Study Concludes People Have Little Operator Loyalty
This is a pretty silly study actually. A research firm is talking up the fact that 80% of mobile subscribers would switch to an MVNO. Of course, the MVNO aspect is pretty meaningless. To the average consumer, that an operator is an MVNO doesn’t matter. They just want mobile service that works and meets their needs. What the study is really saying is that there’s very little loyalty among mobile subscribers — which should come as little surprise. The industry has repeatedly gone out of its way to treat its customers badly, trying to lock them down, rather than recognizing that giving them what they want turns them into loyal customers who stick around (without locked handsets and onerous contract terms). So, yes, of course MVNOs represent a threat — but not because they’re MVNOs, but because they might just treat subscribers better.
