Cellular customers' average monthly bill dropped 9.3 percent to $51 in 1995 from $56.21 in 1994, reflecting lower rates charged by companies in an increasingly competitive market, the cellular industry's trade group reports.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association also reported that industry revenue in 1995 hit an all-time high of $19 billion, a 34 percent increase over the previous year's $14.2 billion.The number of cellular customers grew 40 percent to 33.8 million in 1995.
The cellular industry faces new competition from companies providing "personal communications services." These include wireless telephone and data services that are supposed to be more mobile and cheaper than the same services provided by existing cellular companies.
PCS companies use digital technology, more efficient and less susceptible to interference than analog technology used mostly by existing cellular providers. Some cellular companies are making the expensive and time-consuming network conversion to digital to prepare for new competitors.