As carriers priorities shift from increasing the average revenue per user to managing churn, consumers’ priorities have been changing as well. For example, the two-year contract, long a staple of users who wanted to pay less upfront, is seen as important to only 23% of Parks Associates’ data set. Consumers have largely turned their eyes from cost-saving to feature sets and maximizing bang for buck, especially when it comes to their data plans. Unlimited plans are hard to come by and tend to be expensive, so many consumers consider access to otherwise hidden Wi-Fi hotspots to be a big plus for signing up with a new carrier. Rollover data, which is well on its way to becoming an industry-wide feature, is also a big turn on.

From the article "New Research Reveals Priorities For Carrier Switchers" by Daniel Fuller.