Recent announcements that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission plan to conduct inquiries into how wireless telecommunications firms operate have left many industry observers wondering just what DOJ officials are thinking. After eight years of relatively lax antitrust investigations under President George W. Bush, many consider reinvigorated antitrust efforts to be a good thing.

Clearly, from a consumer perspective, it makes sense to ask questions of companies and industries regarding antitrust issues where a clear lack of competition exists. However, the recent moves by Justice and the FCC are puzzling because in the case of wireless communications today, competition is alive and well.

Throughout Missouri, wireless competition is evident. In urban St. Louis, the hundreds of thousands of residents have numerous choices when it comes to wireless service. According to the independent website myrateplan.com, people living in Saint Louis city have no less than seven options for a wireless carrier among prepaid and postpaid providers. Even more impressive, is that the 1,493 residents of Steelville, Missouri can choose between five different prepaid and postpaid providers.

Overall, 95% of the U.S. population has a choice of three or more wireless service providers and 60% have a choice of five or more. The choices are even more staggering when it comes to the number of wireless devices. Currently, U.S. consumers can choose from over 30 different manufacturers and from over 600 devices. In comparison, consumers in the United Kingdom have only 147 devices to choose from.

While choice is certainly a valuable measure of competition, so is price. On this front, U.S. consumers come out on top. A Banc of America Securities study from earlier this year showed that since 1994, the cost of a wireless minute in the U.S. has fallen nearly 90% to just five cents per minute. This is the lowest cost per minute among 26 industrialized member nations within the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. This low cost per minute is probably why U.S. customers lead the world with an average of 829 minutes of usage per month – nearly twice as many minutes as runner-up, Hong Kong.

So whether the measuring stick is number of choices among service providers, number of choices among wireless devices, or cost for usage, the American wireless industry is not only competitive, but it is among the most competitive in the world. As the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the FCC continue to look at the wireless industry, it should become apparent that their efforts would be better focused on industries where a true lack of competition really exists.

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