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Mobile ‘bundled’ market 2008
13/06/08
New research
from Tariff Consultancy Ltd reveals that mobile operators' calling
plans increase in "super size" and "unlimited" bundles of texts and
minutes.
Operators are
trying to steer away from prepaid putting the emphasis on 30-day
contracts and automatic top ups driving price competition. By
comparison so far data plan bundling has been more limited and
present the new battleground for mobile operators looking for
growth.
In a report
entitled Mobile Pricing Trends and Service Innovation published by
Tariff Consultancy Ltd, the market for prepaid, postpaid and
so-called hybrid contracts are evaluated from mobile operators
across the globe.
The report
offers detailed pricing adopted by mobile operators in both emerging
and developed markets for new services such as Messaging, Mobile
Instant Messaging (MIM), Mobile TV, Mobile Music, Mobile Gaming and
more.
Bundling and
flat rate data services are gaining ground. The trend towards
inclusive and unlimited offers is becoming unstoppable. The bundles
of minutes and texts are becoming larger, with Italian operator Wind
offering 4,000 on-net texts a month for a Euro 2 per month fee. In
the UK T-Mobile's SIM-Only Solo price plans offers up to 500 texts
and 1,800 voice minutes to all networks for a 35 GBP(n1) per month
fee.
"Mobile
operators are increasingly using all inclusive flat rate deals to
attract users onto a form of contract," says Margrit Sessions,
Managing Director of Tariff Consultancy Ltd. "The bundling of core
minutes and texts is starting to reach its limit, so providers will
have to resort to other means to differentiate their service and
gain new customers".
There is also
evidence that mobile operators are becoming more selective in how
they position their services. Operators moving towards community
pricing and plans such as SingTel's RedPAC (Parent And Child)
offering allows minutes to be pooled among family members.
Fixed line and
mobile providers are starting to integrate their services. Starhub
in Singapore offers its Cable TV gaming service over the mobile so
that those users can seamlessly transfer their online gaming
experience from PC to the mobile at any time.
In new markets
such as CEE and Russia, 3G providers are discovering that once a
flat rate tariff structure for data is adopted - even at the
equivalent of $100 USD per month - there is a ready market for
Mobile Broadband, among users who use VoIP and who are underserved
by existing fixed networks.
Although
mobile operators are increasingly promoting flat rate data services
worldwide, in reality there is usually a defined data allowance
which when exceeded results in a high per MB charge rate. The can
mislead consumers about how much they will really be charged in
practice. Given consumers uncertainty about the real cost and need
of these flat rate tariff plans operators are revising their pricing
strategies and are offering a cut-price daily or per hour usage rate
to stimulate user adoption.
"We believe
that the next stage in mobile operator evolution will be those who
are able to make Mobile Broadband a convenient, available and
easy-to-use service", says Margrit Sessions. "This time around
mobile operators have the opportunity to provide a varied service
portfolio which is geared to the user needs of individual groups,
rather than provide pure price discounting".
The
conclusions from the Mobile Pricing and Service Innovation research
will be discussed at the 3rd Mobile Pricing Symposium at the
Homerton College, Cambridge University on 9th to 11th of July 2008,
a unique annual event organised by the author of this new research.
Besides
providing a preview of the most up-to-date research on mobile
pricing, the Mobile Pricing Symposium also provides a content rich
programme with original research presentations and case studies from
operators in addition to debating current issues of mobile pricing
with delegates from around the globe.
(n 1) when
bought online
Nick Gibson, editor
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