Unknown Networks, Other problems with Charges to Receive
First off, the main reason that a LOT of people don't know more than one network is quite simple - they go to CPW, P4U or similar, and get sold a "deal" - e.g.
Sales Drone: "We can do you the WeRGrdy tariff for £75 a month, half price with cashback, shiny new phone, unlimited calls and texts (subject to FUP and Ts&Cs and a 5-year contract, cashback by redemption) - how does that sound?"
Clueless Punter: "Yeah yeah yeah, I get me a new shiny thing! Woo-hoo! Where do I sign?"
Rarely, in these establishments, do I see the Sales Drones saying anything about the network side, as the Clueless Punter doesn't "need" to know, and generally isn't that interested anyway. I remember seeing a CP in the O2 store who just didn't get that if they bought a phone there it wouldn't be on Orange.
Anyhoo. Re Charges for receiving. The fact that we don't have these in Europe is why we have a mobile market so much in advance of that in the US where this is in place. Paying only to make calls means that there was a much bigger take-up, especially in the late 90's when digital started becoming more widely available when Orange and 121 joined the fun with digital-only offers targeted more at consumers than the Cellnet / Voda digital equivalents which were more business-oriented at the time. If we had had to pay to receive calls, less people (those who paid the bills themselves, anyway) would have got one, because it would have been massively more expensive for them to use - many of those users who DID get one would have kept it switched off aside from when they wanted to make a call. This would have reduced usage enormously, and the market wouldn't have expanded as quickly as it did - which was mainly down to consumer-targeted deals driven by the new market players who upset the Cellnet / Voda applecart with things like per-second-billing and inclusive call allowances, which saw prices tumble - up to this point, you could be paying 80ppm off peak to call a landline (the old Cellnet "Peace of Mind" tariff intended for low users).
Many mobile phones at the moment are in the hands of kids, who, when they have used all their credit up, are still reachable by concerned parents - that's a major factor in buying a PAYG phone for a child. It doesn't matter that they piss away all their credit on ringtones within a day of getting it, because they're still reachable for incoming calls. If paying to receive is introduced, that entire section of the market will dump their phones (in terms of usage, not necessarily by physically getting rid) as that advantage to having them is removed. Would you still buy your child a phone when you're constantly having to put credit on it just so that you can phone them, and you KNOW they'll piss it away? You HAVE to keep putting more on in order to keep them reachable, despite the fact that you know it'll go in days rather than the month it's supposed to last.
Bad OFCOM. Bad! No cookies for you!