Mobile telecoms
移动通信
Four is a magic number
4是一个有魔力的数字
But operators on both sides of the Atlantic hope to break the spell
大西洋两岸的供应商都想打破魔咒
Mar 15th 2014 | From the print edition
1 IN AMERICA, a price war is threatened. In Europe, combatants in a bloody conflict hope for peace. Both struggles have the same cause: that the number of big mobile-phone operators might be cut from four, the norm in many countries, to three. Regulators have been wary of this, fearing higher prices. In America they remain cautious. But in Europe, where markets are smaller and operators struggling, they may budge.
2 The talk of war came on March 11th from Masayoshi Son, the boss of Softbank, a Japanese firm that controls Sprint, America’s third-largest mobile operator. Mr Son has his eye on T-Mobile USA, which ranks fourth: he wants to create a bigger rival to the two dominant carriers, AT&T and Verizon. Regulators have received the idea coolly. So has T-Mobile USA.
3 Lately T-Mobile USA—which bought a smallish operator, MetroPCS, last year—has waged a guerrilla campaign against AT&T, which has fought back with price cuts of its own. Mr Son promised no let-up: there would be a “massive price war” if he got his way. He added that a strong third mobile operator could also in time compete with fixed-line broadband, where choice is limited, prices are high and speeds slow.
4 Hope of peace comes from France, where Free, a cut-price entrant, has been harrying the established operators for two years. According to James Barford of Enders Analysis, a research firm, mobile-service revenues in France fell by 11% last year and by 6% in 2012. Profits have been squeezed hard. Among big European markets, only in Italy and Spain, where recession has been deep and long, have operators suffered more.
5 Hostilities may become less intense in France if Bouygues Telecom, the third-biggest operator, buys the second, SFR, from Vivendi, an ex-conglomerate that intends to concentrate on media. On March 5th Bouygues and Numericable, a cable operator, both made offers for SFR. This week Bouygues raised the cash portion of its bid. It is now offering Vivendi
