Oi Mobile launches campaign against operator’s lock on phones

Oi, one of the biggest mobile operators in Brazil, recently launched a big campaign, called “Bloqueio Não“, against the lock that some operators apply on their phones so that customers get stuck with them for a long period of time. The lock on mobile phones is a very common practice that telecom companies does around the world, so they can get their pay back from the discount they provide to their subscribers. So you can buy a brand new phone for almost nothing, but for that you need to sign or renew your contract for a period of two years or more.

Anyway, I’ve never saw an initiative like this one from Oi, that put the other Brazilian operators against the fence, they created a website where you can sign an electronic petition against “the lock” and you can also send a message to your operator complaining about it.

It’s a very bold move, that already get a lot of positive feedback from the users and some attention from the media, Oi is investing a lot of money on promoting this campaign using a lot of big Brazilian actors and stars on the ads, including the soccer popstar, Ronaldinho. The campaign was created by NBS agency.

Bloqueio Não Website:
http://www.bloqueionao.com.br/

Brazilian Mobile Operators Market Share:
http://www.teleco.com.br/en/en_mshare.asp