Cellular South will pay customers to switch carriers

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Tier 3 operator Cellular South isn't going to let a little thing like early termination fees get in the way of luring new customers to its network. The Tier 3 operator announced yesterday that it will make it easier for customers to switch service providers by giving qualified customers a credit of up to $200 on their accounts to offset the early termination fees imposed by their former wireless carrier.

According to a study by IPSOS North America, out of 1000 adults surveyed, 47 percent would consider switching service if termination fees were eliminated.

For more:
- see this press release

Related stories:
Ontela, Cellular South partner for Pic Sender. Read more on Cellular South
Debate grows over 700MHz auction. See this Cellular South story
Small operator death knell. See this Cellular South story

Small operator extinction

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Over the past year we saw many operators snatch up smaller players in an effort to increase their footprint and continue their strong subscriber growth. It's clearly more economical for large operators to deploy new technologies in rural markets than for small operators with tiny footprints and less buying power.

Some purchases were quite small such as Leap buying Hargray Wireless for $30 million, Verizon Wireless snapping up Ramcell for an undisclosed amount and AT&T purchasing its remaining stake in Edge Wireless, a long-time affiliate in the Pacific Northwest. Others were more substantial such as AT&T acquiring Dobson Communications for $2.8 billion, Verizon buying Rural Cellular Corp. for $2.67 billion and T-Mobile USA snapping up SunCom Wireless for $2.4 billion.

For vendors the shrinking base of Tier 2 and Tier 3 carriers means fewer customers to buy their equipment. Obviously if you're a vendor with a Tier 1 customer base, this isn't a problem. But for smaller vendors, the Tier 3 carriers often offered them a chance to get a foothold in the market. -Sue