MOUNTAIN LAKES, N.J.-Wireless carriers might see churn the likes of that once experienced by long-distance service providers when wireless local number portability is implemented, according to research from Solomon Wolff Associates.
About one in six wireless subscribers switched during the past year, and the incidences of switching have increased during the past four years, the research group said.
“Wireless number portability could be huge,” said Joey Wolff, partner at the firm. Solomon Wolff’s data shows that during the next six months, 7 percent of wireless users said they will definitely switch providers and 14 percent said they will probably switch. “If this is added to the 18 percent who currently switch, we could see 35 percent to 40 percent of wireless users switching during the next 12 months,” added Wolff, equating those percentages to the level of switching that occurs in the long-distance business.
Solomon Wolff suggests wireless carriers increase marketing efforts to target segments that have expressed the most interest in switching. Self-employed people, high spenders and wireless users in Los Angeles appear more interested in churning than the average user, according to the group’s research.
Solomon Wolff’s data was gathered through survey results of more than 6,000 participants in its online database.
