Consumers Win in Cellphone Providers' Price War

Your mobile-phone bill may finally be shrinking.

The industry's fight over prices, ignited last year by T-Mobile US Inc., is beginning to have a noticeable effect even for consumers who haven't switched carriers. As they jockey to match or beat each other's discounts for new customers, the wireless companies are also passing along savings to their current users to keep them from running off to a competitor.

Even Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. wireless carrier and the one that gets the most revenue per customer, has been dragged into the fray. In the last week, with no formal announcement or fanfare, it matched AT&T's latest price cut for big-spending, family-plan customers — itself a move to get closer to the $140 a month T-Mobile charges for an equivalent package. While sales are still expanding for mobile carriers, savvy consumers have been able to save hundreds of dollars a year. Read more...