Amazon is reportedly considering offering its own cell service to consumers, per a Bloomberg story. This would be a huge shock to an industry stabilized by a functional monopoly dominated by big three AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Amazon is one of the most vertically integrated companies in tech. It’s growth is largely driven by its Amazon Web Service division used by many businesses for hosting, while its retail marketplace remains one of the most diversified
Vertical integration is when a company doesn’t attempt to procure a monopoly in one good or industry, that being difficult under DOJ rules, but rather keep an interest in many different ones so as to spread economic risk and the possibility of a DOJ investigation for anti-trust laws. Amazon recently launched a medical company in partnership with One Medical, spreading its influence more and more into our daily lives. However, Amazon has denied immediate cell service perks for Prime Members, but does not rule it out in the future.
Amazon has been using its Prime Membership as a vehicle for future growth and brand loyalty. Once subscribe to Amazon Prime, consumers get free shipping on many products, while at the same time offering movie and music streaming as well as hosting. Other competitors have been bundling various services to remain competitive on prices while attracting loyal consumers to secure future income streams. For instance, Apple bundles its digital services into “Apple One”, which makes them cheaper as a package but further draws clients away from cancelling if all their digital life resides on Big Tech servers.
