Coming: a Cell-Phone Frenzy

OVER THE PAST YEAR, CELLULAR phone dealers have tempted buyers with discounted rates and a growing list of freebies- everything from gratis phones and activation fees to leather carrying cases and even hockey tickets. Now, as new competitors muscle into the market, a rate and incentive war is looming.

Westlake-based PCS Prime-Co-a joint venture formed by Bell Atlantic, Nynex, U.S. West, and Airtouch Communications- has its equipment running and will have service available to the public in the second half of this year. It will be the first of a handful of new players in Dallas’ mobile phone market to take on the two current cellular carriers, Southwestern Bell and AT&T Wireless Services (formerly MetroCel), creating a downward push on monthly rates. PCS PrimeCo is being tight-lipped about the specific advantages its service will offer consumers, but the well-financed company’s stated goal is to make using a portable as common as calling on a regular phone line. To do that, studies suggest, customers’ bills will need to run less than $50 a month. Some current cellular plans are already near or below that price, but these rates apply only to those who use their phones on a very limited basis.

Actually, the PCS network will be digital, not cellular. That means clearer sound, more privacy (a boon to local politicians), and larger network capacity. And its main selling point will be its nationwide coverage, making roaming fees and long-distance charges all-but-forgotten woes to mobile phone customers.

Dallas-Fort Worth is a huge cellular market, with about 15 per cent of the population already owning a cellular phone (ranking us second behind Chicago). But there are still more than a million potential new customers in this area. As battle lines are formed, Southwestern Bell and AT&T Wireless Services dealers desperately want to capture the uncommitted before the first shots are fired.