MOUNTAIN LAKES, N.J.-Even without wireless local number portability, churn continues to increase, according to a recent study by Solomon-Wolff Associates that says annual churn is currently 17.7 percent, reflecting an increase of 62 percent during the past five years.
According to churn ratios determined in the study, most of the national carriers actually benefit from churn. Of the national operators, only AT&T Wireless Services Inc. had a churn ratio of less than 1, indicating it is injured by churn, and its ratio was 0.95. Regional carriers Cellular One and Alltel showed more definite signs of injury with churn ratios of 0.43 and 0.67, respectively. Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc. benefit the most from churn, according to the study, and Cingular Wireless and Sprint PCS also benefit slightly.
“In-depth analysis shows the dynamics of switching between brands and the study includes data on all wireless brands,” said Joey Wolff, partner at Solomon-Wolff Associates. “As an example, those switching from AT&T Wireless go mostly to Cingular and Verizon, while those switching from Sprint move mostly to AT&T and Verizon.”
