This fascinating story in the NYT tells of the proliferation of cellphones and how they are used to make life better. But how strange that the journalist was not even slightly curious about the companies and entrepreneurs who make this possible. I seem to recall that early on, the US refused to permit cellphones companies in and were seeking to grant a monopoly (MTC seems to have been a contender) to a preferred provider (see here). Anyone know what happened? Is there free competition? This 2005 piece says that a company called Iraqna is a provider.