Here in the US we are all used to being forced into a 2-year contract with our mobile providers to get phones at prices that are affordable. This is common practice among most of the major carriers. In Europe, customers have long enjoyed 18-month contracts, which have made more than one American jealous.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics major European carriers Orange and O2 are considering moving to the American style contracts for customers. That would mean that new customers on the networks would have to sign 2-year contracts.

The carriers say that this is an effort to reduce customer churn. Rather than cuffing consumers to their network for longer, they could just offer better devices, better networks, and better customer service. How's that for a plan to reduce customer churn?

Via Strategy Analytics