It takes money to make money. Verizon was the first to roll out LTE and they have the largest LTE network in the US. And they have the best coverage in rural areas. You do not get there without investing money. Am I saying I agree with a lot of Verizon or AT&T's business practices, nope. But when you use a service like Cricket or Virgin Mobile you quickly realize what you are paying for. The record breaking quarters Verizon been getting not only looks good for the investors but also goes into infrastructure and improving their service. Think about it, the main complaint you hear about Verizon is them nickel and diming the heck out of their customer. Rarely to you hear complaints about their service. How long do you think T-Mobile will be able to keep up what they are doing before even they are going to have to have to find ways to make money. Without money T-mobile can not improve their infrastructure to keep up with big red and big blue. That is the reality of things...you have to have money to improve your product and in order to improve your product you need to hire good personnel, and to hire good personnel you need to offer incentives like raises, bonuses, and healthcare (which continues to rise), in order to be able to continue handing out bonus checks, offer good insurance, and giving raises while improving services you need to make money.
As a consumer we are not powerless we have the power of choice which is very powerful. Our decision decide the direction that companies will take. You do not like what Verizon does then go somewhere else. That worked with AT&T, why do you think AT&T is so quick to mirror what T-Mobile does, because they lost customers during the first T-mobile uncarrier plan. And even though their product is superior they are going to move money around just enough to keep their customers feeling like they are getting the same thing. Our choice and voice is what keeps the "too big to fail mantra" in check. We as a consumer decide what we decide is important, if you think having quality wireless service is important then you keep paying for it. If you feel like as long as you can make a call and you rather that money goes somewhere else then choose the carrier that fit your budget.