The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that enhanced information collection policies could help the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) better monitor competition in the country’s mobile industry. It said that many industry participants beyond the “top national carriers” – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile – believe that policies for spectrum availability and the rules governing “some essential elements of wireless networks” favour the large national carriers, which is potentially impeding the competitiveness of the industry. It also notes that many smaller operators and consumer groups have said that early contract termination fees and exclusive handset deals have served as barriers to consumer movement between operators. The GAO says that the FCC has “not collected data on many industry investments or consumer switching costs because of the complexity and burden associated with gathering these data”, and that “additional data could help assess the competitiveness of small and regional carriers, as well as shed light on the impact of switching costs for consumers.”

According to the GAO, the FCC’s annual wireless competition report, which is one of its primary tools for monitoring the market, “relies on limited data sources and does not assess some industry inputs and outputs.” Four areas were identified where the Commission lacks original data: prices, charged for backhaul, capital expenditure on network builds, and devices and equipment costs. The report recommends that the regulator should “assess whether expanding original data collection of wireless industry inputs and outputs would help the Commission better satisfy its requirement to review competitive market conditions with respect to commercial mobile services.”  It noted that the FCC had taken “no position” on the GAO’s recommendations, but had provided technical input to the July 2010 report.