According to an In-Stat study 60% of the users feel unappreciated by their wireless operators. Sure In-Stat also notes that 70% of the folks over 50 are satisfied with their provider but that just means:
- escaping their clutches is too much trouble for them
- they stay pretty close to home where service is “reliable”
- they don’t use their phone that much
But the sweet spot for mobile providers, the teens, tweens, 18-24 year olds? They care about them. That’s where the money is:
- 46% regularly rack up 500 min usage a month
- 68% use the camera feature…regularly
- 85% text regularly (our kids don’t holler at each other anymore)
- 38% watch videos on them
- 26% use the built-in MP3 player
- 8% use the GPS (damn kid…it’s a phone, call if you’re lost!)
- Less than 2% use them for TV service
Figure 3 – Revenues Rising – Once the consumer is paying the base cost for basic calling service to pay for their infrastructure access, incremental service offerings bring big dollars to the bottomline. In addition, ads are more effective (and more expensive) because they are more targeted to specific customer profiles. Source — NYTimes
No wonder our phone bill weighs 10 lbs each month!
Doesn’t seem to hurt too much because folks are still signing up, snapping up phones.
Figure 4 – Callers Rising – Mobile service provides can’t wait for 2009 when about half of the global population will have a device of one type or another. Service dollars will just keep ringing and ringing. Unfortunately the number of new subscribers is already declining which means fewer new instrument sales for manufacturers without new features, new capabilities, new pricing structures. Source — iSuppli
ABI Research estimated 263.8 million handsets were sold in Q2 2007. By 2009 it is estimated there will be 3 billion mobile subscribers…half of the world’s population will be connected! That’s encouraging for the service providers. Not for device manufacturers since penetration growth is dropping from 19.3% to 3%. Worse yet, 25% of the phones are going to cost less than $20 by 2011. But a cheap unit wasn’t at the top of our list for switching (stuff we want never seems to be on sale anyway!). Neither was MP3 play, TV on the phone, video playback, GPS. Didn’t want all the bells, whistles.
Figure 5 – Everything Phone – Device manufacturers have only a few choices as the number of new mobile subscribers decline. They can focus on the high-volume, low-price throw-away units or they can add more capabilities and more cost to their units. The latter approach is designed to encourage people to upgrade/replace their devices more frequently.
Focus on the Basics
Needs were simple – call performance/reliability; decent customer service; “reasonable cost.”
We also wanted 3G and Bluetooth that worked with our car (who knew all Bluetooth wasn’t the same?).
We’d like smartphone capabilities like email but there are a couple of hurdles:
- has to mesh perfectly (without my having to think about it/work at it) with my email solution – no, not Outlook or Mac)
- our wife barely tolerates our bringing a notebook along on holidays. 24×7 reading/responding wouldn’t be treated very kindly!
To make an intelligent decision we polled people we respect on the available services. Consensus wasn’t too good. Sorta like Herr Kuhn said…”If you escape again, and are captured, you will be SHOT! Turns out, they all suck! It’s just a matter of degrees…trade-offs. It’s all a matter of network control…their network control! Unlike your ability to move around the Internet, providers not the user rule.
Dollars from Airwaves
They leverage, control, manage all of the new and emerging services – radio, TV, web surfing, gaming, gambling, email, video download/viewing. So device manufacturers shoehorn in all of the attributes and capabilities they possibly can into their units to warrant a higher price.
Figure 6 – Growth Curve – As service providers expand their infrastructure to support higher performance, higher speed 3G solutions, call quality and reliability will not only increase but the added headroom will make it possible to add and sell new higher profit services to consumers. Source — IDC
You simply choose which “walled garden” you want to enter.
After that…you’re theirs baby.
Only problem is, as Steve McQueen said…“You’re twenty feet short of the woods. The hole is right here in open. The guard is between us and the lights.”
If the providers can remember back to why we all bought mobile devices – you know security, productivity – and did that really well churn might go way down. Then they could focus on adding all the other gotta have features our kids want.
Figure 7 – Enhanced Productivity – The initial promise of the mobile phone was increased personal productivity for business people. It was suddenly easy for them to stay in touch with staff members and business partners all the time. But it’s apparent that the mobile phone has quickly evolved from a communications tool to a personal entertainment device. One that is almost indispensable by males/females, young/old.
Over the Fence – It’s not easy getting out of the mobile service walled garden. Even when you jump the wire, your option is to either go silent or choose a walled garden that best meets your personal wants/needs…and hope for the best. Photo – Universal Artists
When our provider asked why we were switching, we told them what Steve McQueen said…“Well, like I told Max… I was trying to cut my way through your wire because I want to get out.”
It’s still a walled garden but at least we can call out and folks can call us.
That’s what people expect with their mobile provider!
