es to Inter- net browsing. Subscribers may pay as little as $15 a month for such fea- tures, which is what Sprint PCS charges for a variety of messaging, video mail, and web services. 15 In addition, a high-speed third generation (3-G) of services is slowly making its way into the United States. 16 These not only enhance the value of a subscription but also add to the average min- utes of use. Because traditional cellular services can now be used to connect to the Internet, the local wire-based telephone line is no longer necessary even for Internet services. A household can obtain Internet access at speeds com- parable to those provided by dial-up connections by connecting its com- puter, generally a laptop, to a wireless service. Alternatively, one can browse the Internet directly through the handset or other portable device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). By the end of 2002, an esti- mated 12 million wireless subscribers were using some form of wireless data service.17 In addition, consumers in many major metropolitan areas are now able to access Verizon Wireless's new broadband service for about $80 per month. Competition in the Wireless Sector Because regulators viewed cellular service as a high-value complement to existing local services, they approached it from a very narrow geographic perspective, initially awarding licenses to two carriers in each local market in the country. When the FCC began to auction new spectrum for cellu- lar services in December 1994, it continued in the same manner, auction- ing two 30-megahertz bands in each of fifty-one major trading areas (MTAs). In its next two major cellular auctions, involving a total of 60 megahertz, it divided the country into 493 basic trading areas (BTAs), roughly corresponding to census metropolitan statistical areas. 18 These decisions were taken before it became obvious that cellular service would evolve into one that required a national footprint because many users travel between the MTAs or BTAs and, particularly after 1998, use their