Number Portability Remains Popular, Churn Stays Low
Three million US mobile subscribers ported their phone numbers when they switched operators between December 2004 and April, highlighting the ongoing popularity of number portability. This comes amid reports from mobile operators that churn is down, illustrating once again that all the objections they raised to WLNP on the basis that it would cause churn to skyrocket were completely bogus. The effects of WLNP are offset by the long-term contracts operators force on customers — often generally their only measure to retain customers, given their chronic infatuation with treating new customers as more valuable than existing ones.
