As though life isn't tough enough as an alternative service provider in the UK, Carphone Warehouse - the biggest of the breed - has been rocked by scandal.
David Ross, deputy chairman and co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, founded the company with Charles Dunstone in 1989.
He has resigned from the UK mobile phone retailer's board after failing to declare that he had used most of his shareholding as security for personal loans, the Financial Times says.
Apparently Ross also failed to declare similar arrangements at three other companies - National Express, the transport group where he is chairman; Big Yellow Group, the storage company where he is non-executive director; and Cosalt, the industrial services and leisure products group, where he is chairman. He has not resigned from those posts.
Carphone's shares fallen by almost 75% in the past year, which wasn't helped by the announcement of Ross' dealings and the fact that his shareholding might well have to be sold to meet his debts. Carphone has insisted this is no the case.
Ross is the second biggest shareholder with a 19.4 per cent stake, 15% of which was used as collateral against loans in the last two years.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, appointed Ross as his representative to the organising committee for the 2012 Olympic Games.