A Quarter of Wireless Users Likely to Switch Carriers if Prices Rise: NPD

A quarter of mobile phone owners are extremely or very likely to switch wireless carriers in the next six months if their carrier raises prices due to inflation, NPD emailed Thursday. Postpaid smartphone sales grew in the past two years due in part to carriers’ “aggressive subsidies and trade-in offers,” said the report. Some 39% of prepaid users said they switched to postpaid accounts due to the price of the plan and 37% due to network coverage and call quality. In Q2, 5G was 68% of postpaid sales, up from 49% in the year-ago quarter. About three-fourths of mobile phone owners are aware of cable companies’ mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) wireless service offerings, NPD said, and about a third are extremely or very interested in switching their mobile service to their cable provider if offered a comparable or more affordable rate. More than half of mobile phone owners are aware of wireless 5G home internet services offered by carriers, and nearly half of mobile phone owners show high interest in switching to 5G home internet if offered a more affordable option, it said. Consumers not willing to try out 5G home internet services are most concerned about data speeds, said the research firm. For the 2022 holiday season, interest in buying a smartphone tracks with income, said NPD’s report on holiday purchase intentions. Some 27% of consumers with an income over $150,000 showed interest in buying a smartphone during the holidays vs. 13% in the $75,000-$150,000 bracket and 12% making under $75,000.