Verizon's Wireless Problem May Be Bigger Than You Think

At first glance, it's easy to chalk up Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) second-quarter net loss of 215,000 postpaid wireless customers to price hikes put in place during the three-month stretch in question. Fortunately, the company had a better showing on the business front, picking up (again on a net basis) 430,000 postpaid customers. Still, following its first-quarter attrition of 292,000 postpaid consumers that preceded any major price hikes, shareholders have good reason to be concerned. That's particularly true in light of the fact that competitors AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) managed to add 813,000 and 380,000 postpaid accounts, respectively, during the same quarter. Clearly, it can be done.

Verizon's woes may go well beyond competing plans from the industry's other two established powerhouses, though; T-Mobile's and AT&T's pricing plans aren't dramatically different, in fact. Rather, the market's cost-conscious crowd is slowly switching to a couple of wireless service providers that should concern T-Mobile and AT&T just as much as it does Verizon.

Those alternative wireless services? For most consumers, it's your local cable TV company.

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Source Fool.com