Sonia Arrison says there's a lesson from the recent decision of Verizon to open up its cell phone service to devices from other companies: competition works for consumers.

If being able to bring your own phone to a wireless carrier is important to you, try Verizon. Or, perhaps, wait until your own company responds to Verizon by offering a similar deal.

Verizon made the move, Arrison says, "because it is in a competitive industry, and it is a good strategic move. This should be another lesson for those who, unbelievably, still harp about how the telecommunications industry isn't competitive."

Unfortunately, those "those" include many people who, by virtue of holding public office, seek to "help" the consumer by micromanaging what has been one of the most dynamic industries out there.