Consumer awareness & switching barriers in telecom: How sim-swap friction and plan complexity lock African users into suboptimal plans

Abstract

Why are African mobile consumers stuck with pricey or substandard telecom services despite widespread dissatisfaction and cheaper alternatives? This pioneering study reveals Sub-Saharan Africa's secret consumer lock-in, where startlingly low switching rates—9% in Nigeria versus 25% in the UK—defy market logic. We demonstrate how engineered friction systematically stifles consumer agencies using behavioral surveys of 1,200 mobile users in West Africa and Western markets, mystery shopping audits at 40 retail locations, and Shannon entropy metrics on 120 prepaid tariffs. Our data shows a clear gap. West African consumers cited cumbersome ID verification as a switching obstacle at 68%, compared to 12% in Western markets. African prepaid plans were 2.4 times more complex than EU/UK ones, paralyzing choice. Most importantly, porting delays in Nigeria reached 72 hours compared to the UK's 2-hour PAC code scheme, making price competitiveness a myth for millions. This study shows that switching barriers are structural exclusion, not just annoyance. Biometric failures cause Lagos retailers to forsake 25% cost savings, or inexplicable rates drain 30% of low-income customers' communications budgets, creating digital inequality. The innovative Switching Friction Index (SFI) quantifies Nigeria's barrier intensity at 8.3/10 vs the UK's 2.1, and we propose a four-phase frictionless portable regulatory path. African regulators must redefine seamless switching as important digital infrastructure, requiring standardized plan disclosures and integrated digital ID systems, to remove these artificial barriers and open truly competitive, inclusive telecom markets.