Wireline phone competition in Michigan showed a decline in 2006, ...
Wireline phone competition in Michigan showed a decline in 2006, the second year in a row competitive wireline access lines dropped in number, according to an annual Public Service Commission telecom competition report. Wireline competitors lost 197,100 access lines…
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compared to 2005, or 17 percent, for a 2.9 percent market share drop. But broadband and wireless showed continued growth in the period, the report said. In 2006 competitive wireline carriers provided 961,500 access lines, for an 18.3 percent market share, compared to 1.16 million lines in 2005, a 21.2 percent share. AT&T provided 65.5 percent of 5.26 million access lines; Verizon, 12.3 percent. Other incumbent phone companies provided 3.9 percent of wireline access lines. The wireline access line total was a 3.9 percent drop from the 2005 count, representing migration to wireless, VoIP and other emerging technologies, elimination of UNE-P as a competitive platform, and continuing mergers and acquisitions, the report said. The report cited FCC data that show Michigan had 6.87 million wireless subscribers as of June 30, 2006, or 633,400 more than on June 30, 2005. Data show a modest slowdown in wireless growth rates, but wireless growth remains strong. FCC figures show 66 percent of Michigan households have DSL available from their incumbent telephone company, while 92 percent of households with cable service available also can get cable modem service. The report said Michigan was slightly below national averages of 79 percent DSL availability and 93 percent cable modem availability. The report cited very strong broadband line growth; between June 2005 and June 2006, Michigan added 450,300 broadband lines for a total 1.79 million broadband lines.