WASHINGTON – Thanks to the entry of cable companies and other voice over IP providers into the local telephony market, consumers and small businesses could save a total of $101.5 billion on their phone bills over the next five years.
A new economic study conducted by Microeconomic Consulting and Research Associates (MiCRA) on behalf of the National Cable Television Association says that American residential cable telephony consumers could save an average of US$135 each year or more, while small businesses could save 70% on their phone bills — nearly US$500 each year on average — by using a cable provider’s telephone service, the study says.
"Using widely accepted economic data sources and forecasting tools, the study finds that by 2011, nearly 24 million Americans are likely to purchase phone service from their cable companies," says the release. "Equally important, the study concludes that the traditional phone companies are compelled to respond to competition by cutting prices — creating yet additional savings for the customers that the incumbent phone companies retain."
The study, one of the lobbying tools being used Stateside to ramp up pressure on the federal government to settle the interconnection rules there, adds: "Ensuring that facilities-based VoIP providers can obtain interconnection on reasonable terms and conditions is the single most promising way of bringing competition and enormous savings to wireline telephone service, where incumbents still control roughly 85% of the residential and small business market."
