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Is the shine wearing off telco’s biggest brands?

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According to a recent study that surveyed over 18,000 consumers in 35 markets, 50% of the telco customers have the perception that their providers do not offer services that are good value for money.

This view is compounded by the fact that nearly 1million mobile subscribers left major British operators for MVNOs like Lebara and iD Mobile in 2025. Also, in research conducted by Sprinklr, more than 60% of telecom brands operate in negative sentiment territory on social channels.

Why has the perception of telco brands’ value become so broken?

The brands of big telcos are based on trust and the assurance of functionality and network quality but customers are no longer seeing higher prices as justifiable. There is tangible disconnect with customer expectations and a dilution of perceived value. Average Revenue Per User is down 2.6% since 2024 and this is due to factors that include:
The Loyalty Trap

Providers routinely give their best rates and flashy perks to new sign-ups while quietly hiking prices on long-term customers, turning past “loyalty” into financial punishment.

The Value Gap

Only about half of consumers feel they get true value for money from their telecom packages, as inflation clashes with rising monthly bills. In areas where there isn’t much choice between competitors, having a reliable mobile phone and broadband feels like another tax. You don’t feel like a customer as there is no choice, you’re railroaded into acceptance.

Commodity Fatigue

Because infrastructure features like 5G and fiber speeds have reached parity across competitors, brands fail to inspire an emotional or lifestyle connection.

Deflective Support Systems

Customer service is frequently optimized as a cost-cutting barrier (via frustrating chatbots, endless phone trees, and untrained agents) rather than a tool to solve problems.

Illusion of Loyalty

Industry data shows that high retention numbers historically relied on customer inertia—people staying simply because switching felt too annoying—rather than true brand affinity.

How is this changing the market?

Reports suggest that the power of big brands is now becoming irrelevant due to the plateauing of technology and growing financial pressures throughout the globe. Low-cost providers are now setting the competitive price benchmark as financial concerns are becoming the leading purchasing factor.

90% of markets now offer a budget tier 5G as market bifurcation is forcing network providers to split their focus, offering high-end multi-gigabit or satellite-backed perks for wealthy tiers while launching stripped-down, budget plans for cost-sensitive buyers.

The core dichotomy

Many of the larger players are proponents of the protector brand archetype. They position themselves in a way that suggests that their customers’ protection, safety, and peace of mind are at the core of the company’s values. Underpinning this façade is the stark reality that the bigger brands have an ‘ace in the pack’ which is network security. Even though smaller companies lease the same underlying physical networks, bigger telecom brands generally have more resources for advanced cybersecurity operations and compliance.

What is does the future hold?

As telecom networks become more software-defined and cloud-based, the distinction between traditional operators and low-cost providers is likely to continue narrowing. These factors are ideal conditions for the rise of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). They offer customers the exact same mobile tower coverage as big providers, but with much lower prices, flexible contract-free plans, and fewer hidden fees.

How can Squire Technologies’ products enable MVNOs?

Squire Technologies can help MVNOs by providing carrier-grade core network infrastructure that enables them to launch services more quickly, reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX), and differentiate themselves from competitors. Rather than building complex telecom infrastructure from scratch, MVNOs can deploy modular network components from Squire that integrate with existing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

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