TORONTO – Canadian consumers are hopeful that phone number portability will bring better competition to the Canadian marketplace and that once their current contract expire, they will look around for deals.
With last month’s arrival of number portability in Canada, a new independent poll conducted by TNS Canadian Facts shows what the industry figures is out there: that there are a bunch of unconcerned, sort of inert, wireless consumers out there who are generally satisfied with their wireless brand and may – or may not – change.
"While having to give up their phone numbers when changing providers was not the only factor keeping consumers loyal to their phone company, we can expect considerable changes from telecommunication companies as they try to retain current subscribers and attract new ones in a highly competitive market," said Richard Jenkins, vice-president of TNS Canadian Facts, in a release.
The poll found that half of all personal cell phone users are aware of number portability but few of those with a current contract are planning to switch when their contract expires (19% probably or definitely will). Pay-as-you-go users also plan to stay with their current company (only 13% probably or definitely will switch).
Cell phone users do expect that the introduction of number portability will make it more likely that they will switch at some point in the future. Portability resonates with consumers, too. Eighty-one per cent of cell phone users say that it is very important that they can keep their phone number if they switch companies. Wireless users also expect that being able to keep their phone number will result in more competition.
Although there are high levels of satisfaction with current providers (43% are very satisfied and 44% are fairly satisfied), many consumers are willing to consider their options and are not so strongly wedded to their current service providers to discount the possibility of switching at some point in the future.
"Consumers are now free to contemplate offers from other companies, even if they are satisfied with their current provider, and they expect these offers to come," added Jenkins. "A lot now depends on which players effectively embrace number portability and are successful at winning the hearts and minds of consumers in this new competitive environment."
For the study, a total of 1,017 nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed by telephone between March 12 and 18, yielding a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Some questions were asked only to the 482 individuals who own and pay for a cell phone. For this sub-set of the total sample, the survey results are considered accurate to within 4.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
