Entanet cites bargain broadband pricing as root cause of higher customer churn

July 9, 2015

Wholesale comms provider rejects the notion that broadband is already a commodity and says resellers can differentiate by adding value and delivering quality service and support

Telford, 09 July 2015 – Entanet, the leading provider of wholesale communications to channel partners, has raised the question of whether bargain broadband pricing is behind the higher levels of customer churn that many ISPs are now starting to experience.

In the latest blog post on its opinion website – see www.enta.net/opinion/2015/07/08/bargain-broadband-pricing-driving-customer-churn/ – the company’s Head of Sales, Stephen Barclay, highlights churn as a major challenge for many smaller service providers.

“The pricing war in the consumer broadband market continues apace with lower and lower headline costs being announced every week. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for smaller ISPs to compete within this market, if you plan to compete based on price alone, that is. Realistically, only the big providers with large-scale customer volumes can succeed with this strategy, and even then it’s not necessarily viable in the long term.”

Cutting prices to win business can mean corners get cut on service, he notes, which can cause more problems. “At the end of the day – you get what you pay for and this can often lead to customers receiving a less satisfactory service, which in turn breeds dissatisfaction and generates even more churn. It can easily become a vicious cycle for suppliers who will inevitably find themselves struggling to compete with ever diminishing margins.”

Barclay also refutes the notion that broadband has already become a commodity. “The truth is, broadband isn’t all about price…factors such as reliability, good quality support and a robust network still have a major part to play. That’s why we advise all of our resellers against entering the price war – it’s just not viable in the long term.”

He advises ISPs to focus on differentiating themselves and adding value and targeting customers that are more aware of the potential benefits of using a quality service and a supplier that is focused on their needs.

The post can be read in full at www.enta.net/opinion/2015/07/08/bargain-broadband-pricing-driving-customer-churn/

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About Entanet
Entanet is a leading wholesale voice and data communications provider and operates via a network of wholesale and resale channel partners. It was founded in 1996 and employs over 80 staff at its offices in Telford, Shropshire.

In February 2014, mid-market equity investor Mobeus Equity Partners made an initial £6 million investment to support a £14 million management buyout.

Entanet offers an extensive portfolio of connectivity services, including wholesale and packaged broadband, leased lines, EFM, IP VPNs, hosting and co-location, VoIP and traditional telecoms. The company operates its own fully-resilient nationwide next generation network which enables it and its partners to provide up to 10Gbps capacity to customers right across the UK. In addition, it has further connectivity into Amsterdam and Frankfurt and over 900 peering relationships across Europe.

The quality of Entanet’s services and its commitment to partners has been widely recognised. The company was recently named ‘Wholesale Provider of the Year (Large)’ in the 2015 Comms Business Awards and received the 2015 ISPA award for ‘Best SME Business Broadband’ and CRN Sales and Marketing Award for ‘Best Vendor Account Management Team’. The company has also been listed on a number of occasions in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA and other listings of fast-growing, privately-held UK companies.

For more information contact:
Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing
Entanet International Ltd
Tel: 0333 101 0000