Anti-churn or customer control? How Mobile Network Operators (MNO) deal with the VNO arrival?
> Key emerging battle, fought on many fronts, which will engage wireless and wireline carriers against new VNO entrants who stand to win much new ground.
> Wireless carriers have had relatively tight control of their customer base through a variety of means that have reduced the customer’s control over their service choices:- Early termination fees to lock in the revenue stream for the service term- Restricted access to specific Web sites and content (walled private garden)
- Ownership of the customer’s wireless phone number
- Handsets with “locked” network provider settings
These solutions are practiced by most of MNOs. But consumers are asking for more flexible system. As we can see in European countries, withing a new regulation measure, people are allowed to change operator and but he can keep the same calling telephon number.
About termination fees, the European commission has stated on 2007 to fixe an upper limit for the voice international roaming services. This kind of limitation is more difficult to manage in the national level with the termination fees between PSTN and MNOs. Anyway, VNOs still depend on the MNO policies as a follower.
