 C. Quality of Service ......................................................................................................................... 189 1. Network Speed ....................................................................................................................... 193 2. Latency ................................................................................................................................... 204 D. Differentiation in Mobile Wireless Handsets/ Devices ...............................................................