NTCA: Rural Wireless Carriers See Below-Average Churn

Small rural wireless carriers see less churn than larger companies experience, according to a new report from NTCA -- The Rural Broadband Association.

More than 90% of NTCA members that offer wireless service (91%) said their annual churn is no more than 25%, including 41% that said their churn is no more than 10%. “These figures are well below the Federal Communications Commission’s reported industry annual average of between 20% and 30%,” the NTCA notes in its 2013 Wireless Survey Report. “This speaks to the quality of service provided by these small carriers,” the report authors added. Nearly 150 (144) NTCA members, 22% of its total membership, responded to the survey. Sixty percent of wireless carrier respondents offer some type of wireless service. Among those companies providing service, 82% offer fixed broadband, 49% offer mobile voice, and 43% and 29% respectively offer mobile broadband and fixed voice. Rural wireless carriers continue to face a range of business issues, the NTCA survey showed. When asked their biggest concerns, the number one answer was competition from nationwide carriers, cited by 73% of respondents, followed by the ability to make necessary investments to offer the latest services (59%) and handset/equipment availability (51%). Other concerns were the ability to obtain spectrum at auction (47%), the ability to negotiate roaming agreements with national carriers (41%) and backhaul capacity/cost (37%). Last year’s results showed similar rankings.