THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040400
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE MAYFIELD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 53 lines
Hoping to drive cellular-phone use further down the income scale, GTE Mobilnet has introduced its cheapest-ever calling plan in Hampton Roads - a new service that subdivides the local area into two calling zones.
GTE Mobilnet said under its new ``zoned pricing'' plan, customers can get basic cellular service for as little as $15.95 a month plus tax and pay usage fees of as little as 35 cents a minute. The phone costs $39.95.
That's $2 a month less in the basic access fee and as much as 10 cents a minute less in usage charges than the previous lowest-cost plan available from the company. The phone itself, meanwhile, is about $50 less.
The only catch is customers of the new service can't travel far without paying roaming charges, which can run $1 a minute or more. Customers have to choose one of two zones and then call within that zone's boundaries to avoid extra fees.
One zone includes Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Isle of Wight County. The other consists of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg and the counties of Gloucester, James City, Mathews and York.
``We've done research that shows there are a lot of people out there who've wanted something like this, but they've been waiting for the right price,'' said Carla Ussery, Hampton Roads general manager for GTE Mobilnet.
She said to boost interest in the new plan, the company is offering an introductory special that will cut monthly access fees to as little as $9.95 a month for the first three months. Customers have to sign one- or two-year service contracts, however.
Plans like GTE Mobilnet's are becoming increasingly common as cellular carriers rush to lock in as many customers as they can before new competitors move in on their turf.
As many as a half-dozen new wireless providers offering something known as personal communications services will take to the airwaves within the next few years. In Hampton Roads, for example, a consortium of Baby Bells operating as PrimeCo Personal Communications plans to begin offering service before Christmas. AT&T Wireless Services plans to enter the market with its own personal communications offering in mid-1997.
The new competition is likely to drive down prices for wireless services, but that's nothing new.
Since 1990, the average cellular bill has fallen from $84 a month to about $50 a month, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. In the same period, the number of cellular subscribers nationwide has risen from 4.4 million to more than 41 million, the association said.
Bob Sage, local manager for 360 Communications, the other cellular provider in Hampton Roads, said his company will likely offer zoned pricing plans, too, in the next few months.
Both GTE Mobilnet and 360 had previously introduced such price schemes in other markets in the Midwest and Southeast. by CNB