If the main operators are struggling to recruit new customers in a mature market, MVNOs attract more and more subscribers with their attractive offers.
The observatory of ARCEP, the telecom regulatory authority, has produced a report on the current state of the art mobile phones. To date, 67 million SIM cards in circulation in France, representing an increase of 6% over last year. The number of packages also continues to grow by about 6% a year, which is less than the previous year when sales growth reached 8%. What makes the most good operators (and one would have suspected), it is that smartphones now account for a total of 30 million subscribers, while last year this category was only 25 million units, a strong growth of 17%.
MVNOs claim a fleet of 7 million subscribers against 4 million last year, representing a market share of 11%
But what stands out most of this report is the importance that are taking the MVNO (virtual operators), multiplying these tempting offers, completely removing engagement with rates very competitive with incumbents. That's why they can claim a fleet of 7 million subscribers against 4 million last year, representing a significant market share of about 11%. The three giants of the mobile (Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom), for their part, fail to recruit only 2% of new customers.
Not staying asleep on their laurels, they have however recently launched their offers low cost as B & You, Red or Sosh, offers sent to customers who prefer to manage their own customer accounts on the Internet, with an against-party financial and without obligation. A way for them to try to stop the bleeding of customers to cheaper offers, trying to catch up with clients (often already have a smartphone) who went to competition. But the proliferation of non-binding offers favors the volatility in the customer base, which could allow a new entrant like Free Mobile to rapidly if the offers are truly revolutionary ...
