Government deregulation of the long-distance telephone business has resulted in increased competition among telephone carriers, thus resulting in lower prices for consumers. This process, however, will ultimately result in lower-quality service for consumers, because as the telephone carriers drop their prices to compete with one another for customers, they will be forced to cut corners on non-essential items like customer service. Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument that government deregulation of the telephone business will result in lower-quality customer service?