1. Compare the prices of two mobile phone carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon. What types of pricing strategies are they using?
Wireless carriers are trying to get customers to pay more for something they do less and less-making phone calls. It seems consumers are doing everything but talking on their mobile phones. Average voice-minute usage has fallen since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 and consumers have turned to text and voice-over-Internet calling options such as Skype. But voice billings account for almost 70 percent of what carriers charge mobile phone customers, and they don't want this cash cow to dry up. As a result, carriers are starting to drop plans that allow subscribers to buy only the minutes they need or want and are replacing them with flat rates covering unlimited calling. Carriers say this would be less complicated for consumers, but the real reason is that they do not want customers trading down to cheaper plans when they realize they can save money by scaling back their voice plans. So carriers are eliminating tiered-pricing voice plans altogether.